United States of Tara
The Season 2 premiere of creator Diablo Cody’s quirky comedy about a suburban wife with multiple personality disorder begins with Tara discarding the clothing of her “alters,” who haven’t appeared in months. But a neighbor’s suicide may change that—and give gifted star Toni Collette another opportunity to channel her talent into multiple characters. Monday, March 22, at 10:30 p.m., Showtime
Independent Lens: Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)
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Filmmaker Monika Navarro was 20 when two of her uncles were deported from the U.S. to Mexico; one wound up in an unmarked grave soon afterward. Her documentary is not only about the tangled relations between the two countries, but also about the tangled history of her family. Tuesday, March 23, at 10 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Great Performances: Dance in America
Performed only sporadically since its 1958 debut, Jerome Robbins’ NY Export: Opus Jazz blends ballet with jazz and ballroom dancing. This ambitious film adaptation was created on location in New York with dancers in street clothing, a choice that inevitably evokes Robbins’ dynamic choreography for the movie West Side Story. Wednesday, March 24, at 8 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Chandon Pictures
This darkly funny series from Australia stars its creator, Rob Carlton, as a low-rent filmmaker who fancies himself an artistic “documenteur.” In the premiere, a wedding video becomes an exposé of “the love that dare not speak its name”—in this case, that between cousins. The show has a cringe-inducing style of comedy similar to the original, British version of The Office. Friday, March 26, at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel
Masterpiece Classic: Sharpe
Sean Bean returns to the role of dashing 19th-century British soldier Richard Sharpe in two new adventures. In “Sharpe’s Challenge,” he comes out of retirement to rescue an old friend in India; Padma Lakshmi (Top Chef) co-stars. The following week brings “Sharpe’s Peril,” in which a willful bride-to-be leads Sharpe into a dangerous predicament. Sundays, March 28
and April 4, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Other highlights
Great Performances at the Met: Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Joseph Calleja stars in a new production of the Jacques Offenbach opera based on stories by German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann. Wednesday, March 24, at 9 p.m., PBS; check local listings
Ghost Cat: Saving the Clouded Leopard
Three female conservationists venture into Southeast Asia’s largest black market to save endangered clouded leopards from poachers and encroaching development. Saturday, March 27, at 9 p.m., Smithsonian Channel
Breakout
This new series documents noteworthy prison breaks, starting with the December 2000 escape of the “Texas Seven.” Sunday, March 28, at 9 p.m., National Geographic Channel
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