Marilyn the Icon, World War II in Africa & Beyond, ‘Little Singles,’ ‘The McBee Dynasty’

Matt Roush
12 Comments

The “Star of the Month” tribute to Marilyn Monroe on TCM continues with The Seven Year Itch, whose filming produced the sex symbol’s most enduring image. History Channel‘s World War II series continues with segments on the African campaign and code-breaking espionage. TLC‘s Little Singles follows a group of friends with dwarfism on a Palm Springs vacation. Bravo‘s The McBee Dynasty returns with the family ranch in jeopardy when the patriarch goes to prison.

TV Guide Magazine’s Puzzler Special Expanded Marilyn Monroe Issue is available for order online now.

Marilyn Monroe in 'The Seven Year Itch,' 1955.
Everett Collection

The Seven Year Itch

There are few more iconic images from cinema history than Marilyn Monroe standing atop a subway grate as the folds of her clingy white dress are blown upward. The publicity from the shooting of this provocative moment, from the 1955 sex comedy The Seven Year Itch (10/9c), reportedly led to the breakup of the movie star’s marriage to baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio. The film is part of TCM’s weekly 100th-birthday tribute to Monroe, which includes her acclaimed performance in 1956’s Bus Stop (8/7c) as Chérie, a hopeful chanteuse, and as a seductress in the 1953 melodrama Niagara (midnight, 11/c).

Tom Hanks, 'World War II with Tom Hanks' trailer, History Channel, premieres May 25, 2026.
History Channel

World War II with Tom Hanks

The expansive historical docuseries narrated by Tom Hanks reaches its midpoint with two chapters, the first depicting Operation Torch, a campaign by green U.S. troops joining Allied forces in an invasion of North Africa to battle Nazi Field Marshal Erwin “Desert Fox” Rommel’s German Afrika Korps. The second episode (9/8c) pivots to the homefront of rural England, where intelligence agents and codebreaking academics work behind the scenes to crack the Germans’ infamous Enigma Code.

The cast of 'Little Singles' Season 1
TLC

Little Singles

Series Premiere

A chosen family of young singles with dwarfism, who bonded during annual conventions of little people, heads to Palm Springs for a vacation as reality TV cameras roll. The tight-knit group might soon fracture, however, once a secret relationship becomes public.

The McBee Dynasty
Paul Andrews/Bravo

The McBee Dynasty

Season Premiere

Dynastic upheaval marks the reality series’ third season when the McBee family is rocked by patriarch Steve‘s conviction on charges of crop insurance fraud, resulting in a 24-month federal prison sentence last October. Sons Steven Jr., Jesse, and Cole are left with the challenge of pivoting from farming to just ranching and keeping the business afloat, all while engaging in the sort of relationship drama that’s the meat and potatoes of any Bravo reality series.

Brooke Shields in 'You're Killing Me,' Season 1, Episode, 1, Acorn TV, May 18, 2026.
Mike Tompkins/AcornTV

You’re Killing Me

In the light mystery’s penultimate Season 1 episode, Andi’s (Amalia Williamson) handsome dad, Kevin (Jefferson Brown), pays a visit and catches the eye of Allison (Brooke Shields), much to the chagrin of his daughter. What would local detective Jack (Tom Cavanagh) think of his crush’s lack of impulse control? We’ll have to wait to find out, because the crime-solving duo keeps busy investigating a suicide that looks like murder, which occurred while the prime suspects were all conducting a live podcast.

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

  • FIFA World Cup (12 pm/ET, Fox): Spain plays Cabo Verde in Atlanta, with matches in Seattle (Belgium vs. Egypt, 3 pm/ET, Fox), Miami (Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay, 6 pm/ET, FS1), and L.A. (Iran vs. New Zealand, 9 pm/ET, FS1).
  • Gracie’s Corner (7 am/6c, Disney Junior) The hit YouTube preschool series premieres on Disney platforms, with 68 shorts and seven compilations streaming on Disney+.
  • Contraband: Seized at the Border (8/7c, Discovery Channel): The ninth season of the docuseries, featuring encounters with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, opens with an X-ray revealing something hidden in the spare tire of a driver who imports used cars from across the border.
  • The Last Twins (10/9c, PBS): Liev Schreiber narrates a moving documentary profile of Emo “Zvi” Spiegel, who rescued dozens of young boys, many of them twins, from notorious Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele’s medical experiments and brought them home after Europe’s liberation.
Little SinglesThe McBee DynastyThe Seven Year ItchWorld War II with Tom Hanks



