Frontline: Secret State of North Korea
And you thought his father had issues. At 30, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has already proven more than willing to imprison or execute his people to control all information within the nation’s borders. In this documentary, contraband videos and interviews with recent defectors draw back the curtain, revealing the scale of the nation’s dysfunction as well as glimmers of serious dissent. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Duck Dynasty
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Latest Videos FromThe Week
All is “happy, happy, happy” again on cable TV’s most popular reality show, as the recent brief suspension of 67-year-old Phil Robertson won’t prevent the duck-call inventor from appearing with the rest of his Louisiana clan in the premiere episode of the series’s fifth season. The show’s network drew fire from viewers and conservative politicians when it tried to discipline Robertson for disparaging homosexuality, so expect a record-breaking audience for his return. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 10 p.m., A&E
The Spoils of Babylon
Funny has never sported this much bad hair. In episode three of this new six-part spoof of 1980s miniseries like the The Thorn Birds, Will Ferrell again assumes the guise of a pompous novelist to introduce the night’s drama, unleashing a fresh onslaught of feathered manes and roiling passions, with the spotlight on stars Tobey Maguire and Kristen Wiig. Can brother and sister Devon and Cynthia Morehouse tame their incestuous desires long enough to seize the family’s oil fortune? Maybe. Thursday, Jan. 16, at 10 p.m., IFC
True Detective
Not even two weeks into the new year, HBO has already delivered a show that promises to rate among the best of 2014. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are magnificent in this dark series, playing Louisiana detectives who are forced to revisit a 1990s investigation into a macabre murder. In this week’s flashback episode, the two sleuths work to maintain control of the case as the boss considers handing it over to an occult-crimes task force. Sunday, Jan. 19, at 9 p.m., HBO
Girls
Keeping a generational phenomenon afloat can be challenging, but fans of Lena Dunham’s downbeat portrait of Brooklyn-style young adulthood have yet to be disappointed as the series turns 3. Though Dunham’s Hannah is edging toward stable relationship and a modicum of success as a writer, she remains a complex character—tough to like but impossible to ignore. Sunday, Jan. 19, at 10 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
The Blacklist
As one of fall’s big hits returns from a brief hiatus, guest star Alan Alda wants to kill James Spader’s criminal kingpin for getting too cozy with the FBI.Monday, Jan. 13, at 10 p.m., NBC
Justified
In his fifth season as a Kentucky lawman, Timothy Olyphant will battle a gator-farming crime family. Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 10 p.m., FX
The Following
Kevin Bacon has a new love interest as the FBI vet he plays gets pulled into another serial-killing probe. Sunday, Jan. 19, at 10:30 p.m., Fox
