Add "No One Saw a Thing" (11 p.m., Sundance, TV-14) to the growing list of addictive true-crime docuseries. Its story echoes themes from some of Hollywood’s most classic movies, and it features news and interview footage from a generation of TV series and journalists. Its grim subject remains one of America’s great unsolved mysteries.
As the pilot to "No One" makes abundantly clear, Ken Rex McElroy was a no-good, horrible bully of a man. We learn that he raped a 13-year-old and then forced her to marry him so she couldn’t testify against him. He shot the owner of a store over a two-cent piece of candy. He terrorized his neighbors when he wasn’t shooting them.
When he was released on bail in 1981, the town residents of Skidmore, Missouri, decided they’d had enough. According to reports, more than 60 townsfolk surrounded his pickup truck, and moments later he was dead. Then the whole town clammed up.
This rural reticence was like catnip to media far and wide. We see clips of Morley Safer of "60 Minutes" fame interviewing Skidmore residents. The London Times sent a correspondent. Maury Povich shows up too!
And you can understand the fascination. An entire town standing up to a bully offers a kind of inversion of the "High Noon" story. The notion of the brave man standing up for good against evil is a story we tell ourselves. In the midst of seeking courtroom justice in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," the righteous character Atticus Finch calmly shoots a rabid dog in the center of town. Somebody had to.
But in "No One," the notion of frontier justice quickly gives way to something more rancid. McElroy’s public execution gives way to further acts of violence and homicide linked to the town’s vigilante culture and code of silence.
Don’t miss this creepy miniseries, a haunting look at a slice of American culture.
— The war with the undead reaches its climax on the series finale of "iZombie" (8 p.m., CW, TV-14).
For the record, this is the third CW series (after "Jane the Virgin" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend") featuring a strong, sassy female character to depart this year.
— Home ownership, once the foundation of the middle-class American dream, has, in the era of reality TV, become little more than a game. And I’m not only talking about "Million Dollar Listing: New York" (9 p.m., Bravo, TV-14). There’s also the season eight premiere of "Flip or Flop" (9 p.m., HGTV, TV-G) and the premiere of "Going for Sold" (11 p.m., HGTV, TV-G).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Atlanta hosts Denver at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game (8 p.m., NBC), the beginning of the NFL preseason.
— Ben’s choice has fateful consequences for the mermaids on the season finale of "Siren" (8 p.m., Freeform, TV-14).
— Holmes’ father taps into underground connections to thwart tech tycoon Odin Reichenbach on "Elementary" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— Hijackers land a stolen plane on the reef on "Reef Break" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-14).
— A mishap pulls the rug from under Christine’s wedding plans on "Baskets" (10 p.m., FX, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
Frances McDormand stars in the 1984 drama "Blood Simple" (9:40 p.m., Cinemax), a gripping neo-noir murder mystery based on a Dashiell Hammett novel and an audacious directorial debut for the Coen Brothers.
SERIES NOTES
Tropical distractions on "Love Island" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … A baker’s dozen on "MasterChef" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14) … Miniature laughs on "Holey Moley" (8 p.m. ABC, TV-PG) … Julie Chen Moonves hosts "Big Brother" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Prizes galore on "Spin the Wheel" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-PG) … "Family Food Fight" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … Only Talon can save Gwynn on "The Outpost" (9 p.m., CW, TV-14).
LATE NIGHT
Diane Guerrero is booked on "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah" (11 p.m., Comedy Central) … Louie Anderson and Matt Braunger appear on "Conan" (11 p.m., TBS, r) … Dana Carvey, Al Madrigal and Sarah Tiana are booked on "Lights Out With David Spade" (11:30 p.m., Comedy Central).
Jimmy Fallon welcomes Hasan Minhaj, Vanessa Kirby and Sam Fender on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Milo Ventimiglia, Alison Brie and the Head and the Heart appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (11:35 p.m., ABC).
Tony Shalhoub, Gov. Larry Hogan, Rhianne Barreto and Jeff Quay visit "Late Night With Seth Meyers" (12:35 a.m., NBC) … Jamie Bell, Margaret Qualley and the Bird and the Bee appear on "The Late Late Show With James Corden" (12:35 a.m., CBS).
