ALSO SEE: NASCAR Schedule 2024: Cup Series, Xfinity Series & Camping World Truck Series
All Times Eastern. PBS programming varies regionally.
Wednesday, July 3
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Netflix
Original Film!
Eddie Murphy returns to his iconic role of fast-talking Detroit cop Axel Foley, who is back on the beat in Beverly Hills. After his daughter Jane’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened, she and her dad team up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Axel’s old pals Billy Rosewood and John Taggart (Judge Reinhold and John Ashton also reprising their roles) to turn up the heat and uncover a conspiracy. Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and Kevin Bacon costar.
Dynamic Planet: “Water”
PBS, 8pm
With our warming planet altering our oceans, an extraordinary team of marine experts from Antarctica to Australia dive into how science, nature and tradition can prepare us for a fast-changing future in this new episode of the docuseries examining climate change across the globe.
Roger Corman — Part 1 (Directed By)
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Prolific and influential producer and director Roger Corman passed away May 9 at age 98. To celebrate his work and impact on motion pictures, Turner Classic Movies is devoting three evenings this month (tonight and the next two Wednesdays) to lineups of just a few of the many low-budget B-movie features that Corman was behind in some way or another. Kicking things off tonight are seven movies directed by Corman in the ’50s and ’60s: X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963), a sci-fi/horror film led by Ray Milland; A Bucket of Blood (1959), a comedy/horror flick starring Dick Miller, a frequent face in Corman productions; another sci-fi/horror movie, The Wasp Woman (1959), featuring Susan Cabot; The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), the original version of the horror comedy, led by Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph and Miller, with a humorous small role for Jack Nicholson, who got his start in Corman films; Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961), a parody of creature features and spy movies; Atlas (1961), Corman’s attempt to get in on the “sword-and-sandal” film subgenre popular at the time, with a story of the titular mythical strongman; and Tower of London (1962), a historical drama/Gothic horror film starring Vincent Price in one of his numerous collaborations with Corman.
Hope in the Water
PBS, 9pm
Series Finale!
With the demand for fish and seafood on the rise around the world, what we eat can put tremendous pressure on wild fisheries, limit access to local communities in need and negatively affect the health of the ocean. Explore this and more in the final episode of the series, titled “Changing the Menu.”
The Real CSI: Miami: “Game Over”
CBS, 10pm
In the new episode “Game Over,” detectives analyze the mysterious case of 21-year-old James Barry, who was murdered in a house full of his loved ones. The examination of the murder weapon and an intriguing development involving digital forensics reveal a startling motive.
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Thursday, July 4
Barbecue Showdown
Netflix
Season Premiere!
The cooking competition is back as nine of the best barbecuers from across the country must master the flame in an open-fire playground to create mouthwatering, boundary-pushing barbecue for a $50,000 prize. Michelle Buteau returns to host, joined by world-class judges Melissa Cookston and Kevin Bludso.
Space Cadet
Prime Video
Original Film!
A Florida party girl (Emma Roberts) turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in the same training with other candidates who may have better resumés, but don’t have her heart and nerve.
Proud American
FOX News Channel, beginning at 5am Live
FOX News Media will showcase its signature “Proud American” franchise series in honor of Independence Day with an array of patriotic-themed programming and segments throughout the day. FOX Nation’s Abby Hornacek will be live in Bristol, Rhode Island, for the town’s Oldest Independence Celebration in the Nation parade. She will interview the General Chairman Camille Teixeira as well as World War II veterans along the parade route. Tonight at 8pm, Carley Shimkus, Lawrence Jones, Aishah Hasnie and Johnny Joey Jones cohost The Big Independence Day Special two-hour live show from FOX Square in New York City, with live fireworks displays from Washington, D.C.; Bristol, Rhode Island; and Asbury Park, New Jersey. Former police officer and acclaimed country music artist Frank Ray performs, and patriotic messages from veterans and viewers will be broadcast throughout the program.
Rod, White & Blue: A “Twilight Zone” Celebration
Heroes & Icons Network, beginning at 6am
For the second year, H&I is airing this annual Independence Day marathon of episodes from the classic sci-fi/fantasy anthology series The Twilight Zone, following its five-year run on the former DECADES channel (which rebranded to Catchy Comedy last year). This year’s event features 174 back-to-back episodes of the series, running four days beginning this morning and continuing into the early morning of Monday, July 8.
