1) “Underdogs” (shown here), 9 and 9:54 p.m., National Geographic. This gem offers a three-Sunday, five-hour look at lowly creatures. The first hour (also on ABC at 9:03) shows superpowers, from invisibility to superglue slime. The second has terrible parents, including one that puts her eggs on an 800-foot cliff, with no exit strategy. Ryan Reynolds narrates.
2) “Patience” debut, 8 p.m., PBS. Burrowed into the records room of the police station is Patience Evans — autistic, brilliant, unnoticed. The two-week opener pulls her into crimesolving. Perfectly played by Ella Maisy Purvis, she’s one of TV’s most compelling characters.
3) “Grantchester” season-opener, 9 p.m., PBS. Amid Eastertime joy, there’s a rarity — a dead man wearing a bunny head. It’s an interesting mystery that also sets some ongoing themes for the season. There’s romance — a shortage for Alphy, a surplus for police-station colleagues. And there’s the frustration Geordie’s wife finds at her work.
4) Movies. In real life, Liz Murray faced fierce obstacles — working odd jobs at 9, homeless at 15, sometimes sleeping in stairwells. Her story is beautifully told in “Homeless to Harvard” (2003), at 8 p.m. on the Lifetime Movie Network. And in fictional life, Barbie has it much easier; the delightful “Barbie” (2023) is at 8 and 10:30 p.m. on TNT.
5) ALSO: “The Walking Dead: Dead City” is at 9 p.m. on AMC (rerunning at 10), a week from its two-hour finale. At 10, PBS starts rerunning “Atlantic Crossing,” an interesting eight-parter about Norway’s Princess Martha and her wartime friendship with Franklin Roosevelt (Kyle MacLachlan).