The fabulous Sharon D. Clarke MBE, actres, singer and 3 times Olivier award winner, talked to The Black List about her role in the brand new Channel 5 / Acorn TV crime drama Ellis.
Tell us about ‘Ellis’ from your perspective … Ellis is an exceptional DCI. She is by the book, determined, stubborn and compassionate. A transient officer, who is parachuted in to stalled/failed investigations. Used to her presence being resented, being underestimated, unseen, she uses that as a superpower. She digs beneath the surface, her keen mind uncovering what others have overlooked or not seen. In episode 1 she works closely with DS Harper. (the wonderful Andrew Gower).
Their relationship doesn’t get off to a good start, but over the episodes their partnership grows. Harper has much to learn from Ellis and Ellis has someone she can trust and bounce ideas off. They make a great team. If you love a good cop drama, Ellis will be up your street.
Read the full interview where she talks Ellis in more detail as well as her role in BBC series Mr Loverman and the upcoming theatre production of The Importance of being Earnestat the National Theatre London – alongside Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa – which opens on 21 November 2024.
Mark your calendars: We have a release date for Ellis in the UK!
British Channel 5 have confirmed that they will begin airing the episodes of Andrew Gower‘s new crime drama on 31 October 2024 at 8:00 pm.
The series stars Sharon D Clarke as the titular detective, whose job is a bit like an itinerant freelancer. She travels from county to county where unsolved murders have the local station stumped, witnesses are too scared to talk, or the station is simply too understaffed to handle, and tease out the truth from those who would prefer it stay buried. Clarke will be joined by co-star Andrew Gower, who plays her bagman and fellow traveling bobby, DS Chet Harper. Ellis’ loyal second in command, his duties range from buttering up the right people to smoothing the feathers ruffled by Ellis’ arrival.
A three-time Olivier Award winner, Clarke is known to TV audiences for her longstanding role in Holby City and parts in Doctor Who, where she played Ryan’s grandmother Grace, plus Showtrial, Informer, and the Prime Video film Red, White & Royal Blue.
We’re getting closer to the release of Andrew Gower‘s new detective drama Ellis in which he’ll play DS Harper, right-hand man to the titular DCI Ellis (Sharon D. Clarke).
The first of the 3 two-hour episodes will premiere on 4 November 2024 on Acorn (in the USA). The series’ British home Channel 5 hasn’t announced an air date for Ellis yet but they teased it’s going to be 2024, so British audiences won’t have to wait too long either.
#WatchThisSpace for more news as soon and when we get them!
DCI Ellis is a tenacious cop who is parachuted into failing investigations. Each episode sees her and Harper arrive at a different police station, where she will have to win over the local detectives and immerse herself in the cases she has come to solve. As a black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective, with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.
Harper marks one of Andrew’s biggest roles to date and we couldn’t be more excited to meet him!
Andrew Gower recently talked to Express.co.uk about his upcoming crime drama Ellis, which will come to Channel 5 in the UK soon as well as Acorn TV in the USA.
Ellis will consist of three two-hour episodes which is one of the things that sparked Andrew’s interest as it allows the audience to “sit” with the characters. He also named Sharon D. Clarke, who plays the titular DCI Ellis, as one of the things that drew him to this project:
When you talk about somebody attracting you to a project, Sharon [D. Clarke] is an icon of theatre and on TV and musically. The music conversations we had during that job were just incredible. So I’ve admired her work from afar.
A Female-led Story
Growing up in a female household I’m always attracted to those stories, telling tales of strong females. If females led the world, we’d be in a much better place.
Partners in Crime
Ellis and her partner DS Harper (played by Andrew Gower) are parachuted into failing cases and often find themselves facing hostile local law enforcement as they investigate a fresh crime. Although Ellis and Harper are drafted in to work together, Gower teased a tricky dynamic between them.
It gets off to a disastrous beginning. Their meet cute is disastrous, which is a great way to kick off a relationship. Even in episode one, the journey that Harper goes on in Ellis is the best rollercoaster – round and round, side to side.
