The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

The best programs on TV this week

Franklin & Bash

In this series’s second-season opener, brash lawyers Jared Franklin and Peter Bash use a water tank to prove a point to a judge (guest star Martin Mull), who warns: “If I end up on the Internet…” This high-energy romp has engaging leads (Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and interesting supporting players and guests, including Malcolm McDowell, Reed Diamond, Kevin Nealon, and Ernie Hudson. Tuesday, June 5, at 10 p.m., TNT

The Runaway

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Based on a novel by British crime writer Martina Cole, this gritty series follows a pair of adolescent sweethearts in 1960s East London as they struggle to escape the downdraft of their sordid origins. In the first of six episodes, a violent act of self-defense changes the pair’s lives forever. Stars Jack O’Connell (Skins) and newcomer Joanna Vanderham are excellent in a drama that delivers all the blunt (and frequently bloody) impact of Cole’s 1997 book. Saturday, June 9, at 10 p.m., Ovation

The 66th Annual Tony Awards

Neil Patrick Harris returns for his third stint hosting Broadway’s big night, airing live from New York’s Beacon Theatre. Leading nominees include the musical Once, with 11 nominations, followed by Nice Work If You Can Get It and Porgy and Bess, with 10 apiece. Bernadette Peters will receive the Isabelle Stevenson Award for her work in animal adoption, and Hugh Jackman will receive a special Tony. Sunday, June 10, at 8 p.m., CBS

Untamed Americas

Male gentoo penguins perform mating jigs in the Falkland Islands; in the Sea of Cortés off the coast of Mexico, giant Humboldt squid cannibalize their kin. Such stunning sights crowd this four-hour, two-night miniseries, which investigates the wilds of the Americas, from Alaska to Patagonia. Sunday–Monday, June 10–11, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel

Veep

In the season finale of this scorchingly cynical satirical series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a U.S. vice president, the veep heads to Ohio to endorse a congressman’s run for governor. But with her disapproval rating at 66 percent, her endorsement is no longer welcome, forcing aides to devise a desperate strategy. Sunday, June 10, at 10 p.m., HBO

Other highlights

Fast n’ Loud

Two Dallas car aficionados find and restore vintage vehicles in this new docuseries. Wednesday, June 6, at 10 p.m., Discovery

Necessary Roughness

Callie Thorne returns to her Golden Globe–nominated role as a Long Island therapist who applies her tough-love methodology to a pro football team and other high-profile clients. Wednesday, June 6, at 10 p.m., USA

Saving Hope

This new medical drama has a supernatural twist: A comatose chief of surgery roams his own hospital in spirit form while his fiancée, also a surgeon, tries to save him. Michael Shanks and Erica Durance star. Thursday, June 7, at 10 p.m., NBC

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