The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
The best programs on TV this week
Mann v. Ford
Between 1967 and 1971, the Ford Motor Co. dumped industrial waste in New Jersey near the homeland of the Ramapough Mountain Indians, who afterward suffered cancers, miscarriages, and other health problems. This documentary follows the community’s epic legal battle against Ford and the Environmental Protection Agency, which declared the area cleaned up in the ’90s—only to return it to the federal Superfund list in 2006. Monday, July 18, at 9 p.m., HBO
Ludo Bites America
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This docuseries follows five-star French chef Ludo Lefebvre and his wife, Krissy, as they open “pop-up” restaurants across America, each one offering a different menu and operating for just a week. In the premiere, they run into trouble with an experienced owner when they try to open a LudoBites in a well-known café in Santa Fe. Tuesday, July 19, at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel
Web Therapy
Friends alumna Lisa Kudrow is the creator and star of this improvised comedy, which began life as an award-winning Internet series. Kudrow plays Dr. Fiona Wallice, a psychotherapist with a radical approach: replacing 50-minute face-to-face sessions with three-minute webcam sessions. Victor Garber guest-stars in the TV premiere, as Dr. Wallice’s exasperated husband. Tuesday, July 19, at 11 p.m., Showtime
Rescue Me
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In Rescue Me’s seventh and final season, volatile New York fireman Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) has much to be irked by, including the budding friendship between his wife and his ex-mistress, and a news crew’s interest in his cousin, a fellow firefighter who died on 9/11. The show’s blend of comedy and tragedy is as distinctive as ever; the scenes between Leary and Maura Tierney, as a cancer patient, are especially strong. Wednesday, July 20, at 10 p.m., FX
The Curious Case of Curt Flood
Though he was an outstanding center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, the late Curt Flood is best-known for his 1969 challenge to Major League Baseball’s reserve clause, which bound players to their original teams. This profile reveals how Flood’s lonely and unsuccessful legal battle led to the free-agency system that has benefited other ballplayers ever since. Friday, July 22, at 6 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
Martha Stewart Presents: Women With Vision
The domestic doyenne talks about passion and leadership with Google exec Marissa Mayer, Metropolitan Museum of Art President Emily Rafferty, and architect Elizabeth Diller. Monday, July 18, at 8 p.m., Hallmark Channel
Rizzoli & Isles
The title characters’ visit to a spa is anything but relaxing when they discover a murder, and learn that the victim was a pregnant surrogate mother. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander star. Monday, July 18, at 10 p.m., TNT
Top Gear
Race-car driver Tanner Foust, analyst Rutledge Wood, and actor-comedian Adam Ferrara return for a second season of this irreverent look at car culture. Sunday, July 24, at 10 p.m., History