The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Independent Lens: The State of Arizona

Whatever form the war on illegal immigration takes next, Arizona has probably already been through it. This searing documentary focuses on the battle over a 2010 state law that empowered police to demand immigration papers during routine stops, a fight that eventually pulled in the Supreme Court and backfired on the local champions of such get-tough measures. Monday, Jan. 27, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

James Bond creator Ian Fleming wasn’t just a scribe with a vivid imagination. This four-part miniseries based on Fleming’s real-life exploits as a British intelligence officer during World War II reveals that more than a trace of Fleming’s immensely popular spy novels was autobiographical. Dominic Cooper plays the future author as a committed playboy—before duty and a special woman (Lara Pulver) intervene. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 10 p.m., BBC America

Great Performances: Barrymore

It takes a great actor to play a great actor. Christopher Plummer won a Tony Award for his performance as a past-his-prime John Barrymore, and then reprised the role for this film. Plummer’s Barrymore, ravaged by alcohol consumption and poor health, begins reflecting on the highs and lows of his storied career as he prepares for a 1942 revival of Shakespeare’s Richard III, a play that helped secure his living-legend status two decades earlier. Friday, Jan. 31, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

The Moaning of Life

The “idiot” is back, this time to contemplate life’s big questions. Karl Pilkington, who reluctantly traveled the world in the Ricky Gervais–produced series An Idiot Abroad, has more recently been wandering the world exploring how various cultures understand and express life’s purpose. In this episode, Pilkington takes gigs as a handyman in Japan and a catwalk model in California as he ponders the myriad rewards of work. Saturday, Feb. 1, at 10 p.m., Science Channel

Super Bowl XLVIII

Will the weather in East Rutherford, N.J., upstage the title tilt between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos? The first Super Bowl played outdoors at a northern site will count on Hawaii native Bruno Mars and California’s Red Hot Chili Peppers to heat up the halftime show. Opera great Renée Fleming will sing the national anthem. Sunday, Feb. 2; kickoff at 6:25 p.m., Fox

Other highlights

Puppy Bowl X

The competitors should be extra cute in the 10th playing of the Puppy Bowl, whose halftime show will be headlined by Internet sensation Keyboard Cat. Sunday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m., Animal Planet

Fish Bowl

Those who find even the Puppy Bowl too stimulating can tune in instead to four hours of live video shot by a camera trained on a goldfish bowl.Sunday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m., Nat Geo Wild

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Fresh off its Golden Globe win for Best TV Comedy Series, Andy Samberg’s police sitcom will roll out a new episode following the Super Bowl. Sunday, Feb. 2, at 11 p.m., Fox