Amy Poehler produces and narrates the new lifestyle series “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,” streaming on Peacock.
Inspired by the bestselling book of the same name by Margareta Magnusson, the series puts the accent on “Gentle,” with a few side orders of absurdity. For the uninitiated, “Death Cleaning” is about getting rid of a lifetime of accumulated possessions so your children or relatives, friends or neighbors won’t be faced with the difficult task of throwing away your stuff after you’ve passed — and, quite possibly, while they still are grieving your loss, a time when treating your things as junk might seem disrespectful.
“Swedish” uses comedy and Poehler’s tongue-in-cheek voiceover to confront many of the topics we’d rather avoid — such as mortality and overconsumption.
The first subject of “Cleaning” is a brash, larger-than-life Midwesterner who spent much of her life as a singer/entertainer in a restaurant in Aspen, Colo. Since retiring, she’s spent a great deal of time traveling and amassing odd pieces and erotica from all over the world.
The Swedish death cleaners, Katarina Blom, Ellinor Engstrom and Johan Svenson, arrive with a fresh perspective.
They like their host’s expansive personality, but worry she’s built a shrine to her past and the erotic pieces she finds so amusing might be off-putting to visitors. In some ways, she’s entombed herself in a disturbing, unwelcoming museum. So, getting rid of the clutter not only will provide a relief to her survivors but give her a way of opening herself up to new people and opportunities.
The Swedish stars are stylish and amusing in their own right. This series, with its emphasis on tough but gentle advice and fresh vantage points, might remind some of the “Queer Eye” franchise in all the best ways.
This is not Poehler’s first Scandinavian project. She co-produced her brother Greg’s comedy, “Welcome to Sweden,” an NBC sitcom that debuted in 2014.
• Harry Styles and Will Ferrell appear on the very last episode of “The Late Late Show With James Corden” (11:35 p.m., CBS). Ferrell was one of Corden’s first guests when he took over the show in 2015, and Styles has been a frequent guest and collaborator in his “Carpool Karaoke” bits.
The evening also includes the prime-time special “The Last Last Late Late Show With James Corden Carpool Karaoke Special” (9 p.m., CBS), including an appearance by Tom Cruise of “Top Gun: Maverick” fame. Does anyone want to hear him sing?
• Now streaming on HBO Max, the David E. Kelley-produced series “Love & Death” stars Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons as mild-mannered Texas churchgoers who embark on a sexual affair that ends with the violent death of a spouse in the early 1980s. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same story was dramatized in the 2022 Hulu series “Candy,” starring Jessica Biel.
• Netflix series “Firefly Lane” embarks on the second half of its second and final season, and “Sweet Tooth,” also on Netflix, begins its second.
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
• Experts prognosticate as the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft (7 p.m., ABC) takes place at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo.
• Evidence casts a shadow on Maxwell’s husband on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
CULT CHOICE
Geena Davis, Madonna, Lori Petty, Rosie O’Donnell and Tom Hanks star in director Penny Marshall’s period piece “A League of Their Own” (7:30 p.m., BBC America, TV-PG), about an all-female baseball league that emerged during World War II when many male players were wearing different uniforms. Prime Video adapted “League” for a series run and has announced a final second season of four episodes.
SERIES NOTES
An offer from out of the blue on “Young Sheldon” (7 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... An assassin might have killed the wrong spouse on “Law & Order” (7 p.m., NBC, TV-14) ... “Next Level Chef” (7 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Teenage heartache on “Ghosts” (7:30 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) ... A stranger with a bomb wants Margaret to change her tune on “So Help Me Todd” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... Frank feels his age on “Animal Control” (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Taking stock at the cat show on “Call Me Kat” (8:30 p.m., Fox, TV-14) ... Terror at the U.N. on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Prince Harry is booked on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (10:35 p.m., CBS, r) ... Jimmy Fallon welcomes Drew Barrymore, Lizzy Caplan, Young Mazino and The National on “The Tonight Show” (10:34 p.m., NBC) ... Chris Pratt and Lukas & Micah Nelson appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (10:35 p.m., ABC).