Independent Lens: The Revolutionary Optimists
For residents of Calcutta’s slums, former attorney Amlan Ganguly is an agent of hope. Ganguly teaches children of the city’s poorest neighborhoods how to mobilize their communities and fight for change, using street theater, dance, and raw data. This inspiring documentary focuses on three of the children Ganguly mentors as they advocate for vaccinations and clean water and work to set up schools. Monday, June 17, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Sex: How It Works
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Latest Videos FromThe Week
You probably get the basics, but this two-hour special will set you straight on everything you didn’t know about sex that you thought you did. A 30-year-old virgin, an avowed asexual, and an accomplished pickup artist are among the case-study subjects whose stories help illuminate the current science on attraction, arousal, orgasm, and procreation. Tuesday, June 18, at 8 p.m., National Geographic
Wilfred
Not all of America has been ready for a dark comedy series about an ongoing hallucination—a man in a dog suit who appears to be simply a dog to all but one neighbor. But as it enters its third season, the U.S. version of an award-winning Australian show has a solid following, new leadership, and an impressive lineup of special guests, including Gina Gershon. Elijah Wood and Jason Gann return as co-stars. Thursday, June 20, at 10 p.m., FX
Crimes of the Century
Oscar winner Ridley Scott has joined CNN’s team. Trying his hand at straight nonfiction, the director of Alien, Gladiator,and Black Hawk Down will be serving as producer on this stylized series about notorious American crimes. The first episode uses never-before-seen footage to revisit the terror created in 2002 by Washington, D.C., snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. Sunday, June 23, at 9 p.m., CNN
Copper
The New York of 1865, a city ruled by Tammany Hall and roiled by draft riots, provides the backdrop for this series about an Irish police detective (Tom Weston-Jones) working the dangerous Five Points district. Donal Logue joins the cast as a returning war hero who becomes boss of the Sixth Ward. Sunday, June 23, at 10 p.m., BBC America
Other highlights
Blood and Oil
In this new reality series, the operators of a family-run Ohio oil company fight to stay afloat during a regional drilling boom that attracts some big-time competition. Tuesday, June 18, at 10 p.m., Discovery
Futurama
Matt Groening’s animated comedy about life in the 31st century has once again been canceled, but that still leaves a 13-episode final-season run. Wednesday, June 19, at 10 p.m., Comedy Central
Whodunnit?
Like a game of Clue come to life, this new competition series from CSI creator Anthony Zuiker puts contestants in a mansion and challenges them to solve a staged murder. Sunday, June 23, at 9 p.m., ABC
