All times Eastern. Fear StreetThe long-running, best-selling YA horror-fiction novels of R.L. Stein get some grown-up gristle in this three-part treatment, which breaks them into a trilogy of connected scary tales spread over three consecutive weeks, with each set in a different era (Netflix). SATURDAY, July 3The MisfitsA “modern Western” about a depressed divorcee who falls for an over-the-hill contemporary cowboy, this dusty 1961 black-and-white drama is noteworthy as the last movie for both Marilyn Monroe—who died of an alleged drug overdose a year later—and her costar, Clark Gable, who dropped dead of a heart attack 11 days after filming was completed (8 p.m., TCM). The Greatest ShowmanHow great is this uplifting 2017 musical box-office smash, starring Hugh Jackman as legendary circus impresario P.T. Barnum? So good that you can watch it twice tonight, back-to-back, to savor all the singing and dancing by Zendaya, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Keala Settle, whose scene-stealing performance of “This is Me” as the bearded Lettie Lutz was nominated for an Oscar (7:40 p.m., FX). SUNDAY, July4We the PeopleBarack and Michelle Obama are among the executive producers of this series of animated music videos covering a range of basic U.S. civics lessons in not-so-basic, Schoolhouse Rock-ish ways, set to catchy original songs by artists including H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Lambert and Andra Day (Netflix). Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks SpectacularSit back and watch the iconic celebration of Independence Day with this two-hour telecast, now in its 45th year, and tonight’s lineup of performers—like Reba McEntire, the Black Pumas, One Republic and Coldplay—lighting up the stage before fireworks brighten up New York’s summer skyline in a 25-minute display above its East River (8 p.m., NBC). MONDAY, July 5The Neutral GroundIt gets pretty hot in New Orleans—and even hotter when filmmaker CJ Hunt takes his camera and slides into the gulf between citizens divided about the removal of four Confederate monuments in their city, in this darkly humorous but somberly serious documentary about “the force that shapes every story we tell about America’s past” (10 p.m., PBS). SharkFest Why is actor Chris Hemsworth taking the plunge off the shark-infested coast of Australia? What would make a killer whale attack a great white? What is—and where would you find—the world’s most dangerous shark? Find all the answers, and much more, in the fin-tastic, six-week programming block, beginning tonight (8 p.m., National Geographic, Nat Geo Wild, Disney XD, Disney+ and Nat Geo Mundo). TUESDAY, July 6An Animal Saved My LifeFOX sports broadcaster Curt Menefee hosts this new series spotlighting acts of heroism from various animals, with true news stories, viral videos and interviews of people who’ve been saved by their pets (9 p.m., A&E). Grown-ishCheck in tonight to see how season four shapes up for the comedy series starring Yara Shahidi as Zoey (the oldest daughter of the Robertsons, from TV’s Black-ish) deals with her decision to drop out of college and focus on her career as a fashion stylist (8 p.m., Freeform). WEDNESDAY, July 7Big BrotherSeason 23 of the enduring voyeur reality competition kicks off with a live 90-minute episode as an all-new group of contestants moves into the specially designed house, giving up their privacy to be continuously monitored by TV cameras and microphones. Julie Chen returns as host (8 p.m., CBS). Lookalike LoveWhat it’s like to be in a relationship with Kim Kardashian? Or Beyoncè? Maybe even Barbie? Yes, the doll! Find out, sort of, in the pilot for this new series about couples in which one partner has physically morphed herself into the object of her celebrity obsession. And can you imagine: Their friends, parents and a lot of the world at large just don’t seem to understand (10 p.m., Lifetime). THURSDAY, July 8Gossip GirlThe teen drama series about the lives of Manhattan private schoolers—which ran originally 2007-2012—gets a reboot, a modern twist in the age of social media, and an all-new cast of newcomers, including Whitney Peak (from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Zion Moreno, Emily Alyn Lind, Jordan Alexander, Thomas Doherty…and Kristen Bell returning as narrator, an omniscient blogger known as “Gossip Girl” (HBO Max). Backyard Bar WarsBased on the trend of DIY at-home bars, this send-up of classic home reno shows combines moments of roasting and ribbing from comedian host Chris Distefano with jaw-dropping reveals of amazing lawn drink-station makeovers (10:30 truTV). AT THE MOVIESSubtitled “(…Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised),” Summer of Soul marks the filmmaking debut from Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson—the bandleader drummer of The Roots. It’s a rock-doc about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, a watershed, six-week event of Black history, music culture and fashion held just 100 miles south of another groundbreaking event… a little ol’ music fest you might have heard about that also took place up the road that summer in Woodstock, N.Y. One night of mayhem and murder isn’t enough, apparently, for the sect of lawless marauders in The Forever Purge, the latest installment of the dystopian horror franchise about a nation in which law and order are maintained by letting the populace have a 12-hour period each year during which anything goes and all crime becomes legal. But that was then… Talk about micro-management: The Boss Baby: Family Business, a second installment of the animated Boss Baby franchise, features the voices of Alec Baldwin, James Marsden, Amy Sedaris, Eva Longoria, Lisa Kudrow, Ariana Greenblatt, Amy Sedaris and Jeff Goldblum in another tale of super-smart tiny tots on a wild adventure.