“The Twilight Zone” Marathon
Syfy, beginning at 6am
Syfy returns with its annual Fourth of July marathon of episodes from Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi/fantasy/horror anthology series The Twilight Zone. This year, the marathon runs 24 hours, all day July 4 and into early July 5. Throughout the day, you can watch classic episodes like “Third From the Sun,” “Time Enough at Last,” “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” “The Hitch-Hiker,” “To Serve Man” and more.
Fourth of July Country Music Programming
AXS TV, beginning at 8am
Celebrate the holiday with the following country music documentaries and concerts: Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man, Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl, Lady A: Live From the Artists Den, Tim McGraw: Live From the Artists Den, Blackberry Smoke Homecoming Live in Atlanta, Zac Brown Band: Live From the Artists Den, Willie Nelson & Friends: Outlaws & Angels and Toby Keith: 35 MPH Town.
Great American “Rocky” Marathon
AMC, 3pm
Yo, Adrian! AMC rings the bell for a five-round marathon of Rocky movies starring Sylvester Stallone as boxer Rocky Balboa. Underdog Rocky challenges Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in the Oscar-winning Rocky (1976). Rocky gets a rematch in Rocky II, takes on Clubber Lang (Mr. T) in Rocky III, faces Soviet Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV and brawls with Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) in Rocky V.
Macy’s 4th of July Spectacular
NBC, 8pm Live
The annual New York event returns to the Hudson River for the first time in over a decade to celebrate America’s birthday with entertainment and a spectacular fireworks display. Performers had not been announced at presstime.
A Capitol Fourth 2024
PBS, 8pm Live
Commemorate America’s 248th birthday with the 44th broadcast of America’s Independence Day celebration, featuring tributes to America’s military.
Star of the Month: Eva Marie Saint (100th Birthday)
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
One of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s golden age, and the oldest living Academy Award winner, legendary actress Eva Marie Saint turns 100 today (she was born July 4, 1924, in Newark, New Jersey). To celebrate the icon’s centennial, Turner Classic Movies is devoting Thursday nights this month to lineups of her most memorable films. Starting things off this evening is Saint’s first feature film, the Best Picture Oscar-winning drama On the Waterfront (1954), for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, alongside Best Actor winner Marlon Brando, and Supporting Actor nominees Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden and Rod Steiger. After that is a special called Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival: Eva Marie Saint, which first aired in 2014. Then, the evening concludes with the classic Hitchcock thriller North by Northwest (1959), costarring Cary Grant, James Mason and Martin Landau, and the drama A Hatful of Rain (1957), a rarity in its time for its frank portrayal of drug addiction and its impact on an addict (played by Don Murray) and his family.
Friday, July 5
Desperate Lies
Netflix
New Limited Series!
In Netflix’s first “melodrama series” from Brazil, Liana (Juliana Paes) is neither excited nor truly happy, nor does she have any expectations at her gender reveal party. She already knows the answer — and it’s not quite what one would expect. There are two boys: twins, each with different fathers. One is the son of her husband, Tomás (Vladimir Brichta), while the other is the result of something she would prefer to forget. The series’ plot revolves around a very particular question: How many secrets can a mother keep?
Goyo
Netflix
Original Film!
This romantic drama from Argentina follows the title character, played by Nicolás Furtado, who is a Van Gogh devotee on the autism spectrum and works as a guide at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. His orderly routine is disrupted when he develops a crush on Eva (Nancy Dupláa), a new security guard at the museum. Issues with her marriage have led Eva to become disillusioned with romance, but her unexpected meeting with Goyo will allow them both to discover a new way to love, and to be loved.
The Imaginary
Netflix
Feature Film Exclusive!
This anime feature from Japan portrays the depths of humanity and creativity through the eyes of young Amanda (voice of Rio Suzuki) and her imaginary companion, Rudger (Kokoro Terada). Their fantastical adventures launched from her attic lead them to discover a magical world of creatures and places never seen before, until a sinister force threatens to destroy their fantasy world and the friendship within it.
