The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

last updated 8 January 2015

China’s First Emperor

This three-hour documentary, co-produced with China’s national television network, tells the story of the Qin Shi Huangdi, who in 240 B.C. founded an empire that endured for two millennia. Reenactments portray how he conquered vast territory with an enormous army, imposed unity and law with an iron hand, and then became increasingly paranoid and obsessed with immortality. Monday, Aug. 4, at 9 p.m., History Channel

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Actually, the West Lake Restaurant in southern China is the biggest eatery of any kind in the world, according to Guinness World Records. At the 14-acre complex, 300 chefs prepare five-star cuisine for as many as 5,000 diners a day. In chronicling West Lake’s complex inner workings, this colorful four-week series reveals much about the dynamics of contemporary Chinese society. Monday, Aug. 4, at 9 p.m., Sundance Channel

In Fall 2006, four Baghdad high schoolers—a Christian, a Kurd, a Shiite, and a Sunni—were given cameras and filmmaking training to document their senior years. The result looks at the Iraq war and Iraqi culture from the inside, but also proves that certain things are universal. The boys play, obsess over girls, listen to hip-hop music, and complain about homework—even as their lives are disrupted by explosions, gunfire, and electricity blackouts. Thursday, Aug. 7, at 8:30 p.m., HBO

A cult hit in the U.K., this sci-fi series follows a team of zoologists faced with prehistoric critters that keep popping through holes in time and into the present day. The British seem to have a knack for bringing off this sort of outlandishness with a straight face, and the excellent computer effects come from the people behind the Walking With Dinosaurs documentaries. Saturday, Aug. 9, at 9 p.m., BBC America

Over the 17 days of the Summer Olympics, 10,708 athletes from 205 countries are slated to compete for 302 medals in 28 sports. NBC plans 3,600 hours of coverage across seven networks—NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo, and Universal HD—as well as online. Three-quarters of the coverage will be live, much of it in prime time, including all swimming finals and a large share of the gymnastics competition. The opening ceremonies—which will feature a Parade of Nations into the 91,000-seat “bird’s nest” Beijing National Stadium and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron—begin at 8 p.m., Friday, Aug. 8 on NBC and NBC HD. For up-to-date schedules, consult NBCOlympics.com. Friday, Aug. 8–Sunday, Aug. 24

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