At their best, American success stories exceed fiction in drama and revealing detail. Few stories pack as much tragedy, triumph, whimsy and hard work as the documentary “The Donut King,” airing tonight on “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
Born into poverty and raised by a single mother in Cambodia, Ted Ngoy became a captain in that country’s army only due to his wife’s family connections. After the 1975 takeover of Cambodia by the deranged and genocidal Khmer Rouge, Ted and his family fled to Thailand and then to a refugee center established at Camp Pendleton in California. An accountant and military officer, Ted took janitorial jobs before taking a training course at a local doughnut chain. Before long, he had opened his own shop and sponsored more Cambodian refugees, training them in the trade and allowing them to lease stores from him.
Soon, the Southern California doughnut business was considered a Cambodian enclave. Like many immigrants before them, they were happy to get a bottom rung on the ladder of the American dream and thought nothing of hard work, long hours and using family members as unpaid employees. Chains, including Dunkin’ Donuts, which dominated the Northeast, found the California market impossible to crack.
Among the joys of “Donut King” is its detailed look at America’s fast-food business patterns. This light pop culture motif contrasts with the historical tragedy of Cambodian genocide that Ted and his relatives left behind.
Ted’s life of donuts and dollars did not run smoothly. Awash with cash from so many franchises, he developed a dangerous gambling addiction that wrecked his businesses and lost him the respect of many of the fellow immigrants that he had sponsored as their adored “Uncle Ted.”
Some 45 years later, many of the doughnut shops face new challenges. Many are run by the children and grandchildren of their founders, and not everyone wants to remain behind the counter. Some, however, have thrived as Instagram-friendly destinations, and others are supported by locals that consider the Cambodian stores to be indie stalwarts targeted by an invasion of corporate chains.
“Donut King” also offers a history lesson in the politics of immigration. Presiding over the dismal end of the Indochina wars, as well as a mid-’70s recession, President Gerald Ford defied domestic resistance to opening America to Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees. In speeches, he praised immigrants as hardworking and enterprising, a description that “Uncle Ted” lived up to and far exceeded.
— Murder brings a hardscrabble detective to a small coastal town, where he begins a curious collaboration with a local bar owner, a sassy woman of a certain age, in the British comedy/mystery “Whitstable Pearl,” streaming today on Acorn.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— The remaining talent perform ballads and up-tempo numbers as “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) enters the first night of its finale.
— Snipers target police on “9-1-1” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— The voices of Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore animate the 2010 Rapunzel adaptation “Tangled” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
— Robert Downey Jr. used to make interesting movies; among them was the 1992 biopic “Chaplin” (8 p.m., TCM).
— Cameras enter Lola’s court on “All Rise” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A dust storm engulfs Austin on “9-1-1: Lone Star” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “In Treatment” (9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) continues with two new sessions.
— After his wife’s murder, a pastor’s defense doesn’t seem to have a prayer on “Bull” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
— After space garbage enters your life, things just aren’t the same on “Debris” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Shaun and Lea hope a camping trip might prove consoling on “The Good Doctor” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
— Defying her devout father, a young church singer (AJ Michalka) lands a record deal after her dad’s unsavory manager (Kevin Pollak) pulls some strings, leading to some moral quandaries and a crisis of faith in the 2013 musical drama “Grace Unplugged” (9 p.m., MoMax). A tale as old as “The Jazz Singer,” or even the Prodigal Son.
SERIES NOTES
Pressing the flesh on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … Saving Grace on “All American” (8 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … Hypertension on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, r, TV-PG) … The crime fighting concludes on the series finale of “Black Lightning” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Lil Rel Howery is booked on “Conan” (11 p.m., TBS, r) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Dave Grohl, Jim Jefferies and Blake Shelton on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Ewan McGregor and Casey Wilson visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
