Nothing quite lends itself to the expansive nature of the limited series quite like tales of shadow worlds, parallel universes and alternate realities.
Based on a bestselling novel by Blake Crouch, the nine-episode series “Dark Matter” arrives on Apple TV+.
When introduced, Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) is teaching quantum physics to indifferent students, sharing coffee with his attractive and busy wife (Jennifer Connelly) and teaching his teenage son how to drive. He’s a pleasant, educated everyman from Chicago. OK, an old colleague has just won a prestigious science prize, but Jason seems happy with his life.
Or is he? While on a slightly tipsy amble home from his favorite bar, he’s kidnapped and taken for a violent ride by someone who appears to be an entity from his own alternative life. So, over the series’ nine hours, he and every other member of the cast get to spin out the Rubik’s Cube of parallel roles and experiences.
If that sounds a tad exhausting, you haven’t been dumped into the trunk of a car like Jason has.
The demanding nature of the plot is exacerbated by the cursory introduction to these characters. Since we don’t really know or care about them, why should we be shocked by their “Sliding Doors” alternatives?
The story is frequently too on the nose. Why does Jason need to be a physics professor to be involved in a story involving theoretical physics? Bill Murray spun around on the karmic carousel of “Groundhog Day,” and he was just a weatherman.
And speaking of weather, does all the spooky stuff have to happen under railroad tracks? In the dark? During a downpour? I haven’t seen so much heavy-handed precipitation since “Flatliners.”
“Dark Matter” is certainly dark. But does it matter?
— Also streaming on Apple TV+, the documentary “Hollywood Con Queen” profiles a scammer who posed as an entertainment big shot only to bilk people out of their fortunes.
— Busy Philipps returns to the late-night couch with “Busy This Week” (10 p.m., QVC), chatting with guests about the events of the past seven days. For the next 10 weeks, “Busy” airs every Wednesday night. Phillips can be seen in the silly pop group comedy “Girls5Eva,” which originated on Peacock and now streams on Netflix.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— A career woman finds happiness when she returns to her small town to reconnect with an old flame in the 2020 romance “Romance in the Air” (8 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G). Also released under the title “Every Hallmark Movie Ever Made.”
— Ripley keeps Sully’s secret on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) follows a grizzly bear as she raises her cubs.
— Fretful parents discover their wayward teen has been trapped in an online auction in the 2023 shocker “Buying Back My Daughter” (8 p.m., LMN, TV-14).
— An illuminating ride-along on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— Cased closed on the season finale of “Animal Control” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— “A Brief History of the Future” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) comes to an end.
— “The Amazing Race” (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) visits the Dominican Republic.
— Distracted by the past on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, r, TV-PG, check local listings) explores the mystery of why bridges collapse.
— “Reginald the Vampire” (10 p.m., Syfy, TV-MA) enters its second season.
CULT CHOICE
The womanizing son (Paul Newman) of an honest rancher (Melvyn Douglas) cuts a swath through a Texas panhandle community in the 1963 Western “Hud” (10:15 p.m., TCM, TV-14). The first of many films and miniseries based on books by Larry McMurtry that would include “The Last Picture Show,” “Lonesome Dove” and “Terms of Endearment.” McMurtry also collaborated on the script for “Brokeback Mountain.”
SERIES NOTES
“Survivor” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “The Masked Singer” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … Mother’s Day brunch on “Abbott Elementary” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Peter crowds the coward’s corner on “Family Guy” (9:30 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … Ben’s store catches fire on “The Conners” (9:30 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … “The $100,000 Pyramid” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jen Psaki and Elyanna are booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS) … Jimmy Fallon welcomes Whoopi Goldberg and Gracie Abrams on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Jennifer Connelly, Indigo Girls and Jay Weinberg visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Taylor Tomlinson hosts “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS).
