The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

High School Confidential

Candid yet affecting, this documentary series follows 12 girls through four years of joys and traumas at a suburban Kansas high school. Many of the girls fit roles familiar to any generation, from cheerleader to outcast, but the problems they face—alcohol use, pregnancy, fractured families, and a brain tumor, to name a few—have a decidedly contemporary intensity. Monday, March 10, at 10 p.m., WE

Joe Louis: America’s Hero … Betrayed

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As the world heavyweight champ for 11 straight years, Joe Louis transcended racial prejudice to become a symbol of hope and pride to all Americans during the Depression and World War II—making it all the more shameful that he was harassed by the IRS later in his life. Jimmy Carter, Maya Angelou, and Louis’ son Joe Louis Barrow Jr. are among the notables who pay tribute in this profile. Tuesday, March 11, at 7:45 p.m., HBO

Lewis Black’s Root of All Evil

In this new series, curmudgeonly comic Black presides over weekly debates about which of two phenomena is more “evil”: Oprah Winfrey or the Catholic Church, for example. Some of the hit-or-miss humor finds its target, but the format is primarily a setup for politically incorrect zingers by comedians such as Greg Giraldo and Andy Kindler. Wednesday, March 12, at 10:30 p.m., Comedy Central

Who Knew? With Marshall Brain

In this new series, How Stuff Works author Marshall Brain shows how various products are manufactured. The debut episode’s first topics—speedboats and golf balls—involve Brain’s specialty, robotics. But the show really comes to life when he visits the Zambelli Fireworks company, whose wares are still made by hand. Thursday, March 13, at 8 p.m., National Geographic Channel

Lost

As TV’s most improbable but compulsively entertaining yarn unfolds, Juliet discloses some startling news about Sun to Jin, while Sayid and Desmond finally meet the captain of a mysterious freighter. Elizabeth Mitchell, Yunjin Kim, and Daniel Dae Kim are among the featured players in “Ji Yeon.” Thursday, March 13, at 9 p.m., ABC

Other highlights

How It Was: Death at Kent State

This look at the 1970 shootings of student protesters at Kent State includes an interview with one of the indicted National Guardsmen. Tuesday, March 11, at 7 p.m., National Geographic Channel

Deserving Design

Designer Vern Yip remodels rooms for a couple who raise funds to combat cystic fibrosis. Wednesday, March 12, at 9 p.m., HGTV

All listings are Eastern time.

Show of the week

John Adams

This six-week miniseries aims to present an unvarnished view of America’s creation through the eyes of Founder John Adams. The seven-part production, based on David McCullough’s best-selling biography of the second president, is diligent about historic detail and stirring without stooping to hagiography. Paul Giamatti captures Adams’ passion and unwillingness to suffer fools gladly, while Laura Linney’s Abigail Adams is every bit his equal partner, a protofeminist pillar of shrewdness and strength. The cast includes the scene-stealing Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Dillane as a phlegmatic Thomas Jefferson, and David Morse as George Washington. Sunday, March 16, at 8 p.m., HBO

Movies on TV this week

Monday, March 10

Hamlet (1948)

Though sharply abridged from Shakespeare’s text, director Laurence Olivier’s screen version of the tragedy is widely acclaimed. He earned his only Best Actor Oscar for the title role. 10 p.m., TCM

Tuesday

An Unmarried Woman (1978)

This archetypal feminist film, chronicling a Manhattan divorcée’s journey to self-reliance, received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress (Jill Clayburgh), and Best Screenplay (director Paul Mazursky). 7:30 p.m., FMC

Wednesday

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

A seductive con artist, an uptight lawyer, and bungling criminals angle for stolen jewels in this hilarious farce featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Kevin Kline, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role. 8 p.m., Encore

Thursday

Mystery Train (1989)

A seedy Memphis hotel is the setting for three offbeat stories in director Jim Jarmusch’s deadpan comedy-drama. 6:15 p.m., IFC

Friday

Billy Liar (1963)

In this classic of kitchen-sink realism, Tom Courtenay portrays a young British man who escapes from his drab surroundings into Walter Mitty–esque fantasy. With Julie Christie. 8 p.m., Flix

Saturday

The Good Shepherd (2006)

A spy’s transition from idealism to disillusionment parallels the development of the CIA in this thinking-man’s espionage thriller starring Matt Damon. Robert De Niro directed. 8 p.m., HBO

Sunday

Dreamgirls (2006)

Best Supporting Actress winner Jennifer Hudson steals this screen version of the Broadway musical from her co-stars, who include Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, and Eddie Murphy. 7:45 p.m., Cinemax