Your TV GPS, Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert’s look at the week ahead in television, appears every Monday morning on BostonGlobe.com. Today’s column covers Aug. 28-Sept. 3.
If you’re a fan of light murder mysteries, now’s a good time. We’re in the middle of the third season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” which remains endearing and benefits from guest stars Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, and Andrea Martin. We’re coming close to the finale of the second season of Apple TV+’s “The Afterparty,” as we get closer to finding out who killed the groom.
And we can still enjoy memories of Peacock’s “Poker Face,” the Natasha Lyonne series from Rian Johnson, writer and director of the comic mystery movies “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion.” The show, which finished its first season in March, inspired a lot of memories of another light whodunit, “Columbo,” with Peter Falk.
These shows provide a great alternative to two prominent trends: the super-serious true-crime documentaries that are everywhere (especially Netflix) and the drier franchise crime shows such as “FBI.” They make for easy viewing, they feature some strong comic actors, and they provide the satisfaction of solving crimes without having to deal with the usual gallons of blood, cynicism, and existential challenges.
It’s a tried-and-true genre, and its ranks include “Monk,” “Dead to Me,” “Search Party,” “Psych,” “Bad Sisters,” “Trial and Error,” and “Castle.”
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
1. Time to swash some serious buckle. Netflix is premiering a live-action, English-language series on Thursday adapted from Eiichiro Oda’s manga series, which has already spawned an animated show, feature films, and video games. Called “One Piece,” it’s an adventure about young pirates in search of a treasure — with the Navy on their tail (trailer here). The ensemble cast includes Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar.
2. Back in the aughts, Dan Buettner collaborated with National Geographic to find the places where people live longer than average — Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, Calif., all of which have the highest rates of living centenarians. Now Netflix is premiering a series based on the book he wrote, “The Blue Zone: 9 Lessons of Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” The series, “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” travels around the world to look into the diet and lifestyles of those elders. (Here’s the trailer.) The four-parter premieres on Wednesday.
3. “Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland” is a British docuseries about the violent conflict generally known as “The Troubles,” and it follows it from its beginnings in the 1960s through the following three decades. The five-parter, which premieres Monday at 9 p.m. on GBH 2 (trailer), is directed by James Bluemel, who told the Globe that calling the conflict “The Troubles” “is erasing a level of horror that really shouldn’t be erased.”
4. On Sunday, three crime shows are returning on PBS, locally doing business as GBH 2. At 8 p.m., “Professor T,” starring Ben Miller as a genius criminologist with obsessive behavior, is back for season two. At 9 p.m., the “Masterpiece” series “Unforgotten,” about solving cold cases, is back for season five. And at 10 p.m., the “Masterpiece” series “Van der Valk” is back for season three, with more of Marc Warren’s Dutch detective.
5. “The Conversations Project,” due Monday on Hulu, is a series inspired by the Dark Tower gatherings of the Black philosophers, writers, musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, and actors who defined the Harlem Renaissance. It gives us unscripted talks with Black guests — athletes, entertainers, astronauts — led by three hosts, Elaine Welteroth, David Lawrence, and Marc Spears. (The trailer is here.)
6. That high-profile deal between Netflix and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is bringing us a new five-part docuseries about the Invictus Games, the international sporting event for injured servicemen and servicewomen founded by Prince Harry in 2014. “Heart of Invictus,” which premieres Wednesday, will follow a number of international competitors in the games, and Harry will appear in it (the trailer).
CHANNEL SURFING
“Justified: City Primeval” The last episode of the miniseries. FX, Tuesday, 10 p.m.
“Archer” The 14th season premieres. FXX, Wednesday, 10 p.m.
RECENTLY REVIEWED
“Only Murders in the Building” The third season is a silly pleasure. Hulu
“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” Sigourney Weaver stars in this domestic-abuse drama. Amazon
“Minx” The comedy returns in good form for season two. Starz
“Justified: City Primeval” Timothy Olyphant returns as Raylan Givens in this miniseries. FX, Hulu
“The Afterparty” Season two of the murder-mystery comedy is set at a wedding. Apple TV+
“Full Circle” A dynamic thriller from Steven Soderbergh. Max
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at matthew.gilbert@globe.com. Follow him @MatthewGilbert.