“Snowpiercer” Marathon
AMC, beginning at 12pm
Before AMC (taking over for TNT) premieres this dystopian thriller’s fourth and final season on July 21, it’s airing the first three seasons starting today with Season 1’s 10 episodes. For any newcomers: The action takes place on a 1,001-car train endlessly circling the globe carrying the survivors of a life-killing great freeze.
The Women
TCM, 5:45pm
Catch a Classic!
Director George Cukor’s 1939 comedy/drama, with its screenplay adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce’s 1936 play of the same name by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, is headlined by some of the most notable actresses of the era, including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and Joan Fontaine. The entire cast of well over 100 speaking roles was all female in this story that offers a satiric commentary on the lives of various interconnected high-society women. Strangely, the film received no Oscar nominations, but it has long been considered one of the numerous standouts from Hollywood’s incredible year of 1939.
Ancient Aliens: “Unlocking the Stargates”
History, 9pm
Many cultures believe in the existence of stargates through which beings travel to Earth from distant points in the universe and even other dimensions. Could such portals truly exist?
Down in the Valley
Starz, 9pm
New Series!
Inspired by the hit show P-Valley, a drama following the lives of strip club performers working in Mississippi, this new docuseries hosted by Nicco Annan (who plays Uncle Clifford on P-Valley) will take viewers on a tour of the Deep South, unveiling the people, music and culture that make up the complex and diverse region.
Saturday, July 6
MLB Baseball
FS1 & FOX, beginning at 1pm Live
Old rivals meet at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx as the Boston Red Sox visit the N.Y. Yankees on FS1. On FOX in primetime, viewers will see either the Milwaukee Brewers at the L.A. Dodgers or the Philadelphia Phillies at the Atlanta Braves.
Three Wise Men and a Baby: Extended Cut
Hallmark Channel, 8pm
Original Film!
Three brothers (Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker) get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays.
Amish Affair
Lifetime, 8pm
Original Film!
Ryan McPartlin (L.A.’s Finest) and Mackenzie Cardwell (Upload) star in this drama inspired by actual events that follows an Amish woman whose romantic involvement with a married man leads to her trying to prove her innocence after she’s framed for murder.
Svengoolie Classic Horror & Sci-Fi Movie: “The Angry Red Planet”
MeTV, 8pm
Sven introduces 1959’s The Angry Red Planet, a sci-fi film in which one of only two survivors from the first manned trip to Mars relates what happened to the expedition.
Dinner and a Movie: The Meg
TBS, 8pm
Pegged in line with tomorrow’s kickoff of Discovery Channel’s 2024 Shark Week, Jason Biggs and his wife Jenny Mollen welcome this year’s producer, Jeff Kurr, to chat about what’s in store for the week, while watching the largest marine predator wreak havoc in the 2018 horror flick The Meg.
We Come in Peace
TCM, beginning at 8pm
Catch a Classic!
Throughout movie history, there have been plenty of films depicting Earth’s invasion by evil aliens. But there have also been a few notable productions with stories about extraterrestrials visiting us with more peaceful, and curious, motives. Two of those are featured tonight. Up first is Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), the sci-fi classic that earned Steven Spielberg, who also wrote the screenplay, his first Best Director Oscar nomination. Spielberg’s tale follows Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), whose encounter with a UFO leads him on an obsessed, cross-country quest for answers. Along the way, he meets up with Jillian (Best Supporting Actress nominee Melinda Dillon), who is on her own quest to recover her young son, who has been taken by an alien spacecraft. It all culminates in an awe-inspiring climax at Devils Tower in Wyoming, where humanity makes its first contact with otherworldly beings, all brought to spectacular life by Oscar-nominated visual effects and punctuated by John Williams’ emotional, Oscar-nominated musical score. Following that is another renowned sci-fi production: The Day the Earth Stood Still. Director Robert Wise’s 1951 film finds an alien named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his robot, Gort (Lock Martin), landing on Earth to warn the planet’s inhabitants to abandon their atomic weapons and aggression, and live peacefully with the other residents of the cosmos, or be destroyed. The film was groundbreaking and influential in not only in its theme (humanity positioned as the greater threat to the universe, not some invading aliens), but also in composer Bernard Herrmann’s musical score, which featured one of the earliest cinematic uses of the theremin; that eerie-sounding instrument would soon become an almost-overused staple in other films of the spacey or spooky variety.