Bachelor in Paradise Goes Golden, ‘Art Detectives’ Finale and Return of Madame Blanc, Survival Stories

Bachelor in Paradise

I wonder if anyone participating in this year’s summer bacchanalia has seen Harold and Maude (a 1971 dark comedy about a young man’s romantic attachment to an eccentric, elderly woman). Probably not, but the thought comes to mind as Paradise in its 10th season beckons not just to the young, hot-bodied and feckless alumni of Bachelor Nation, but also to the more seasoned veterans of The Golden Bachelor and The Golden Bachelorette, nine (and eventually 10) of whom will descend on the Costa Rica beach hoping to find love or at least connection. While we wait to see if anyone is brave enough to cross the generational divide, it’s worth remembering that the heart wants what the heart wants, and if you’re playing the Bachelor game, it’s best to be young at heart.

Art Detectives

The diverting British mystery series ends its first season with DI Mick Palmer (Stephen Moyer) of the boutique Heritage Crime Unit torn in two directions. As always, there’s a case to solve, this one involving a “locked vault” mystery in which a precious Chinese vase has gone missing following an auction. The investigation turns up a dead body, but Mick is also tracking a missing person closer to home: his crooked father Ron (Larry Lamb), who’s being held hostage by gangsters demanding the return of a painting Ron stole years ago. To get his dad back, Mick’s going to need to bend the rules and go off the book to find the original painting, while his partner, DC Shazia Malik (Nina Singh), stays on task.

The Madame Blanc Mysteries

More fun for fans of cozy mysteries, as the intrepid antiques specialist Jean White (Sally Lindsay) returns for a fourth season of crime solving, while also pursuing romance in the south of France with her pal and sidekick, Dom Hayes (Steve Edge). In the first of two episodes, it’s Christmas Eve in the village of Sainte Victoire when a puppeteer is murdered following a performance in the town market. Then their married friends Jeremy and Judith (Robin Askwith and Sue Holderness) discover the body of a missing CEO with two rare coins over his eyes, prompting local Chief of Police André Caron (Alex Gaumond) to put Jean in charge of researching the history of the coins.

Survival Mode

With hurricane and travel season in full swing, a docuseries from NBC News Studios relives recent natural and transportation disasters with rare footage and interviews with survivors, loved ones and first responders. The premiere recalls the devastation of 2011’s tornado in Joplin, Missouri, causing families and other citizens to fight to survive the nation’s deadliest twister in more than 60 years.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• American Ninja Warrior (8/7c, NBC): The qualifying rounds end in Las Vegas, with the night’s 20 top athletes moving on to the semifinals.
• Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning (8/7c, History Channel): A two-hour biographical documentary profiles the Native American sports hero Jim Thorpe (portrayed by William Brodsky), who achieved greatness as an Olympian, an NFL star and a Major League Baseball player.
• The Librarians: The Next Chapter (9/8c, TNT): The gang experiences a collective hangover after a bachelorette party for Lysa’s (Olivia Morris) childhood bestie, and while they try to remember what happened the night before, they begin to have doubts about Lysa’s friend.
• Bitten in the Bahamas (9/8c, National Geographic): Sharkfest continues with accounts of shark attacks threatening tourism in the Bahamas. Followed by an episode of Super Shark Highway (10/9c) that follows bull sharks and great whites after dark.
• Such Brave Girls (streaming on Hulu): “Ignore, repress, forget” is the mantra for the dysfunctional British family at the neurotic heart of this BAFTA-winning dark comedy, returning for a second season.