Box tops
Mark Burnett's revival of "The Contender" features 16 headstrong middleweight contenders having it out in the ring and at their living facilities. As reality-competition series go, this is no knockout, but some of the actual bouts are genuine nail biters.
8 p.m. Friday, Epix
Cyber wars
In the new game show "SafeWord," celebrity guests risk losing points unless they let their famous friends post embarrassing messages about them on social media. Tiffany Haddish and Issa Rae contribute to the playground antics in the season premiere.
10 p.m. Friday, MTV
Summer school
"Hoop Dreams" director Steve James returns to Chicagoland for "America to Me," a 10-part series that tags along with several teenagers at the massive Oak Park/River Forest High School as they struggle to maintain their grades and racial pride. The two goals often come in conflict, which explains why several school administrators opposed granting James access to students. His persistence pays off; this is one of summer's most engaging docu-series.
8 p.m. Sunday, Starz
Thin blue line
"Crime + Punishment" has nothing to do with Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, but the two-hour documentary is as devastating as any piece of Russian literature. Director Stephen Maing recruits New York police officers as undercover accomplices, exposing their supervisors as administrators more interested in railroading minorities than mediating the peace.
Now streaming on Hulu
Neal Justin
