TV marathons are as American a tradition on the Fourth of July as fireworks and apple pie, and this year is no different, with a slew of marathons on offer across the dial. (Not to mention the thousands of do-it-yourself marathons available on your streaming service of choice.)
Here are some of the highlights:
THE AFFAIR — The Showtime drama gets a day-long run ahead of its August return for Season 5. SHO2, 10:00AM ET - 8:00PM ET
AMERICA: THE STORY OF US — History Channel is re-airing its epic twelve-part series recounting the entire 400-year history of the United States. History, Thurs 8:00AM ET - 8:00PM ET
THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW — Is there anything more old-school American than Barney Fife and Mayberrry, North Carolina? TV Land, 9:00AM ET - 8:00PM ET
BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 — You know you're itching to hit the beach house with the original 90210 crew this holiday. Pop, 10:00AM ET - 6:00PM ET
CLIQUE — The BBC series returns with six all-new Season 2 episodes (yep, never before aired in the US). Pop, 6:00PM ET- Midnight
THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR— Between the film Independence Day and his seminal picnic song "Summertime," Will Smith will forever be linked to the Fourth, so why not mark the occasion by taking in eight hours of The Fresh Prince? VH1, 8:00AM ET - 4:00PM ET
IN LIVING COLOR — The classic Keenan Ivory Wayans sketch comedy series has become a staple of holiday marathons over the years, and July 4th is no exception. Aspire TV, 10:00AM ET - 6:00PM ET
JAG — Reruns of the grand daddy of the NCIS franchise are jumping to WGN, starting with a Fourth of July marathon. WGN America, Thurs 9:00am ET - Midnight
KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS — An eight-hour Kardashians marathon is just a typical day on E!, but why resist the urge? E!, Thurs 4:00AM ET - Noon
LAW & ORDER — Of course there's a Law & Order marathon. (Hasn't there been one every year since 1776?) Sundance, Thurs 3:00 PM - Fri 5:00am
MEET THE BROWNS — The Tyler Perry sitcom gets a six hour holiday run. BET, 9:00AM ET - 3:00PM ET
THE OFFICE — With 15 hours on offer, Comedy Central is betting you'll want to spend at least part of your holiday with the Dunder Mifflin crew. Comedy Central, 9:00AM ET - Midnight
SONS OF LIBERTY — The three-part History Channel pre-Revolutionary war miniseries jumps channels for this July 4th run. Encore Classic, 1:51PM ET - 6:19PM ET
STRANGER THINGS — With the series' third season dropping today, why not re-watch the first two seasons over hot dogs and burgers before diving into the new episodes? Streaming on Netflix
THE TWILIGHT ZONE — Decades Channel brings brings its "Rod White and Blue" marathon back for a second year, promising only the very best episodes from the classic 1959 series. (To binge the reboot, you'll need a CBS All Access subscription.) Decades Channel, Thurs 7:00AM ET - Fri 7:00 AM ET
TWO AND A HALF MEN — IFC is promising a full thirteen hours of all-Charlie Sheen (and no Ashton Kutcher) Two and a Half Men episodes. IFC, Thurs, 3:00PM ET - Fri 4:00AM ET
THE WALKING DEAD — This year's "Dead, White and Blue"marathon runs Weds-Fri, with Season 8 re-airing in its entirety on Thursday. AMC, Thurs 9:00am ET - Fri 2:00am
MOVIE MARATHONS:
AMERICAN MUSICALS — TCM is getting in the holiday spirit with Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1776 and The Music Man. TCM, 8:00PM ET - 4:00AM ET
JAWS SERIES — If you're planning to hit the beach later, this may not the series for you today. Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws II and Jaws: The Revenge. Encore, 7:00AM ET - 2:15PM ET
JOHN WAYNE MOVIES —The Searchers, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Fort Apache. TCM, Thurs 7:15AM ET - 1:45PM ET
MARVEL MOVIES — X-Men Days of Future Past, X-Men Apocalypse, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. FX, Thurs 7:00AM ET - Fri 12:30AM ET
NATIONAL TREASURE MOVIES — E! has National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. E!, Noon - 6:00PM ET and 6:00PM ET - Midnight
ROCKY MOVIES— It'll be Rocky Balboa and friends all day on Epix, which will be airing the first five movies in the franchise. Epix, 8:00AM - 9:00 PM
STAR WARS MOVIES — TNT kicks off 15 hours of Star Wars with The Phantom Menace, followed by Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One and The Force Awakens. TNT, Thurs 10:50AM ET - Fri 2:00AM ET
Jed Rosenzweig is the Founder and Publisher of Primetimer.
TOPICS: Marathons