Fundamentally, I think they’re both outsiders, whether Harper wants to say he is or not. Like the best partners in life, they compliment each other, whether they want to say that or not. From the outside, hopefully the audience will see it.
Crime Drama
Andrew recently portrayed a different sleuth in Netflix’s hit drama YOU opposite Penn Badgley:
In You, I kinda of scratched the surface with the detective role but this is the first time I guess I’ve been able to make my own stamp on what is a real institution, especially over in Britain and the US – detective shows there are so many of them you could list them.
Maybe there are too many to list but we can give you the ones that Andrew appeared in! This year he made guest appearances in popular British crime dramas Sherwood and Van der Valk.
He played a man who believed himself to be the great detective Sherlock Holmes in Canadian Murdoch Mysteries, gave an unforgettable performance as Nicholas Myers in the Season 2 finale of Endeavour and won everyone’s heart as Eliza’s clumsy sidekick Rupert Parker in Miss Scarlet & The Duke.
He gained first experience as a member of the police force as DC Jared Ansell in Black Work alongside Sheridan Smith and Matthew McNulty. We are sure all this preparation will make him an excellent Detective Sergeant on Ellis!
Trailer
Watch this trailer for new and returning series coming to Channel 5 this fall including scenes from Ellis:
Only days after we’ve been treated with the first images from upcoming detective series Ellis, Acorn TV are now debuting a first teaser trailer.
It’s not the physical evidence that makes a story. It’s the people in between and the things that join those people together. Hate, love, and fear. Their lives are never the same again.
You can watch the trailer below:
DCI Ellis (Sharon D. Clarke) is a formidable cop who takes over the most challenging unsolved cases across Northwest England. Armed with integrity and razor-sharp instincts, Ellis steps in with unyielding determination as the last hope for failing investigations. Her unflappable demeanor disguises a deep-seated compassion for the victims, fueled by her complicated past. Amidst lies, secrets, and neglect, Ellis seeks justice for victims and truth for survivors.
In her endeavours DCI Ellis is accompanied by her right-hand man DS Chet Harper, played by Andrew Gower.
Ellis is set to be released later this year on Channel 5 in the UK and on Acorn TV in the USA. We’ll let you know as soon as we find out more!
After filming wrapped on new detective drama Ellis earlier this year, we are finally treated with some first images from the series.
DCI Ellis is a tenacious cop who is parachuted into failing investigations. Each two-hour episode sees Ellis—accompanied by her right-hand man, DS Harper—arrive at a different police station, where she must win over the local detectives and immerse herself in the cases she has come to solve. As a Black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.
The series will consist of three feature-length episodes and is expected to be released on Channel 5 (UK) in autumn 2024. It will cross the pond to debut on Acorn TV (US), probably in early 2025.
Line of Duty would send a team into a different precinct every season to find out why investigations were not going as they were supposed to, with a writ to find the bad apple undermining police efforts. Ellis’ pacing is slightly different — each feature-length episode will move from precinct to precinct instead of each season, and investigations won’t always fail due to someone undermining things — but the setup and rotating guest cast remain the same. Meanwhile, Ellis, a Black British police inspector, will have to deal with constantly sexist and racist microaggressions from the different staff she encounters, much like D.I. Ray does, with the same drive to see justice done instead of blaming the nearest person of color.
While the images don’t give away much, we can anticipate that the new series will be a gritty turn towards the detective genre for Channel 5.
It’s a wrap on Ellis, a new feature-length detective drama series coming to Channel 5 in the UK later this year. After a 4 months shoot in Belfast (Northern Ireland), the series is now ready to go into post-production.
Starring Sharon D. Clarke) as Ellis, a tenacious cop who is parachuted into failing investigations. As a black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective, with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.
Accompanied by her right-hand man DS Harper, played by Andrew Gower, she arrives at a different police station each week, where she will have to win over the local detectives and immerse herself in the cases she has come to solve.
As a black female cop, Ellis is used to being dismissed and overlooked, but she is a first-class murder detective, with a determination for justice and a deep well of compassion for those who need it.
Andrew Gower Online 