Top of the Lake
Director Jane Campion (The Piano) leaps into prestige TV with this chilling six-hour miniseries. Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss proves magnetic as a headstrong detective who’s visiting her picturesque New Zealand hometown when she’s enlisted in a search for the pregnant 12-year-old daughter of a local drug lord (Peter Mullan). Meanwhile, a commune for abused women has sprung up on the town’s lakeshore, giving Holly Hunter the chance to play a mesmerizing guru. Monday, March 18, at 9 p.m., Sundance
Bates Motel
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What was Norman Bates like as a teen? In this intriguing new series inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho but set in the present, Norman and his pretty, middle-aged mother are making a fresh start after family tragedy and have bought a California motel. Given viewers’ expectation of future horrors, the series’s premise may be hard to sustain. But the stars do their share: Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) makes 17-year-old Norman troubled but likable, while Vera Farmiga proves wonderfully hard to pin down.Monday, March 18, at 10 p.m., A&E
Splash
Is there anything celebrities can’t—or won’t—do? They dance the tango and the paso doble. They go to rehab. And now they dive, too. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kendra Wilkinson are among the notables who will try to twist and flip their way to victory in this new reality competition. Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis does the training. Tuesday, March 19, at 8 p.m., ABC
Live From Lincoln Center: Kristin Cheno-weth The Dames of Broadway…All of ’Em!!!
Tony-winning singer-actress Kristin Cheno-weth has always had a world-class voice and cuteness to match; she’s a sort of Bernadette Peters 2.0. For PBS’s American Songbook concert series, the 4-foot-11 performer lets her gorgeous soprano shine. Sunday, March 24, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
POV: Girl Model
The modeling industry can be as abusive as it is glamorous. This 2011 documentary focuses on a 13-year-old Siberian girl as it shows how agency scouts pluck hopefuls like her out of rural obscurity to feed Japan’s fashion industry. Promised money and care, the girls are often packed into Tokyo apartments without supervision and end up owing money to their handlers. Sunday, March 24, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Other highlights
How We Invented the World
The first episode in a fascinating four-part series about iconic inventions name-checks the Titanic and actress Hedy Lamarr as it traces surprising turns in the development of the mobile phone. Tuesday, March 19, at 9 p.m., Discovery
The American Bible Challenge
Teams of experts—including nuns, rabbis, and Christian wrestlers—test their Bible knowledge as this lively game show returns for a second season. Thursday, March 21, at 9 p.m., GSN
Tanked
Wayde King and Brett Raymer’s clients don’t want goldfish in a bowl. The pair are hired to build fantasy aquariums, and watching the work get done proves surprisingly fascinating. Friday, March 22, at 9 p.m., Animal Planet
Team of bitter rivals
6 elegant homes in the Mediterranean style
Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raid
