You can’t get much more Nordic or noir than the five-part Swedish docuseries “Pray, Obey, Kill” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-14). Directed by Henrik Georgsson (“The Bridge”), the series revisits a lurid Swedish murder case from 2004.
Complete with period footage and interviews with officers at the time of the crime and in the present day, “Kill” makes great use of recorded calls to the Swedish equivalent of 911, conversations that betray a certain lack of alarm in the face of grisly and bloody events.
The calls bring police to a peculiar compound housing members of a tightly knit religious sect. A minister’s wife is found dead and a man wounded.
The minister himself is not present in his wife’s bedroom and claims to have been unaware of her death until informed hours later by police. Their physical distance offers hints to the social and sexual dynamics that may have contributed to the murder.
“Kill” offers many panoramic views of the remote setting, but they are not the standard aerial drone footage we’ve come to expect. When the camera pulls back, we realize that we’re looking at a tiny model town created by the police to explore various scenarios. The miniature village has been created with a love of detail that director Tim Burton would envy and admire. Even the toy-sized police cars have flashing blue lights. It’s one of the odd cinematic touches to this haunting series.
The police were spooked by the cultlike setting even before they discovered blood or bodies. As one officer explains, in subtitled English, the place gave off a “Twin Peaks” vibe.
— Acorn streams the third season of the Welsh melodrama “Keeping Faith.” Eve Myles stars in the title role as a lawyer forever struggling with the disappearance of her husband, treachery at the family law firm, furtive organized crime elements and a gaggle of young children. Faith is hard as nails yet continually on the verge of some emotional storm, putting on a brave face one moment and then tottering on high heels and squeezing her no-longer youthful shape into some party dress the next. The formula gets tiresome.
But it has nothing on “Rebel” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-14), the preposterous ABC drama repeating its pilot tonight. Based on the life of activist Erin Brockovich, “Rebel” stars Katey Sagal as a continually ticked-off and provocatively dressed crusader. Like Sagal, much of the cast, including Adam Arkin, Andy Garcia, John Corbett, Mary McDonnell and Sam Palladio, are familiar from earlier series.
— “Independent Lens” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings) presents the 2020 documentary “Down a Dark Stairwell,” exploring the reaction of two different and marginalized communities after an Asian American police officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man in Brooklyn.
— Big ensemble casts work except when they don’t. Buried treasure inspires a frantic chase in the 1963 comedy “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (5:15 p.m., TCM, TV-G), starring a who’s who of comedians and directed by Stanley Kramer, best known for earnest dramas. A touchstone film nominated for six Oscars.
— Featuring a cast as varied as James Corden and Judi Dench and based on an enduring Broadway hit, the 2019 musical adaptation of “Cats” (10:10 p.m., HBO Family) seemed ghastly to critics and virtually unwatchable to movie-goers. Its spectacular failure may be the biggest movie moment before screens were darkened by COVID-19.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Family secrets on “9-1-1” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14).
— One last assignment for Ness on “All Rise” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Elizabeth Vargas hosts the season finale of “America’s Most Wanted” (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14).
— An old case reminds Bull why he got into the business of jury science on “Bull” (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— A girl loses her father to space junk on “Debris” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Set in the 1970s, the 2019 dramady “Zeroville” (9:40 p.m., TMC) stars James Franco as a Hollywood-obsessed man who befriends a budding starlet (Megan Fox).
SERIES NOTES
Jealousy on “The Neighborhood” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Chairs swivel on “The Voice” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … Ryan Seacrest hosts “American Idol” (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Spencer stews on “All American” (8 p.m., CW, TV-14) … Taking charge on “Bob Hearts Abishola” (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Painkiller takes stock of his dark past on “Black Lightning” (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Snoop Dogg and H.E.R. on “The Tonight Show” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … John Oliver and Chloe Zhao visit “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (12:35 a.m., NBC).
