Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” franchise) portrays private investigator Jackson Brodie in “Case Histories” on “Masterpiece Mystery!” (8 p.m. Sunday, PBS, check local listings). Based on popular novels by Kate Atkinson, “Histories” will air over the next three weeks.

Handsome, brooding, mysterious and a little odd, Brodie gets dragged into cases by strangers, neighbors and friends.

A former soldier and policeman who has left a series of burned bridges behind him, he suffers frequent nightmares about a long-buried family tragedy.

Over the course of the first installment, he solves no fewer than three inscrutable murder mysteries: one just weeks old, a second at least 17 years in the making and a 30-year-old cold case.

Brodie not only has improbable luck finding clues, witnesses and evidence, he appears shirtless quite often, something the ladies seem to like. And there are a lot of them.

“Histories” seems expertly plotted to expose Brodie to as many young female clients and victims as possible. He doesn’t seem to have any male colleagues or friends.

He does have a fetching former wife who resents that he drags his precocious young daughter on some of his assignments, exposing her to mayhem, morbidity and occasional violence.

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, “Histories” shows off the city’s architecture and surrounding landscapes with sumptuous photography.

Some viewers will find the local accents a wee bit incomprehensible and may resort to their TV’s closed-captioning feature just to figure out what’s going on.

The languid pace and gloomy atmosphere are not helped by frequent lapses into musical montage. The first “Histories” runs two hours, but seems much longer.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6 p.m., CBS): Gen. John Allen, the new commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan; new revelations about Vincent van Gogh.

• Game Seven of the American League Championship Series (7:05 p.m., Fox) may pre-empt the repeats listed under Sunday Series.

• A girl impresses a music producer on “Prank Stars” (7 p.m., Disney).

• The Bears host the Vikings on “Sunday Night Football” (7 p.m., NBC).

• A witness may be hiding something on “The Good Wife” (8 p.m., CBS).

• School politics on “Desperate Housewives” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Nucky wants to make a federal case of his local troubles on “Boardwalk Empire” (8 p.m., HBO).

• Serial murder mayhem on “Dexter” (8 p.m., Showtime).