When Is Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Airing? Plus, Other Special July 4 Programming
July 4 isn’t just a day for barbecuing and fireworks — it’s also a day with some truly fantastic TV offerings. If it’s too hot outside, turn up the AC, and get ready for freaky classic sci-fi, patriotic musical fun, and of course, the world’s most famous hot dog eating contest.
The Twilight Zone Out of This World Marathon
Syfy, beginning at 5am
CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images
Syfy’s annual marathon of classic episodes from The Twilight Zone runs a little over 24 hours (taking a two-hour hiatus this evening to air a new episode of Resident Alien, with an encore afterward). The marathon features a mix of the standard half-hour Twilight Zone installments as well as some of the hourlong ones, with notable episodes including “The Hitch-Hiker,” “To Serve Man,” “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” and the series premiere episode, “Where Is Everybody?” Click here for the full schedule.
In case you miss it on Syfy, the Heroes & Icons Network will also be celebrating with the 3rd annual “Rod, White & Blue: A Twilight Zone Celebration” marathon kicking off on Thursday, July 3, at 6am ET and rolling straight through to Monday, July 7.
Yankee Doodle Dandy
MOVIES!, 10:15am & 8pm
TCM, 8pm
Everett Collection
James Cagney really showed that he could do a lot more than just play gangsters with his Best Actor Oscar-winning performance as singer/dancer/songwriter George M. Cohan in this Best Picture Oscar-nominated 1942 musical about Cohan’s life. Directed with gusto by Oscar nominee Michael Curtiz, the nonstop musical tour de force features plenty of singing and dancing from Cagney in a celebration of the life and career of the music man who lifted a nation and became the first entertainer awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Honor for his contribution to morale.
From his early days as a vaudeville performer to his stardom on Broadway, Cohan composed songs that defined his generation, and many of those are performed in the film, including “Harrigan,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Over There,” “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and, of course, “The Yankee Doodle Boy.” Like Cohan himself, Yankee Doodle Dandy has long been a national treasure, and the film was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1993, as a work of enduring importance to American culture.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
ESPN2, 12pm Live
Adam Gray/Getty Images
The celebration of gastronomic excess returns to Coney Island in New York. Miki Sudo is the reigning women’s champion, having consumed a women’s record 51 hot dogs and buns in 2024. Competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut returns after missing last year’s event due to a contractual dispute with Major League Eating.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks
NBC, 8pm Live
Adam Gray/Getty Images
This annual favorite celebrating America’s birthday is back for another installment, which marks the event’s return to New York City’s East River and Brooklyn Bridge after having moved across town to the Hudson River last year. There will be a lineup of top musical performances and, of course, fireworks, which will be launched from the bridge and four barges positioned nearby on the river.
A Capitol Fourth 2025
PBS, 8pm Live
(WTTW Chicago, 7pm Live)
(KETC St. Louis, 7pm Live)
This concert celebrating America’s 249th birthday features tributes to America’s military.
Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular
The CW, 9pm
Tune in to watch the fireworks over Boston’s Charles River to celebrate Independence Day.
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