Britbox’s cozy murder mystery series “Ludwig” returns for a second season Tuesday. Puzzle constructor John (pen name Ludwig) is now consulting as himself for the police, rather than masquerading as his missing twin brother, James (both played by David Mitchell). His place with the police is still somewhat tenuous, and might be even more so if they realized he was still trying to poke around police files to see what might have led to his brother vanishing. He’s assisted as usual by James’s wife, Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin), who has her own ideas about how to get answers. And for the Venn diagram of people who watch both this and “The Pitt”: No, Gerran Howell, who appeared in the first season of “Ludwig” and both seasons of “The Pitt,” is not in this season of “Ludwig,” at least not in the early episodes.
Ethan Hawke returns in season 2 of “The Lowdown,” out Wednesday at 9 p.m. on FX and Hulu. The first season was widely praised; Globe TV critic Chris Vognar wrote about Hawke’s frequently bruised “truthstorian” Lee Raybon as part of the grand tradition of reporters who are “good at making enemies.” The show’s Oklahoma setting provided plenty of background color for storytelling; it premiered around the same time as Peacock’s Toledo-set “The Paper” last year, offering two different yet compelling glimpses of modern journalism outside the big coastal cities. Both shows are now back for their second seasons.
OK, stick with me here: “VisionQuest,” out Wednesday on Disney+, is the story of the new iteration of Paul Bettany’s Avengers character, who was given the memories of a prior version of the character, who was killed off in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” Hey, they’re based on comic books — everyone dies and comes back in those. He’s accompanied here by James Spader, who played Ultron way back in 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in a voice role, but appears onscreen with a majestic beard in the TV series. I haven’t seen it yet, but as a huge fan of Diane Morgan’s inept mockumentary host Philomena Cunk character, I feel the Cunk-heads may want to know that Morgan is in this series. Probably not as Cunk, although I can promise any Disney executives reading this column that a Cunk Marvel show would have me seated and ready. Her superpower is the accent, clearly.
If “‘Friday the 13th’ prequel series” sounds like your thing, don’t miss “Crystal Lake,” out Thursday on Peacock. Linda Cardellini stars as the classic horror character Jason’s mother, Pamela. The movie studio A24 produced this streaming series, which drops all episodes at once.
Every comedian brings their own comic sensibility to their work, but it’s safe to say that the late Norm Macdonald was one of a kind. In “Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald,” out Friday on Netflix, the one-time “Weekend Update” host gets the documentary treatment courtesy of director Judd Apatow, with a host of his peers weighing in on his legacy.
Edmund Hillary may have gotten his place in the history books for being part of the first group to climb Mount Everest, but in “Tenzing,” out Friday on Apple TV, Tenzing Norgay, the Nepalese/Indian Sherpa who helped him climb to the top, gets the biopic treatment. Genden Phuntsok plays Norgay, with Tom Hiddleston stepping in as Hillary.
Lisa Weidenfeld can be reached at lisa.weidenfeld@globe.com. Follow her on X @LisaWeidenfeld and Instagram @lisaweidenfeld.
