There’s a fine line between quaint and creepy. And the new series “Happy Town” (9 p.m., ABC) walks the line. Add a little “Twin Peaks,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Desperate Housewives” and the kind of Stephen King miniseries that used to run this time of year, and you have Haplin, Minn., the picture-postcard setting for a supernatural mystery.

A teenage girl emerges from a steamy car to witness — or at least overhear — violent trouble in an ice-fishing shack. A police chief presides over a crime-free town with the help of a hapless deputy.

A pretty young woman who has just lost her mother moves to Haplin and settles in a boardinghouse filled with sassy widows whose hearts are set aflutter by Merritt Grieves (Sam Neill), a suave and mysterious stranger who has opened a movie-memorabilia shop in a town where no one seems to be interested in movies.

Just below this placid surface, townsfolk, including one of the leading citizens (Steven Weber), grieve for eight missing loved ones who vanished without a trace more than five years back. It’s hard to maintain a cheerful, chamber-of-commerce-friendly facade when half of the town seems outraged.

Why does the sheriff (M.C. Gainey) keep such a tight lid on talk of the missing? And why does he suddenly go into a trance and mutter peculiar things about someone named “Chloe”?

Why is the opulent Victorian boardinghouse’s third floor off-limits? And why does Grieves always sound like James Mason in “North by Northwest”?

“Happy Town” has a familiar, preposterous feel to it. It’s not so much predictable as something you’ve already seen before — perhaps many times. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

• The mysterious boardinghouse biddies of “Happy Town” are a far cry from the swinging seniors of “Sunset Daze” (9 p.m., WE), a silver-haired variation on the “Real Housewives” format that just happens to air after four consecutive helpings of “The Golden Girls” (7 p.m. through 9 p.m.).

The frisky and spirited women featured here include a sunny blonde who seems 40 years younger than her 68 years; a former nun in a hurry to make up for lost time; and a theater director of uncertain years whose hairdresser son is the only one who can still make her hairdo resemble Leslie Gore’s, circa 1963. He has always got time for her, except when he’s organizing the local gay rodeo.

Tonight’s other highlights

• David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) stars in the “Great Performances” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presentation of “Hamlet.”

• A football star falls under suspicion on “Lie to Me” (7 p.m., Fox).

• On two episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC), Lena Olin guest stars (8 p.m.), Sharon Stone (9 p.m.) does, too.

• The top five emerge on “American Idol” (8 p.m., Fox).

• Phil’s dad (Fred Willard) visits on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Penn Jillette asks for a little magic from the “Desperate Landscapes” (9 p.m., DIY) crew.

Cult choice

Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci share great chemistry as Julia Child and her diplomat husband in the 2009 hit “Julie & Julia” (7:55 p.m., Starz).

Amy Adams has the less pleasant role of a self-involved blogger trying to evoke Julia’s joie de vivre in a grim 21st-century setting.