TV This Week, July 2-8: Independence Day specials and more

By Matt Cooper

June 30, 2017 10 AM PT

SUNDAY

Your not-so-humble host finds himself in Portugal on the season finale of the foodie travelogue “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” 6 and 9 p.m. CNN

A high school track star with a troubled past tries to stay one step ahead of a transfer student-turned-stalker in the new TV movie “The Wrong Crush.” With Ricardo Hoyos, Lesli Kay, Victoria Konefa and Vivica A. Fox. 8 and 10 p.m. Lifetime

Traitor, hero or…? Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays notorious NSA leaker Edward Snowden in Oliver Stone’s fact-based 2016 drama “Snowden.” Shawnee Woodley and Nicolas Cage also star. 9 p.m. Showtime

MONDAY

The houses are small but the scenery more than makes up for it in the new series “Tiny Paradise.” 9 and 9:30 p.m. HGTV

A young Syrian filmmaker surveys the seemingly intractable crisis in his shattered homeland in the documentary “The War Show” on a new “POV.” 10 p.m. KOCE

TUESDAY

Everyone’s a wiener at the “2017 Hot Dog Eating Contest” live from Coney Island, N.Y. 9 a.m. ESPN2

All six living U.S. presidents as well as some other famous faces read from our nation’s founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, in Alexandra Pelosi’s new documentary “The Words That Built America.” 7 p.m. HBO

This year’s “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” features performers including Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley and Hailee Steinfeld, plus the West Point Band and Glee Club. Akbar Gbajabiamila, Matt Iseman and Kristine Leahy are the hosts. 8 p.m. KNBC

What do you get for the country that has everything? The Beach Boys, the Four Tops, country music’s Trace Adkins and “Hamilton’s” Phillipa Soo are among the artists helping to celebrate America’s 241st birthday in Washington, D.C., on this year’s edition of “A Capitol Fourth.” 8 p.m. KOCE

See how they do Independence Day down San Diego way in the new live special “Big Bay Boom Spectacular.” 9 p.m. KTLA

WEDNESDAY

“50 Years of Hitchcock,” Turner Classic Movies’ monthlong salute to the unsurpassed “Master of Suspense,” kicks off with the British director’s silent 1927 boxing melodrama “The Ring.” 5 p.m. TCM

Golden girl: Olympic gymnast Simone Biles puts in an appearance on a new episode of the senior-citizen talent showcase “Little Big Shots: Forever Young.” 8 p.m. NBC

The culinary competition “Cooks vs. Cons” is back for another go-round. 10 p.m. Food Network

The forecast calls for “Snowfall.” This new fact-based drama series traces the origins of the crack-cocaine epidemic that wreaked havoc in South Central L.A. beginning in the 1980s. With Damson Idris, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Carter Hudson and Emily Rios. 10 p.m. FX

THURSDAY

The new docu-special “Mosquito” looks at the dangers posed by these vile, virus-spreading insects whose bite is even worse than that annoying high-pitched whining sound they make when they get into your bedroom while you’re just trying sleep. Aargh! 9 p.m. Discovery Channel

Pack a parka for a new season of the Alaska-set docu-series “Life Below Zero.”10 p.m. National Geographic Channel

It’s dish, dish, dish in the new series “Bossip on WE,” featuring scandalicious stories from the gossip website. 10 p.m. WE

FRIDAY

“Castlevania” is a new not-for-kids animated drama based on the classic action-horror-fantasy videogame series. Any time, Netflix

Zendaya is back undercover on a new season of the kid-friendly spy comedy “K.C. Undercover.” 8 p.m. Disney Chanel

Don’t forget the Motor City: Host Josh Denny chows down on big bites in Detroit on a new episode of “Ginormous Food.” 8 p.m. Food Network

What did the U.S. government know about space aliens, and when did they know it? Find out in the new special “UFO Conspiracy: Hunt for the Truth.” 10 p.m. History Channel

William Powell and Myrna Loy play high-society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles in the franchise-starting 1934 mystery-comedy “The Thin Man.” 10 p.m. KCET

SATURDAY

“Firefly’s” Jewel Staite plays a — oh, who cares, it’s “Firefly’s” Jewel Staite! — in the new thriller “The Wrong Bed: Naked Pursuit.” 8 p.m. Lifetime

Ladies and gentlemen, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt are floating in space in director Morten Tyldum’s effects-laden 2016 sci-fi fable “Passengers.” Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishburne also star. 8 p.m. Starz

The kid-friendly sitcom “School of Rock” unleashes a new season. 8:30 p.m. Nickelodeon

The 2016 terror tale “Blair Witch” is a “why bother” sequel to the far superior 1999 low-budget chiller “The Blair Witch Project.” Seriously, why bother? 10 p.m. Epix

“Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andy Samberg and the WWE’s John Cena play doped-up dopes on the cycling circuit in the star-studded sports-doc send-up “Tour de Pharmacy.” 10 p.m. HBO

All creatures great and small rock around the clock in the new nature doc “Animal 24.” 10 p.m. National Geographic Channel

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TV listings for the week of July 2 - 8, 2017

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