Happy Semiquincentennial, America. I’ll celebrate with you from the couch — it’s gonna be like 100 degrees here and there are a ton of TV specials to watch.
A (very) short list: Netflix’s The American Experiment is topically worth a binge, and History is debuting a new special Ralph Lauren’s American Icons. PBS, naturally, is going all in — as are news stations. Pluto compiled 250 “hand-selected films celebrating the people, places and stories that have shaped America” — all free, of course. ABC and ESPN2 will share the men’s Nathan’s hot dog-eating contest at 12:30 p.m. ET; ESPN’s apps will live-stream the women’s event at 10:45 a.m.
Macy’s fireworks (live on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo, 8 p.m. ET to 10 p.m.) are always a crowdpleaser and the most-watched TV event of the day. But the coolest piece of content may be something else live on NBC (and Telemundo) on the Fourth.
America’s 250 (7 a.m. ET to 1 p.m. ET), which is NBC’s coverage of Sail 4th 250, will be covered by 23 of the network’s anchors, reporters and correspondents positioned all over New York and New Jersey. Today anchors Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin will host the coverage from Governors Island; they’ll be joined by colleagues Al Roker, Carson Daly, Willie Geist and Jenna Bush Hager. (Roker actually covered the last big Fourth of July tall-ship parade — the bicentennial sail — as a cub reporter out of Syracuse.)
