An unexpected theme of fire and water may emerge during the annual Fourth of July activities.
As East Coasters nervously turn to The Weather Channel for updates on Hurricane Arthur, they’ll be turning to the usual array of televised Independence Day celebrations — as long as the power holds out.
The Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (NBC, 8 and 10 p.m.) features performances from Ariana Grande, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Enrique Iglesias, the Zac Brown Band and Lionel Richie before the explosions go off. Nick Cannon hosts.
“A Capitol Fourth” (PBS, 8 and 9:30 p.m., check local listings) is headlined by Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons and includes performances by Patti LaBelle, Jordin Sparks, Michael McDonald, Sara Evans, Kendall Schmidt and Kelli O’Hara. Also John Williams will introduce a new arrangement of the National Anthem on the occasion of its 200th anniversary, with the National Symphony Orchestra.
An interview I did with Valli for the Washington Post about the appearance can be found here.
Something different this year is the Philly 4th of July Jam (VH1, 8 p.m.) with The Roots, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Hudson, Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran and — she’s everywhere! – Ariana Grande.
But enough about America. World Cup semi-finals get started with France vs. Germany (ESPN2, noon) and Brazil vs. Colombia (ESPN, 4 p.m.).
One tradition of the holiday lost — on TV anyway — are patriotic speeches. So Maryland Gov. Martin O’Mally and Smithsonian director G. Wayne Clough talk about the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner” on “American History TV” (CSPAN3, 8:30 p.m.), in an event commemorating last month’s Flag Day actually.
How did this country get to here? The History Channel takes 12 hours to explain it all in a marathon of “America: The Story of Us” (History, 8 p.m.).
Networks are taking advantage of the three day weekend to indulge in some long marathons. On AMC, they’re calling a weekend-long binge of all four seasons of “The Walking Dead” (AMC, 9 a.m.) a “Dead, White and Blue” event.
Elsewhere, there is the great 12-hour chunk of the original “The Twilight Zone” (Syfy, 8 a.m., and roughly from the same era, the 1960s “Batman” (IFC, 6 a.m.).
There are also marathons of “Awkward” (MTV, 11:30 a.m.), the whole first season of “Masters of Sex” (Showtime, 6 p.m.), “Catfish: The TV Show” (MTV, 6 p.m.), “Diners, Drive–Ins and Dives” (Food Network, 6 p.m.), this season’s “Big Brother” (TVGuide Network, 9 p.m.), “The Carbonaro Effect” (truTV, 8 p.m.) and “Say Yes to the Dress” (TLC, 8 p.m.), though it seems there is a marathon of that every Friday.
Some appropriate films for the occasion include “Born on the Fourth of July” (Sundance, 10:30 a.m.), “Independence Day” (Encore, 8 and 10:30 p.m.) and, I suppose, for the costume alone, “Captain America: The First Avenger” (FX, 8 and 1030 p.m.). Way off base? “The Christmas Ornament” (hallmark, 8 p.m.) and “Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas” (Hallmark, 10 p.m.).
The one film you look for on July 4th is “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (TCM, 4:15 p.m.), paired with another musical, “1776” (TCM, 1:30 p.m.). The appear amid a number of films about the American Revolution including “John Paul Jones” (6:30 a.m.), “The Howards of Virginia” (9:15 a.m.), “The Scarlet Coat” (11:15 a.m.) and Shaw’s “The Devil’s Disciple” (6:30 p.m.).
The evening on Turner Classic Movies, though, is given over to its month-long, Friday night spotlight on films of World War I, marking the 100th anniversary. The series begins with “Sergeant York” (8 p.m.), “The Fighting 69th” (10:30 p.m.), “The Dawn Patrol” (12:15 a.m.) and the winner of the first Best Picture Oscar, the silent “Wings” (2:15 a.m.).
A couple of new series debut today: “Overhaulin'” (Velocity, 8 p.m.) which are all about convertibles.
Yet another reality show from Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott: “Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever” (Great American Country, 10 p.m.).
Baseball includes an early Cubs at Washington (WGN, 11 a.m.), Yankees at Minnesota (ESPN2, 3 p.m.) and Tampa Bay at Detroit (ESPN, 7 p.m.).
It’s men’s semifinals at Wimbledon (ESPN, 8 a.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Amy Brenneman, Caroline Rhea, Scott Conant. The View: Dr. Richard Besser, Jason Biggs, Sam Smith, Bill Rancic. The Talk: Jerry Lewis, Scott Conant (rerun). Ellen DeGeneres: Rachel McAdams, Hailee Steinfeld, Kevin Nealon (rerun). Wendy Williams: Joe Manganiello (rerun).
Late Talk
David Letterman: Martin Short, John Oliver, Spanish Gold (rerun). Jimmy Fallon: Channing Tatum, Joshua Topolsky, Julian Mccullough (rerun). Jimmy Kimmel: Mike Tyson, Jason Momoa, Young Fathers (rerun). Seth Meyers: Kanye West, Russell Wilson (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Betty White, Brett Dalton (rerun). Carson Daly: Diego Luna, Deap Vally (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Elizabeth Economy & Michael Levi, Yuna. Arsenio Hall: Wayne Brady, Kym Whitley, J. Chris Newberg (rerun).