The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

last updated 8 January 2015

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

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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

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 “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

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