With 4th of July falling on a Tuesday this year, you might find yourself with a little extra time on your hands. And there’s no better way to fill it than by binge-watching some fantastic TV shows!
If your ideal version of the long weekend is being cooped up inside on the couch where the AC is blasting and the mosquitoes aren’t bothering, we put together a watch guide just for you!
Don’t waste time looking for something to watch—we’ve rounded up a comprehensive list of recommendations that are perfect for the 4th.
Seriously, there’s something for everyone.
So, kick back your shoes, grab the popcorn, hot dogs, and drinks, and get ready to watch your way through the patriotic long weekend!
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For Superhero Fans
Black Lightning – 4 seasons
Truth, justice, and the American way — that’s what this CW show is all about. A retired superhero is forced to leap into action and suit up once again when his daughter, a justice seeker herself, is recruited by a street gang. The DC Comics series doesn’t reinvent the superhero wheel, but it infuses the genre with new life and invigorating plots while providing commentary on timely social issues.
Watch on Netflix now!
Doom Patrol – 4 seasons
Hailed as one of the best DC Comics shows, the series doesn’t frown upon oddities and differences but embraces them as superpowers. Doom Patrol is described as “part support group, part superhero team” as it’s made up of people who underwent horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities fighting for a world that would quickly turn its back on them.
Watch Doom Patrol on Max
For the Horror Fans
American Horror Story – 10 seasons
The anthology horror created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk is hailed as groundbreaking because, well, you haven’t seen anything quite like it. July isn’t synonymous with watching horror shows, but there’s something so American about willingly going out of your way to scare yourself. And each season embraces a different period and theme that all draw, to some degree, from American roots. Some of the favorites are Hotel (a grimy LA hotel run by Lady Gaga’s countess), Cult (set in a Murderous Michigan town), Coven (a school of witches in New Orleans), and Asylum (the show’s version of an LGBTQ conversion therapy camp)—just to get your interest piqued.
Watch it on Hulu now.
For History Buffs
Hamilton (Disney+)
Hamilton isn’t a TV show, per se, but it deserves a spot on the list because it’s Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s successful Broadway musical detailing the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. If you watch anything this Independence Day, make it Hamilton. Miranda made sure it features a pre-show announcement, intermission, and post-show announcement, so you’ll feel like you truly shelled out upwards of $200 a ticket!
Timeless – 2 seasons
Did you ever wish you could hop into your time machine and experience some of the biggest moments in history? Well, Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus get to do just that, but it’s not all fun and games since they’re on a mission to stop Rittenhouse, a nefarious government organization, from changing the world as we know it. The series takes you on an adventure to meet some of the most prolific icons in history including Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, and Harry Houdini. And, since you are traveling through a history book, you’ll have a few brush-ins with the villains, too.
Watch on Hulu now!
For Those Looking for a Teen Thrill
Outer Banks – 3 Season
Netflix’s teen adventure drama finds four friends from the “wrong side of the road” going on a treasure hunt for $400 million dollars that leads them to answers about the mysterious death of John B’s father. While the series is a fun escape and embraces the carefree, surf culture, it tries to be too many things at once, so it’s easy to get lost in the muddled storytelling. John B may need a map to find the treasure, but you might need a map to keep up with all that’s happening. That being said, don’t give up — if you make it to episode 6, the action really picks up from there!
Watch it on Netflix now!
Stranger Things – 4 Seasons
You can never go wrong with binge-watching Netflix’s mainstay sci-fi thriller set in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Maybe it’s because season 3 of Netflix premiered on July 4, 2019, but despite the spooky factor, the series always gives me Fourth of July vibes.
Watch it on Netflix now!
For Sports Fans
All American – 2 seasons
If the CW series sounds like it might be based on a true story, that’s because it is. It navigates the journey of one promising African-American football player from an inner-city high school who is recruited by a team in Beverly Hills. The message is ambitious, but the show does a good job of delivering it, and Daniel Ezra gives a performance worthy of a standing ovation. If you want to be an all-American, you’ve got to watch this show now.
Watch it on Netflix now.
Glow – 3 seasons
Is there anything America loves more than professional wrestling? Especially nostalgic wrestling of the 80s. In the series, an out-of-work actress turns to the world of spandex to find her way. Honestly, the only thing more American than wrestling and sports is rooting for the underdog and finding a way to make something out of nothing.
Watch it on Netflix now.
For a Dose of Nostalgia
The Baby-Sitters Club – 2 seasons
If you remember going to the school library and renting these books out then this Netflix reboot is for you. The modern-day coming-of-age series is rooted in friendship with your colleagues while touching upon crushes, growing pains, and hustling at your start-up.
You can watch the series on Netflix.
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