Forget TV, the best show to watch tonight will be outside in your backyard. Provided the skies are clear, and you stay up into the wee hours tonight, you can catch a cool shooting star display ~
 

Luckily for those watching the skies, there will be a new moon, allowing for maximum darkness just when the Perseid meteor shower will be is at its best. The meteor shower’s peak occurs during the overnight hours of Wednesday (Aug. 12) and Thursday (Aug. 13). No fancy equipment is required; just a lawn chair and your naked eyes will be enough to see the “shooting stars.”
 
The Perseids are visible from all over the Northern Hemisphere. To have the best chance of seeing a meteor, pick a dark area (as far from bright city lights as possible) and face northeast. The meteors were appear to radiate out from the constellation Perseus, hence their name: Perseids.

 
This article at Universe Today offers more viewing tips, including a constellation map showing where to focus your attention:

Kick Back, Look Up, We’re In For a GREAT Perseid Meteor Shower

Not only will the Moon be absent, but the shower maximum happens around 3 a.m. CDT (8 UT) August 13 — early morning hours across North America when the Perseid radiant is highest. How many meteors will you see? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 meteors per hour. As always, the darker and less light polluted your observing site, the more zips and zaps you’ll see.

 
If skies are clear, the Perseid shower will be visible through August 24th. But the best performance is expected tonight