HAS TIME SHIFTING GOTTEN OUT OF HAND?

Whatever happened to one thing after another? When did we give up on time? No, I’m not talking about our COVID-related miasma or making some vague 4/20 joke. I’m discussing the all-too-prevalent habit of scripts that ask viewers to hop, skip and jump through chronological shifts, flashbacks and flash-forwards. It was great on “Lost,” essential to “Pulp Fiction” (8 p.m., BBC America, TV-14) and brilliant in the first season of “True Detective” on HBO. But I’m here to state that it’s getting too common to seem interesting.

The new(ish) Netflix series “The Serpent” takes this trend to a new extreme. The tale of a creepy gem dealer (Tahar Rahim) and his fetching Quebecois girlfriend (Jenna Coleman, “Victoria”), who left a trail of dead bodies on the Southeast Asian “hippie trail” of the mid-1970s, it continually revisits new scenes from new perspectives, telling viewers “five months earlier” and then “six months later” with bewildering regularity. It’s not hard to follow. It’s just difficult to determine if this approach adds to the story or merely piles up additional minutes, turning a three-hour movie into an eight-part series.

Debuting tonight on Freeform, “Cruel Summer” (9 p.m., TV-14) plays similar games with time. Overlapping stories take place between 1993 and 1995, as Kate (Olivia Holt) ages from 15 to 17, changes from a slightly nerdy outcast with braces to an overly assured 16-year-old dating the hottest guy in school to a sullen 17-year-old embroiled in a legal nightmare with tabloid overtones. Her troubles cleverly play with the ultimate cable news trope: the missing (and presumed murdered) pretty blond as ultimate victim and media obsession.

“Summer” constantly bounces around, asking us to notice and re-observe events that contribute to Kate’s dilemma. It would be unfair to reveal too much except to greatly admire Holt’s performance(s) as three distinct phases of the same unraveling personality.

Except for really big phones and analog VHS tapes, it’s not entirely clear why this has to be set in the early Clinton era. It’s also supposed to take place in a small Texas city, but nobody has a trace of an accent.

The absence of local patois also bugged me about the recent Showtime series “Your Honor.” It made a big deal of its New Orleans setting, but characters might as well have been from Toronto. I’m from New Jersey, and my wife was raised in Dallas. Take it from me: Accents are a thing! And they contribute to setting and character.

“Cruel Summer” is produced by Jessica Biel, who brought us the twisty series “The Sinner.” She was also a teen star on “7th Heaven,” so that might explain this series’ ‘90s vibe.

— Hulu begins streaming the hazy multipart docuseries “Sasquatch,” about allegations of angry Bigfoot types killing pot farmers in Mendocino Country in 1993. It’s unclear if this is some half-baked myth or a complete spoof. Or if that even matters.

TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

— Events cause a rift between Mina and the Raptor on “The Resident” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

— Gretchen Carlson and Don Lemon discuss journalism and family history on “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings).

— Bombs away on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

— Lachrymose, mostly, on “This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

— A vigilante group erupts on “Prodigal Son” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

— “Deadliest Catch” (8 p.m., Discovery, TV-14) returns for its 17th season.

— Internet crusaders can be murder on “FBI: Most Wanted” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

— Max discovers that things can be unfair on “New Amsterdam” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

— Cassie and Jenny feel the heat on “Big Sky” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).

CULT CHOICE

Prisoners (Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman) plan an escape from Devil’s Island in the 1973 thriller “Papillon” (8 p.m., TCM, TV-MA).

SERIES NOTES

Torres looks up his long-absent father on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … Taking on bullies on “Young Rock” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Rebel Wilson hosts “Pooch Perfect” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … ‘98 problems on “The Flash” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG) … Home schooling proves difficult on “Kenan” (8:30 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

Junior’s place could use some picking up on “black-ish” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Escape comes with a price on “Supergirl” (9 p.m., CW, TV-PG) … A birthday becomes a big production on “mixed-ish” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

LATE NIGHT

Jimmy Fallon welcomes Jane Fonda and Robin Thede on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Hank Azaria, Brandi Carlile, Dulce Sloan and Emmanuelle Caplette visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).