The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

No Reservations

Outspoken chef and author Anthony Bourdain is focusing on nontourist destinations in the seventh season of his outstanding travel and food series. Future episodes will find him sampling regional cuisine in Nicaragua and Cambodia. In the season opener, he visits Haiti, where he views the devastation of last year’s earthquake and talks to activist actor Sean Penn about relief efforts. Monday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m., Travel Channel

American Treasures

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Two archaeology professors crisscross the U.S. in this new series, assessing at each stop the significance of artifacts possessed by everyday people. This week, they head to Texas and New Mexico, investigating the myth of the livestock-ravaging chupacabra, examining a musket ball that may contain bone fragments of Gen. Sam Houston, and analyzing a pocket watch purportedly owned by the Apache Kid. Tuesday, March 1, at 10 p.m., Discovery

Independent Lens—Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story

Cyntoia Brown was 16 when she shot and killed a 43-year-old Tennessee man after he’d picked her up and taken her home. This disturbing documentary takes up the story when she’s tried as an adult and sentenced to life, but it also turns back the clock to reveal a childhood of abandonment and abuse, and an adolescence during which Cyntoia was forced into prostitution by a boyfriend. Tuesday, March 1, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings

American Masters—Troubadours: Carole King/James Taylor & the Rise of the Singer-Songwriter

Rare performance footage from the 1960s and ’70s highlights this ebullient profile of two friends who helped bring a new intimacy to the era’s pop music. Such peers as David Crosby, Jackson Browne, and Bonnie Raitt add their perspectives. Wednesday, March 2, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Race and Rage: The Beating of Rodney King

In March 1991, a videotape of Rodney King being beaten by four LAPD officers shocked the world. CNN anchor Don Lemon interviews King about the beating, the riots that followed the acquittal of the officers, and his life today. Friday, March 4, at 8 p.m., CNN

Other highlights

American Experience: Triangle Fire

A look back at the March 1911 fire that killed 146 people at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, triggering a series of workplace reforms. Monday, Feb. 28, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Modern Family

Jay’s December-May marriage is spotlighted as he plans twin crypts for himself and his bombshell wife. Ed O’Neill and Sofia Vergara lead the ensemble cast of this funny sitcom. Wednesday, March 2, at 9 p.m., ABC

The Essentials

Alec Baldwin returns for a third season as co-host of this showcase of classic movies. This week: Cool Hand Luke. Saturday, March 5, at 8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies