U.S. vs. Belgium in the World Cup, Remembering D-Day, the Return of ‘Inspector Ellis’

World Cup

Let’s hope you didn’t exhaust your supply of sparklers and other party favors on the 4th of July, because it’s time for another Watch Party! Winning their first Knockout match since 2002, the U.S. Men’s National Team faces Belgium in Seattle in the highly anticipated Round of 16 (8/7c, Fox). Hopes are high after the late plot twist that allowed star player Folarin Balogun to play after having received a Red Card suspension, with expectation for record-high ratings as the team eyes the quarterfinals. Earlier, Portugal plays Spain in Dallas (3 pm/ET, Fox).

World War II with Tom Hanks

The historical docuseries covers one of the defining and pivotal events of the global conflict with an episode devoted to Operation Overlord, which began in June 1944 on D-Day with the Allied invasion of Normandy in Occupied France. The series shifts to the Asian war theater in the second episode, depicting brutal battles in the jungles and seas as American troops fought Japan.

Inspector Ellis

Celebrated stage actress Sharon D Clarke brings a steely gravitas to the title role of a no-nonsense British procedural, returning for a second season of two two-part mysteries. The opener sends DCI Ellis and her sidekick DS Chet Harper (Andrew Gower) several hundred miles into the North England countryside to help an understaffed local constabulary solve the murder of a local millionaire. The victim’s altruistic but controversial program of hiring people with a criminal record for his garden center had created tension in the community, but it also provides a wide range of suspects.

Sharkfest

Just when you thought it was safe to turn the TV on again … the week-long SharkFest continues with World’s Biggest Mako (9/8c), in which an exploratory team in New Zealand investigates the beasts of the deep. Followed by Attack of the Samurai Sharks (10/9c), which digs into an ancient mystery after a 3,000-year-old skeleton is discovered in Japan, the body covered with deep cuts that may have been caused by a shark rather than a samurai sword. If true, which species is responsible for this long-ago death?

Jailhouse Rock

Elvis Presley‘s 1957 breakthrough movie, which was added to the National Film Registry in 2004, is a centerpiece of the first week of TCM‘s July “Star of the Month” salute to movies featuring “Singers as Stars.” Presley’s role of an ex-con rebel who becomes a rock-n-roll sensation captures the superstar’s early swagger more effectively than any other movie. The night’s lineup also features Billie Holiday‘s only feature-film appearance in 1947’s New Orleans (8/7c) opposite Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte in 1959’s post-apocalyptic The World, the Flesh and the Devil (11:45/10:45c), and Frank Sinatra in the 1960 Rat Pack classic Ocean’s Eleven (1:30 am/12:30c).

INSIDE MONDAY TV:

• BBQ Brawl (9/8c, Food Network): The sizzling season finale pits team captains Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan, and Brooke Williamson and their final three contestants through a challenging last round with mystery ingredients.
• American Ninja Warrior (9/8c, NBC): Eastern Regional Qualifying Rounds continue in Las Vegas.
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! (11:35/10:35c, ABC): With host Jimmy Kimmel on his summer break, a roster of guest hosts begins with Tiffany Haddish, to be followed in future weeks by Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, and Jelly Roll.
• Hamnet (streaming on Netflix): The streaming giant acquires the acclaimed period drama starring Paul Mescal and Oscar winner Jessie Buckley as William Shakespeare and his grieving wife, Agnes.