1) “A Capitol Fourth,” 8 p.m., PBS stations. The 4th of July party starts a day early. Most networks (including PBS) will have big, 250th-birthday events Saturday. That nudges this concert to tonight on most (but not all) PBS stations, many rerunning it at 9:30. There’s music (including Trace Adkins) from the Capitol lawn and fireworks (shown here at the Capitol in a previous year) at Mount Vernon.
2) “Disney Celebrates America,” all night, ABC. At 8 p.m. is a rerun of Monday’s “Pursuit of Happiness” special, anchored in Disneyland and Disney World; at 10 is a compilation of “America the Beautiful” segments. And after local news, a marathon begins at 11:37. It will take us to the midnight ball-drop, then specials and the Saturday parties.
3) “Independence Eve Live,” 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. ET, CNN. We’re used to seeing Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen celebrate the New Year’s Eve ball drop. So now they’ll be at Times Square, where a midnight drop marks the start of the country’s 250th birthday.
4) “Dutton Ranch” season-finale, Paramount+; also, 8 p.m., Paramount Network. The first eight episodes have been filled with fierce jolts; now the ninth hits a peak. Beth and Rip plan to intercept Beulah’s illegal cattle shipment … their son Carter has vanished … and Rob-Will and Juaquin scheme. Despite straining credibility, it’s a great hour.
5) “Boston Blue,” 10 p.m., CBS. This reruns the episode that helped fold Det. Maria Baez into this series. In “Blue Bloods,” she was Danny’s police partner, friend and (in the final moments) girlfriend. Now the two work together to catch a serial home invader.