TCM Guest Programmer: Debra Winger
The three-time Oscar nominee picks an evening’s slate of films and joins TCM host Robert Osborne to introduce them. Winger’s eclectic choices: director John Huston’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s steamy The Night of the Iguana (8 p.m.), Wim Wenders’s fantasy-romance Wings of Desire (10:15 p.m.), classic heist film Rififi (12:45 a.m.), and Gilda (3 a.m.), featuring Rita Hayworth at her most sultry. Tuesday, May 22, TCM
Frontline: Cell Tower Deaths
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America’s love affair with cellphones has come at a cost, this investigation reveals: The independent contractors building and servicing our cellular infrastructure are 10 times as likely as the average construction worker to die on the job. Partnering with ProPublica, Frontline faults wireless carriers, who set aggressive timetables for expansion but insulate themselves from responsibility with multiple layers of subcontracting. Tuesday, May 22, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Geo Bee 2012
The final round of the 2012 Geographic Bee, in which high school students vie for $50,000 in scholarship money, will air a few hours after it takes place in Washington, D.C. Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek will moderate the event, and viewers at home will see the answers in multiple-choice lists so they can play along. Thursday, May 24, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel
The Thick of It
From the creator of HBO’s Veep, this award-winning comedy series about British politics is even more mordant. Peter Capaldi stars as a ferocious, foul-mouthed strategist who dogs every step of a hapless Cabinet minister, played by Rebecca Front. This week, a BBC radio debate between the minister and a member of Parliament quickly goes awry, generating bedlam as the principals’ opposing teams rush to the studio in response. Saturday, May 26, at midnight, BBC America
Girls
The 20-something pals of the title venture to a Brooklyn warehouse party, where one of them discovers that her ex has quickly found someone new and another requires a “crack spirit guide” after smoking what she thought was marijuana. Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, and Zosia Mamet are all funny in Dunham’s wry and incisive look at four rather feckless young New York women. Sunday, May 27, at 10:30 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
House
Former cast members Jennifer Morrison, Kal Penn, Olivia Wilde, and Amber Tamblyn return for the long-running medical drama’s series finale, ominously titled “Everybody Dies.” Hugh Laurie stars as the titular Gregory House. Monday, May 21, at 9 p.m., Fox
On the Fly
Filmed at airports across the country, this new docuseries goes behind the scenes of Southwest Airlines. Thursday, May 24, at 9 p.m., TLC
J.Crew and the Man Who Dressed America
Anchor David Faber reports on the expanding fashion retailer’s success story and its CEO, Millard “Mickey” Drexler. Thursday, May 24, at 10 p.m., CNBC
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