‘Rabbit’ sends up TV’s ripper obsession

Somebody unlocked the cages at the primetime zoo. “Nature” (8 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings) celebrates “The Mighty Weasel,” and “NOVA” (9 p.m., PBS, check local listings) shares “Cat Tales,” while CMT brings us “Bluebird” (8 p.m. and 10 p.m.) and IFC launches “Year of the Rabbit” (10:30 p.m., TV-MA).

Only “Rabbit” isn’t about cute bunnies. This British comedy offers an insanely obscene sendup of television’s obsession with Victorian London, the era of Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper. Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows”) stars as Detective Inspector Eli Rabbit, a hard-drinking London inspector who has seen it all and then some. He’s saddled with a prim new assistant, Detective Sergeant Wilbur Strauss (Freddie Fox), who is as green as they come and completely unaccustomed to the torrents of obscenities and absurd Cockney slang that Rabbit emits when not drinking himself into stupefaction.

“Rabbit” makes slapstick use of the gore and grime of the East End’s filthy streets. In a touch right out of “Monty Python,” a street urchin is shown selling peculiar items like bottles of London fog, human lungs or other oddities. Susan Wokoma stars as Sergeant Mabel Wisbech, Britain’s first female police officer.

Rabbit’s many sources on the street include Joseph Merrick (David Dawson), better known as “The Elephant Man.” Just when you start to get the feeling “Rabbit” might be a ridiculous parody of every “Masterpiece” offering and British period mystery you’ve ever seen, Keeley Hawes (“The Durrells”) shows up as Lydia, the mysterious leader of a secret women’s organization.

While not for every taste, you have to give “Rabbit” credit for leaving no sacred cow unslaughtered.

› Hosted and executive-produced by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution” (10 p.m., History, TV-PG) profiles

the African Americans who played important roles in the fight for our country’s independence.

Best known as a basketball legend and sixtime NBA all-star, Jabbar has forged a career as an author and activist, writing and co-writing books about the Harlem Renaissance and a military history of the 761st Tank Battalion, an all-black armored unit that served during World War II.

› The 2019 documentary “Bluebird” (8 p.m. and 10 p.m., CMT) surveys the 35-year history of Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, a performance space and gathering spot for musicians both known

and unknown. Look for interviews and performance clips featuring Garth Brooks, Maren Morris, Steve Earle, Charles Esten, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Pam Tillis and Trisha Yearwood.

Located in an unassuming strip mall, with seating limited to 90 customers, the Bluebird has become a landmark essential to American songwriting. It was a central haunt in the television series “Nashville” seen on both ABC and CMT.

Contact Kevin McDonough at kevin .tvguy@gmail.com.