Find The Perfect 4th Of July Marathon For You

The Fourth of July is a holiday generally associated with fireworks, barbecuing, coolers full of beer (if you're of drinking age), going to the beach, spending time with friends and/or family, and plenty of other things that are quintessentially summer. But for people who don't particularly enjoy summer (or, in my case, the inevitable sunburn that comes along with any outdoor summer activity), the Fourth of July is also a good day to stay in and avoid the heat. Thankfully, the networks have us covered with plenty of Fourth of July TV marathons to keep us busy.

Sure, you could go out and have a barbecue on the beach, but why would you do that when you could sit in front of the television with some popsicles, ice cream, and a glass that's basically just ice with a little bit of lemonade mixed in? Besides, since the Fourth of July falls on a Monday, that leaves you plenty of time to pack all the celebrating into the weekend, before taking the actually holiday to relax and rejuvenate before heading back to work on Tuesday. These TV marathons won't watch themselves! So, here are seven TV marathons to choose from on this Fourth of July.

Real Housewives

Bravo is coming in like a reality TV wrecking ball with 16 straight hours of the Real Housewives. From 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bravo will be playing Real Housewives of New Jersey, then the network will switch coasts and air Real Housewives of Orange County from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Grey's Anatomy

For more scripted drama, Lifetime will be playing a Grey's Anatomy marathon in the early part of the day. Get your Fourth of July marathoning started bright and early at 8 a.m. on Lifetime.

Homeland

If you'd rather watch CIA agents attempt to save the world — or if you haven't caught up on the latest season yet — Showtime will be airing Homeland Season 5 starting with the premiere at 8 a.m. through to the season finale beginning at 7 p.m.

The Twilight Zone

What's a holiday without a Twilight Zone marathon? (Honestly, not a real holiday in my opinion.) As usual, Syfy has sci-fi fans covered with a major Twilight Zone marathon beginning on July 3 at 11:30 p.m. and running until July 5 at 4 a.m. That's more than 24 hours of The Twilight Zone!

Bizarre Foods America

If you want to celebrate America's independence by watching Andrew Zimmern eat strange regional cuisine from all around the country, Travel Channel will deliver. Bizarre Foods America will air from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 4.

NCIS

Now, if procedural shows are more your cup of tea, USA will be airing one of its famous NCIS marathons from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Unfortunately, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit lost the coin toss for this holiday, so that marathon will on Sunday July 3.)

Blue Bloods

But, if you're really in the mood for a police procedural set in New York City, WGN will be airing a marathon of Blue Bloods from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. So, there's a variety of procedurals to choose from this Fourth of July!

Of course, I'm disappointed none of the networks will be airing 24 hours of Independence Day on this Fourth of July, but these seven marathons have enough range to keep even the most eclectic TV viewer entertained all day!

Images: Stephan Rabold/Showtime; Giphy (6)