Jeopardy!
The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Fox News’ Chris Wallace are among the contestants playing for charities during Power Players Week, the third in the game show’s long history. Alex Trebek hosts the pretaped competition. Monday–Friday, May 14–18; check local listings for time and channel
American Masters: Johnny Carson—King of Late Night
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During the 30 years he served as the high priest of an American late-night comedy ritual, Johnny Carson shaped the national conversation and launched many stand-up performers’ careers. At his peak, he was watched in 15 million households, double the current audiences of Leno and Letterman combined. Making good use of access to Carson’s personal files, Emmy-winning filmmaker Peter Jones also interviews the performer’s friends, family, and colleagues. Monday, May 14, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
Most American TV viewers know Craig Ferguson as a comedian and late-night host, but he got his start in entertainment playing drums in his native Glasgow in a punk rock band. This week he pays tribute to those roots with five shows filmed in Scotland, featuring visits to his childhood home and to such landmarks as Edinburgh Castle. Guests will include actress Mila Kunis and author David Sedaris. Monday–Friday, May 14–18, at 12:37 a.m., CBS
Independent Lens: Precious Knowledge
The success rate of the Mexican American Studies program at Arizona’s Tucson High School was impressive: 93 percent of its students graduated, with 85 percent bound for college. Yet the model program, implemented to counter the high dropout rate of Mexican American students, came under fire during a recent statewide battle to ban all ethnic-studies courses. As cameras follow the mounting controversy, students, school officials, and lawmakers weigh in. Thursday, May 17, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt
In this eighth TV movie based on a Robert B. Parker mystery series, Tom Selleck returns as the title character, an unlikely former small-town police chief who here shakes off forced retirement to investigate his successor’s murder. Like the previous installments, this one delivers an intriguing whodunit, colorful characters, and a distinctive, brooding tone. Sunday, May 20, at 9 p.m., CBS
Other highlights
Kurt Sutter’s Outlaw Empires
The creator of the biker drama series Sons of Anarchy looks at real-life gangs in this new series, starting with L.A.’s Crips. Monday, May 14, at 10 p.m., Discovery
Bones of Turkana
This award-winning film spotlights Richard Leakey’s work across four decades to pinpoint man’s origins using fossil records in northern Kenya, where the paleontologist continues his groundbreaking research. Wednesday, May 16, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Empire
A comparison of the Empire State Building and the rising One World Trade Center shows how skyscraper construction has changed. Sunday, May 20, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel
