A ‘Real Full Monty’ for a Good Cause, ‘The Simpsons’ Play Ball, Office Party ‘in the Shadows,’ Jackée Harry Visits ‘The Neighborhood’

The Real Full Monty

Male celebrities bare their souls, and a whole lot more, in a two-hour special inspired by the 1997 movie The Full Monty. This is more than an exhibitionistic stunt, because the goal isn’t just to shed clothes, but to remove the stigma and encourage men to get tested for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer. Anthony Anderson (black-ish) leads a group including Taye Diggs, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones, Teen Wolf’s Tyler Posey, Dancing With the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli and, significantly, James Van Der Beek, who recently went public with his Stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis, for which he’s being treated. The group is shown rehearsing and training for an elaborate strip-tease dance choreographed by Emmy winner Mandy Moore (So You Think You Can Dance), bonding as they share how cancer has impacted their own lives.

Monday Night Football

Ay carumba, what are The Simpsons doing on the NFL gridiron? For the second year, an NFL game toys with animated interlopers — in 2023, it was characters from the Toy Story franchise. While the regular Cincinnati Bengals-Dallas Cowboys game will be simulcast as usual on ABC and ESPN, with the Peyton and Eli Manning commentary available on ESPN2, The Simpsons Funday Football version will be livestreamed on Disney+ and ESPN+ and on mobile with NFL+. Bart joins the Bengals and Homer suits up with the Cowboys as athletes on both teams appear as motion-enabled animated players, executing the actual game play. The Simpsons characters join the game at strategic moments, with Marge and Lisa providing sideline commentary. Voice actors Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Hank Azaria participate in pre-recorded segments, as the Bengals are cheered on by Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse, and Ralph, while Carl, Barney, Lenny, and Moe back Homer and the Cowboys.

What We Do in the Shadows

With the series finale of the hilarious supernatural comedy just a week away, former human “familiar” Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) tempts fate by announcing, “Everything’s coming up Guillermo” in his junior analyst office job. Expecting a promotion, the proud gofer invites all of his vampire “family” — Nandor (Kayvan Novak), Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch), with the unpredictable Monster (Andy Assaf) in tow — to an office party to celebrate. As always, hilarity ensues, and so even more predictably does chaos.

The Neighborhood

Jackée Harry, the Emmy-winning comedy star who’s been stealing scenes with panache since 227 in the 1980s, arrives on The Neighborhood as Loretta, the estranged wife of Tina’s (Tichina Arnold) father, Otis (Glynn Turman). When Tina realizes that Otis is struggling with age infirmities, she reaches out to Loretta in hopes of getting them to reconcile. Followed by Poppa’s House (8:30/7:30c), where Poppa’s (Damon Wayans) aching back inspires his co-worker Ivy (Essence Atkins) to volunteer to be his overnight nurse.

INSIDE MONDAY TODAY:

• The Voice (8/7c, NBC): The Top 5 — Jeremy Beloate from Team Snoop, Sofronio Vasquez, and Shye from Team Bublé, Sydney Sterlace from Team Gwen, and Instant Save recipient Danny Joseph from Team Reba — perform in part 1 of the live finale, with results announced in Tuesday’s all-star climax.
• Best Christmas Movies Ever! (8/7c, The CW): Scores of experts and celebrities weigh in on a countdown of holiday movie classics, from It’s a Wonderful Life to more contemporary hits like Home Alone, Elf, The Santa Clause — and, naturally, Die Hard.
• NCIS (9/8c, CBS): A self-driving car is key to the team’s latest murder investigation. Followed by NCIS: Origins (9/8c), with Gibbs (Austin Stowell) and Lala (Mariel Molino) searching for a missing woman in Mexico, where Gibbs discovers a possible connection to his past.

 ON THE STREAM:

• Bluey (streaming on Disney+): A new batch of animated “minisode” shorts are available to charm children of all ages.
• Pulisic (streaming on Paramount+): A docuseries from CBS Sports profiles soccer star Christian Pulisic, captain of the U.S. national team and dubbed “Captain America” for his prowess on the AC Milan club in Italy.
• Dalgliesh (streaming on Acorn TV): Series star Bertie Carvel directs a two-part adaptation of P.D. James’ mystery Cover Her Face, with the detective Commander investigating a murder in the home of an influential family.