1) Hip hop birthday, Showtime. Hip hop – with its surge of DJs, rappers, break-dancers and more – began on Aug. 11, 1973, historians say, with a West Bronx party. Now Showtime celebrates with a marathon. That includes highlights of “Video Music Box” at 10 a.m., followed by a film about Cypress Hill (11:30), mini-series about Supreme Team at 1 p.m. and Wu-Tang Clan (shown here) at 4 p.m. and then a film about rapper Biz Markie at 8.
2) “Asteroid City,” Peacock. One of the summer’s movie delights starts streaming. This isn’t for everyone; it has a bizarre pot and a tenuous grip on reality. But if you let it wash over you, you’ll be pleased. Director Wes Anderson and his co-writer, Roman Coppola, envision a camp for brainy science kids and their perplexed parents. Lots of stars – Steve Carell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, etc. – are included, sometimes briefly.
3) More streaming. Today brings a Gal Gadot thriller (“Heart of Stone”) to Netflix, plus two romances. Paramount+ has “Love in Tapei”; Amazon Prime has “Red, White & Royal Blue,” linking the sons of an American president and British royalty. That’s on a week that has brought Netflix’s “Painkiller” (an OxyContin mini-series) and the season-openers of Disney+’s “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” and Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”
4) “Outlander” mid-season finale and “Men in Kilts” season-opener, 8 and 9:35 p.m., Starz. Sam Heughen leaps between war and fun. As Jamie in “Outlander,” he’s in the second Battle of Saratoga, a crucial one in 1777; also, his daughter and son-in-law search for their son. As himself, Heughan joins co-star Graham McTavish in a travel series. This year, they’re in New Zealand, where McTavish played Dwalin in the Hobbit films.
5) Also: “Secret Celebrity Renovation” has JB Smoove trying to restore his childhood home. That’s 8 p.m. on CBS, followed by reruns of “Fire Country” (Vince’s judgment is clouded by a past tragedy) and “Blue Bloods” (Danny links with his brother Jamie to probe carjacking). And CMT has country stars – Lee Brice at 9 and 11 p.m., Tyler Hubbard at 10 and midnight.