PBS sheds light on secrets of universe

Cue Smash Mouth’s “Walkin’ on the Sun.” We’re on our way to get up close and personal with the king of our solar system. The five-part documentary miniseries “Nova: Universe Revealed” (9 p.m., PBS, TV-PG, check local listings) kicks off with the 2018 launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. This research vessel will get spectacularly close to the sun and be able to learn more about its composition and dynamics while all the time resisting its withering heat.

And that’s just for starters: “Universe Revealed” will explore not just the nature of “our” star, but the birth of all stars, and contemplate the nature of the cosmos in the distant time, some 13 billion years ago, before stars were formed.

› The subscription streaming service Shudder launches “Behind the Monsters,” a six-part docuseries discussing one scary character per episode. This singular focus allows for a great deal of obsessive fandom, passion and expertise.

In the first helping, “Michael Myers,” a chorus of “Halloween” talent and crew offer insights into the evolution of the killer character. Some say he’s not really a character at all, merely a representation of pure evil, a personality-less depiction of a killing machine whose sole purpose is to come after Jamie Lee Curtis’s character and all the unfortunates that stand between her and old Mikey.

Much is made of the development of the featureless white mask that makes Myers so malevolent. In the great tradition of cheap special effects, the mask was reportedly just an offthe-shelf “Star Trek” mask of Captain Kirk painted over to make that rubbery visage even blander and more devoid of personality.

As mentioned above, the real stars of “Monsters” are the besotted yet informed fans, podcasters, writers and reviewers who have clearly seen every iteration of these films an unhealthy number of times. They are the folks who make the horror genre hum.

Over the course of six episodes, “Monsters” will give Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Candyman, Chucky and Pinhead the same exhaustive treatment.

› Horror is hardly the only genre to take matters to extremes. Netflix streams the 2021 psychological thriller “Hypnotic,” which is very unafraid to go over the top.

Kate Siegel stars as Jenn, a woman with a very nervous disposition, who puts her fate, or at least her mind, in the hands of a “brilliant” therapist (Jason O’Mara), who gains a hypnotic hold over her thoughts, dreams and waking actions. Dule Hill also stars, as a voice of reason who suggests that her shrink may not be such a benign force.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

› Hammer’s mother becomes a patient on “Chicago Med” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

› The MLB World Series (8 p.m., Fox), Game 2.

› A cameraman follows a family of ospreys over the course of five years on “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings).

› A hacked system forces the squad to revert to old-school techniques on “Chicago Fire” (9 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

› Help from an old friend on “Chicago P.D.” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

› Gary’s best efforts fall short on “A Million Little Things” (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).