The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
The best programs on TV this week
Dad’s in Heaven With Nixon
Filmmaker Tom Murray’s great-grandfather Thomas E. Murray was a brilliant inventor whose productiveness rivaled Edison’s, but his grandfather and father were both destroyed by mental illness, and his brother Chris has been diagnosed with autism. Murray’s film chronicles how Tom and Chris overcame their family’s tragic history, and how Chris found acclaim as an artist. Tuesday, April 6, at 8:30 p.m., Showtime
That Mitchell and Webb Look
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British comedy duo David Mitchell and Robert Webb return with another season of bizarre sketches and barbed satire. This week’s episode includes a parody of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot; an espionage drama created by the Lazy Writers, who never research their topics; and a postapocalyptic quiz show aired on the British Emergency Broadcast System—in which the prize is firewood. Wednesday, April 7, at 9:30 p.m., BBC America
Independent Lens: Unmistaken Child
This documentary follows the disciple of a deceased Tibetan master on a four-year search for a young boy whom he believes to be his master’s reincarnation. A rare look inside traditional Buddhist culture, as well as a remarkable chronicle of one man’s spiritual quest, the film has won a number of awards at international festivals. Wednesday, April 7, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Masterpiece: The Diary of Anne Frank
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Newcomer Ellie Kendrick brings vivacity and charm to the title role in this splendid new dramatization of Anne Frank’s account of hiding from the Nazis in wartime Amsterdam. Debuting on Holocaust Remembrance Day, this gripping adaptation hews more closely to its source material than have previous versions, conveying the claustrophobia and dread of the Franks’ fugitive existence. Sunday, April 11, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
The Tudors
This glossy cross between a period drama and a prime-time soap begins its fourth and final season in the sweltering summer of 1540, when an aging yet still lusty Henry VIII presents his fifth wife: 17-year-old Katherine Howard. Though he’s happy with his giddy young bride, Henry’s growing cruelty and caprice point to trouble ahead. Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars. Sunday, April 11, at 9 p.m., Showtime
Other highlights
As the World Turns
Julianne Moore guest-stars, returning to one of two roles she played on the daytime drama from 1985 to 1988. The long-running series will end this September. Monday, April 5, CBS; check local listings
NOVA: Hunting the Edge of Space
NOVA traces the history of telescopes, from their primitive beginnings to modern observatories and the Hubble Space Telescope. Tuesday, April 6, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
24/7 Mayweather/Mosley
This four-episode series follows boxers Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley through preparations for their May 1 welterweight bout in Las Vegas. Saturday, April 10, at 10 p.m., HBO
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Cutting cables: the war being waged under the sea
In the Spotlight Two undersea cables were cut in the Baltic sea, sparking concern for the global network
By The Week UK Published
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How people-smuggling gangs work
The Explainer The Government has promised to 'smash' the gangs that smuggle migrants across the Channel. Who are they and how do they work?
By The Week UK Published
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Crossword: December 1, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published