Fox, 3:00 p.m. ET
This first semifinal game of the 2019 FIFA women’s World Cup pits the U.S.A. against the England team, which means three of this tournament’s four top scorers will take the field at the same time: forward Ellen White for the England team, and Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe for the U.S. squad. Each of these women has scored five goals thus far in the tournament – and it’s likely at least one, in today’s highly anticipated game, will add to her personal total.
ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET
July 4 is just around the corner, which means so is the annual competitive food-bingeing competition, Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. This new 30 for 30 documentary widens the definition of sports by following the rivalry, a dozen years ago, of Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut, two of competitive eating’s most memorable masticators.
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
Tonight TCM presents a double feature combining two silent movie masterpieces, each of which is a dizzyingly inventive and pioneering work of science fiction. First is George Melies’ 1902 short film A Trip to the Moon, basically the first sci-fi film ever made. Then, at 8:30 p.m. ET, comes Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterwork Metropolis, with one of cinema’s all-time most famous robots: the Maschinenmensch, played by Brigitte Helm in both human and mechanical form (pictured). The robot exoskeleton costume is on display at Berlin’s TV and Film Museum, which I visit every time I hit the city, because it also has great displays on everything from Metropolis and M to Fitzcarraldo and Das Boot.