Acorn’s ‘Inspector Ellis,’ ‘Neighborhood’ Gets Out the Vote, TCM Salutes Gena Rowlands, Nandor Goes Rogue in ‘Shadows’

Series Premiere

Have intellect, will travel. That’s the guiding principle behind a compelling mystery series starring acclaimed stage actress Sharon D Clarke (three time Olivier Award winner, nominated in 2022 for a Tony in Caroline, or Change). In the title role of Detective Chief Inspector Ellis, she’s the ultimate outsider, dropped into towns that could use her expertise to solve especially tricky cases. The local police tend to greet her with hostility for stepping on their turf, but Ellis is largely unfazed after forging a career as an independent Black woman. She’s not what you’d call cuddly or friendly, but she gets the job done. In the first of three feature-length episodes, Ellis arrives in the town of Hanmore to tackle a sordid case involving the murder of a former Member of Parliament’s teenage son, found dead in a half-submerged car with his girlfriend nowhere to be seen. Along the way, she gains a sidekick in local Detective Sergeant Chet Harper (Andrew Gower).

8/7c

With Election Day looming, this sitcom neighborhood is rallying everyone to get out and vote. Calvin (Cedric the Entertainer) is even thinking about giving his employees the day off, taking credit for someone else’s bright idea. Gung-ho neighbor Dave (Max Greenfield) gathers the families for a ballot-palooza party, poring over all of the candidates and propositions, while wife Gemma (Beth Behrs) takes on the role of local precinct captain at Walcott Academy.

10/9c

The hilarious vampire comedy, now in its final season, showcases Nandor the Relentless (Kayvan Novak), who’s reverted to his centuries-old warrior self — or maybe he’s just gone more cuckoo than usual — when he runs away from Staten Island after being fired as a janitor at Guillermo’s (Harvey Guillén) workplace. The vampire world is concerned that Nandor is making a spectacle of himself in his new hideout in New Hampshire, where he boasts of rallying an army from an abandoned warehouse. “When one is spurned, one feels most at home amongst the ashes,” he laments, as Guillermo drives Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) and Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) to snap their undead friend out of his existential funk.

Gena Rowlands Memorial Tribute (8/7c, Turner Classic Movies)

In a recent episode of HBO’s The Penguin, the title character’s mother was shown watching 1980’s neo-noir crime classic Gloria, starring the great Gena Rowlands as a gangster’s moll who goes on the lam to protect a young boy from the mob. This was one of two performances directed by her husband, John Cassavetes, that earned her Oscar nominations, and both are on the lineup in a tribute to the actress who passed away August 14 at 94, having received an honorary Academy Award in 2015. First up in this Turner Classic Movies programming block is 1974’s A Woman Under the Influence (8/7c), featuring Rowlands as an emotionally disturbed and alcoholic wife (to Peter Falk) and mother, followed by Gloria at 10:45, and three more films overnight.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• The Voice (8/7c, NBC): The Battle Rounds end, forming the teams that will move on next week to the Knockouts.
• 9-1-1: Lone Star (8/7c, Fox): Owen (Rob Lowe) comes to grips with the loss of his brother (Chad Lowe) while trying to tame his foster horse. His crew at the 126 comes to the aid of a man crushed by a vending machine, while Nancy (Brianna Baker) calls on Mateo (Julian Works) for help when a nude photo is accidentally sent to the firehouse.
• Holiday Baking Championship (8/7c, Food Network): Host Jesse Palmer welcomes 12 bakers in the season opener with challenges including cheese ball desserts and treats inspired by holiday bark.
• NCIS (9/8c, CBS): The team acts on intel that warns of threats in multiple locations that could lead to war. Followed by NCIS: Origins (10/9c), where Franks (Kyle Schmid) confronts a killer on death row to learn the location of a missing body before the execution takes place.
• The 2024 SNL Election Special (10/9c, NBC): On Election Eve, Saturday Night Live compiles some of its favorite political sketches from its long history of topical satire. No doubt we’ll see something of the current cast spoofing Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan), Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang) and Joe Biden (Dana Carvey).