Black in America 2

(CNN, Wednesday, July 22, 8 p.m.)

CNN’s first Black in America program examined what it is really like to live as an African-American in the United States. A year later, the network drills deeper — and seeks solutions — with Black in America 2.

The first segment, “Today’s Pioneers,” focuses on adults, while the second segment, “Tomorrow’s Leaders,” turns to younger African-Americans. “Today’s Pioneers” shows a positive outlook on current lives of blacks in the U.S., while also diving into issues like marriage, jobs, and racism. Some of the statistics presented are troubling — for example, the low success rate for black marriages. On balance, though, the individuals appearing in the segment inspire and suggest there is hope for a better future in the problem areas.

“Tomorrow’s Leaders” highlights organizations that help at-risk children find their way and become successful. The outcomes shown here, too, are inspiring. — Kate Coffey

Torchwood: Children of Earth

(BBC America, Monday, July 20, 9 p.m.)

Nothing seen from two seasons of Torchwood comes close to Children of Earth, a story told in five days (five full hours). Taut, lush, big and deeply satisfying, it has the look and feel of an epic action movie, with the time and space to make the characters sympathetic and to base the shock and awe mostly on the psychology of their acts, rather than the pyrotechnics of special effects.

The Torchwood team of alien battlers is down to three members — Capt. Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) — who each give stirring performances, as do such guest stars as Peter Capaldi as the bureaucrat John Frobisher, who’s thrown into government negotiations with a deadly threat to Earth’s children, a race called the 456. Despite the intensity of the story line, divided skillfully into five acts, it even manages some of Torchwood’s signature sexiness and wry humor. It’s the perfect start to BBC America’s HD channel. — Kent Gibbons