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  1. A

    Arben70

    Very mild spoilers about last night’s Patience…

    The “ha-ha, was this vampires” idea was just glancing. Which is 100% fine. Other procedurals have flirted with such a case more seriously despite mundane (or at least non-supernatural) explanations. The names of victim and suspects are what bugged me, all sounding kinda like or simply being names from Dracula, which as it was unfolding reminded me of an episode last season that took a similar tack. Maybe if they hadn’t literally shown Patience carrying the book and told us her mother read it to her, I’d have been amused by the references passing without comment but as it stood I kept getting taken out of the story.

    1

    1. J

      Jena

      I had trouble following the plot... I swear I watched the whole episode, but somehow I think I missed some crucial info. (I just read a detailed recap and... yeah, I somehow missed a LOT.) Anyway, it seems like it was pretty convoluted. So obviously I didn't catch on to the character names-- like the company name of Helsing... that's waaay over the top!

      So I have to ask, who is the gentleman Patience lives with? In the first season I was suspicious of him, not sure he was on her side. Not her father, I don't think he's her grandfather either, so I thought he might be a 'group home caretaker.

      1

      1. A

        Arben70

        He’s a family friend who’s looked after her since her dad passed. Yeah, I found the plot confusing too, although points to an extent for the murder and blood thievery to be largely unreleated.

        2

        1. A

          Arben70

          Oh, I forgot: Demerits for the motorcyclist who almost ran Patience over turning out — as it was obvious would be the case since I’ve watched TV before — to be her new boss.

          2

          1. J

            Jena

            Yes, the new boss's first encounter with Patience, while on the motorcycle, was pretty cheesy and very predictable.

            Although it did make me wonder why Patience would be so unwise as to walk the streets while wearing noise-cancelling headphones. Very unsafe. You'd think others would have cautioned her about this as well.

            I have to wonder though.... I don't think falling from 30 feet up and landing on an upturned chair would actually kill somebody. That chair looked too flimsy. And the whole 'draining blood' thing... just didn't make sense to me. I feel like there were too many different storylines going on in this episode.

            2

      2. W

        Walton

        I did give the episode extra credit for including a few scenes featuring Ansu Kabia (aka Moses from Miss Scarlett).

        2

        1. J

          Jena

          What?!?!?! I missed him completely! I don't remember seeing anything about the transfusion of 'golden blood,' or the little girl who needed help. Maybe I went into a trance for the middle portion of the episode... :-o

          I loved Moses on Miss Scarlet. I'd love for him to come back next season.

          BTW, on Patience, what did the thug do, if he's not the one who killed the victim, and he didn't drain the blood? I believe the victim owed him money, but I can't figure out why this guy kidnapped the woman toward the end and drugged her.

          1. A

            Arben70

            I think because the murder victim still owed him money and she handled his finances, but don't expect me to remember convoluted plot details from almost two days ago now. :*)

      3. G

        Guest

        Same for me! I just figured that since I was reading while watching it, that's why I was confused!

        I hope they go a different direction with the new boss. It’s just lazy, predictable writing if they don't. I don't have any ideas as to what direction, but I'm not the writer. 😁

  2. J

    Jena

    One of my local PBS channels is airing something called The Last Twins. "Erno 'Zvi' Spiegel risks everything to save dozens of young twins from almost certain death at Auschwitz."

    1. J

      Joe

      That was the final item covered in the article above.

      1

      1. J

        Jena

        Whoops, obviously I didn't read to the end. :-p I have two PBS channels that usually air 'new' things on the same night, if not the same exact time, and this show is only airing on one of the channels, so I assumed it wasn't new programming. I bet the other station will air it tomorrow night.

        (I also have two other PBS channels--farther down the cable ladder-- that air totally different things. One airs the 'new' stuff a day after it airs on primary stations, which came in handy when Sunday nights had lots of stuff I wanted to watch.)