The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Silencing the Song: A Fallen Afghan Star

The award-winning 2009 documentary Afghan Star followed contestants competing in Afghanistan’s version of American Idol. This follow-up focuses on the most controversial of them, a woman who enraged traditionalists when her head scarf slipped during a performance. The filmmakers catch up with her six months later, when she still fears not only for her own life but for that of her unborn child. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m., HBO2

NOVA: Making Stuff

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

The New York Times technology reporter David Pogue has stepped in as host of the science series for four episodes focused on a current revolution in the materials used to create our built environment. This week’s episode, “Smaller,” shows how tiny our devices could get—from nano­machines that could battle cancer from inside the body to ultrafast computer chips only one atom thick. Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings

Portlandia

Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen and rock musician turned actor Carrie Brownstein play multiple roles in this new sketch series set in Portland, Ore., “where young people go to retire.” The show takes a none-too-kind but frequently funny look at organic restaurants, feminist bookstores, urban bicycling, and more. Kyle MacLachlan guest-stars this week as Portland’s mayor, who’s looking for an official song. Friday, Jan. 28, at 10:30 p.m., IFC

Boomtown

Parshall, N.D., a town of 1,073, was struggling economically until oil was recently discovered beneath it, making some residents overnight millionaires but bringing others only stress. Chronicling the various effects of the town’s dramatic reversal of fortune, this documentary series illuminates both the benefits and the costs of domestic oil and gas production. Saturday, Jan. 29, at 10 p.m., Planet Green

Kennedys’ Home Movies

Marking the 50th anniversary of JFK’s inauguration, this two-hour documentary retells the saga of the Kennedy clan through their own home movies. The film provides an intimate perspective on such key events as the death of Joe Kennedy Jr. during World War II, JFK’s 1960 election, and the assassinations of John and Robert. Stockard Channing narrates. Sunday, Jan. 30, at 9 p.m., TLC

Other highlights

Joan and Melissa: Joan Knows Best?

This reality series offers a sequel of sorts to the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, following Rivers as she moves from New York to daughter Melissa’s L.A. home. Tuesday, Jan. 25, at 9 p.m., WEtv

Fairly Legal

Sarah Shahi stars in this new drama as a lawyer turned mediator. In this week’s episode, she seeks a settlement for a man wrongly imprisoned for 22 years. Thursday, Jan. 27, at 10 p.m., USA

Kidnap & Rescue

With kidnappings a growing problem around the world, including in the U.S., this new series follows two specialists in bringing victims home safely. Saturday, Jan. 29, at 10 p.m., Discovery