Civil Warriors
Created to mark the Civil War’s 150th anniversary, this three-hour, three-part program follows the emotional journeys of 11 Americans as they seek insights into their forebears’ experiences of the conflict. Descendents pore over letters and other materials left by their ancestors, including privates in both the Union and Confederate armies, a nurse, a surgeon, and the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Monday, April 11, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel
American Experience: The Great Famine
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Latest Videos FromThe Week
Before he became a Great Depression scapegoat, Herbert Hoover may have saved more lives than anyone else in history during the devastating famine that struck Bolshevik Russia in 1921. This documentary tells the largely forgotten story of how a pre–White House Hoover led a massive American relief effort that fed nearly 11 million Soviet citizens daily despite the suspicions of Lenin’s government. Monday, April 11, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton
Author Richard Brookhiser wrote and hosts this unconventional look at a controversial Founding Father. The show visits Hamilton’s Caribbean birthplace, sketches his wartime and Wall Street milieus, and re-enacts his fatal duel with Aaron Burr. To explain Hamilton’s legacy, it also features a colorful range of commentators, including urban gang members, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and publishers Larry Flynt and Rupert Murdoch. Monday, April 11, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
Returning for its second season, this award-winning series follows chef Jamie Oliver as he continues his campaign against unhealthful eating and childhood obesity in America. In the season premiere, he struggles to rally community support when the Los Angeles Unified School District rejects his bid to reform its school-lunch menu. Tuesday, April 12, at 8 p.m., ABC
Gun Fight
Barbara Kopple (Shut Up and Sing) directed this new examination of the debate over guns in America. She follows a survivor of the Virginia Tech massacre and an emergency-room doctor as they campaign against easy access to firearms, particularly the type of gun-show sales captured by Kopple’s hidden cameras. Also spotlighted: victims of gunfire violence and a disillusioned NRA member. Wednesday, April 13, at 9:30 p.m., HBO
Other highlights
Independent Lens—Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
This new profile features a rare interview with the late painter, who catapulted to fame in the ’80s after turning from graffiti to neo-Expressionism. Tuesday, April 12, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Paul Reiser Show
The Mad About You star returns to Thursday-night comedy as a fictionalized version of himself. Thursday, April 14, at 8:30 p.m., NBC
Friday Night Lights
The award-winning drama about a Texas town where life revolves around high school football returns for its fifth and final season. Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m., NBC
