It might not seem so promising: an eight-hour miniseries about a bank robbery gone awry and the hostage standoff that results.

For starters, didn’t we see something similar last fall on the ABC flop “The Nine”? And on the Fox flop “Standoff”?

Besides, this show is airing on Spike TV, which, with its “Get More Action” programming strategy, hasn’t exactly raised the bar for original drama.

And yet “The Killing Point,” whose two-hour premiere airs at 10 p.m. on Sunday, turns out to be riveting television.

The premise is simple: a cadre of military veterans botch a quick-and-easy, nobody-gets-hurt scheme to rob a Pittsburgh bank branch.

During the negotiations that ensue, the robbers’ leader goes toe-to-toe with the Pittsburgh police negotiator in a back-and-forth struggle for control. Meanwhile, the hostages amplify the drama, emerging as more than caricatures.

John Leguizamo plays “Mr. Wolf”, the gang leader whose troubled history as a US soldier serving in Iraq makes him suspect but also sympathetic. Donnie Wahlberg plays Horst Cali, whose self-doubts and undermining superiors make his tough job even tougher.

“We go all the way together,” Mr. Wolf tells his comrades as the pressure builds.

Which way it ends will keep you guessing — and watching.

Other shows to look out for:<$>

[bul] Can he build himself a city, from the sand up? His Highness Sheik Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras al-Khaimah has a lofty dream: a brand-new capital in the middle of his desert kingdom. The United Arab Emirates is reinventing itself on a global scale, and the emirate of Ras al-Khaimah wants a piece of that future. Taking a cue from its sister-state Dubai, this sleepy oasis aims to build itself into significance. But the sheik’s ambitious plans must be delivered on a tight budget, for Ras al-Khaimah has hardly any oil. And the Norwegian architects chosen to design a convention and exhibition centre face a challenge of their own: to meld their own ideas with the decidedly opposing vision of their client. Find out more on “The Sand Castle,” this week’s edition of “Wide Angle,” the PBS series of documentaries about global affairs. Hosted by Daljit Dhaliwal, it airs 10 p.m. on Tuesday.

[bul] Expect plenty of stories on “What the Window Washer Saw”, a truly high-concept series that each week will profile a landmark skyscraper, providing a window on the power, ambition and accomplishment it represents. Airing on VOOM HD Networks’ Gallery HD channel — which is devoted exclusively to visual arts — the series turns window washers into tour guides for a bird’s-eye view of these towering works of art. The premiere offers a high-def perspective on Chicago’s Sears Tower, still the tallest tower in the United States. The series airs at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

[bul] It’s the world’s largest and most successful food service business, boasting of “Billions and Billions Sold.” Now CNBC goes behind the counter for “Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire” to find out what it takes to serve more than 52 million people daily. The one-hour special profiles a single McDonald’s restaurant in the US. Also on the programme’s menu: A visit to McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., including its test kitchens and labs and a trip to China, where McDonald’s has 780 stores and growing (roughly half of McDonald’s 30,000 stores are located outside the US). The program is reported by Carl Quintanilla, co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” and airs at 10 p.m. Wednesday.

[bul] Darren Brown doesn’t pretend to have paranormal abilities. He is not a psychic or a medium. Instead, this British entertainer bills himself as a mentalist and psychological illusionist. Using a mixture of suggestion, misdirection and showmanship, he claims to predict and control human behaviour. Judge for yourself when you watch “Mind Control with Derren Brown,” a six-episode series premiering at 11 p.m. Thursday on Sci Fi Channel.