Madam president

"Veep," which won an Emmy for best comedy earlier this year, may be forced to compete in the dramatic category in the wake of the current presidential campaign. In the season premiere, Selina Meyer is holding onto her office — and her sanity — by the slightest of threads, a predicament that hasn't persuaded her to warm up to her daughter, staff members or constituents. A quest for power has rarely been so telling, or hilarious, thanks to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose arsenal of facial expressions rivals that of Sid Caesar in his heyday.

9:30 p.m. Sunday, HBO

Stranger in a strange land

TBS' "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell," a nonconfrontational approach to race topics, didn't spark enough conversation — or audience interest. Perhaps the talented comedian will fare better with "United Shades of America," an eight-part series in which the host explores various subcultures, starting with the Ku Klux Klan.

9 p.m. Sunday, CNN

Parks and recreation

As the weather turns warmer, thoughts naturally drift toward vacation. "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," the six-part series that originally aired in 2009, offers loads of suggestions, from the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska. The 12-hour tribute comes from Ken Burns, which means the travelogue is jampacked with well-told anecdotes.

8 p.m. Mon.-Sat. TPT, Ch. 2

Bell

Neal Justin