Marilyn and the Mob
2026– · Channel 4 · 63 min · 1 season
S01E02 · Episode 2
Thu, 21 May, 8:00 am
In the summer of 1962, Marilyn travelled to Nevada with Frank Sinatra, placing her among mob figures and dangerous rumours. Days later, she was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Although her death was ruled a suicide, circumstances and later investigations fuelled decades of speculation. Marilyn was caught between fame, political power and organised crime. But was her death a conspiracy or an accident?
About
1950s Hollywood was a fairytale city of movies, glamour, money, and fame, a dreamland that the world had never seen before. At its heart was the biggest star of them all, Marilyn Monroe.
But beneath the glitz lay a much darker reality - the brutal and cold-hearted mob that had its claws in the entertainment industry and manipulated the most famous faces of the era – including Marilyn, a superstar whose iconic life was shadowed by dangerous liaisons, including her alleged affairs with both John and Robert Kennedy and rumoured Mafia connections.
This two-part documentary takes a deep dive into the final weeks of her life, investigating her relationship with known mobsters like Sam Giancana and how she became a pawn in the Mafia's power plays. As we explore the blurred lines between Hollywood, politics, and organized crime, the series speculates on whether Monroe knew too much and whether her death was more than a tragic overdose.
With archive footage, high-end graphics and expert interviews, we will uncover how Marilyn was used, abused, and ultimately lost in a game of power, politics, and betrayal, to explore one of the most infamous intersections of celebrity, crime, and political scandal in American history
Episodes
- E01
Episode 1
Thu, 21 May· 60 minTracing Marilyn Monroe's rise from a troubled childhood to Hollywood superstardom, and focusing on how the entertainment industry she idolised was deeply entwined with organised crime. As Marilyn's star rose, she became involved with Hollywood figures tied to the underworld, including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Roselli, and Sam Giancana. Her romance with the debonair and politically connected star Peter Lawford brought her into the orbit of John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, where Hollywood, crime and politics merged.
- E02
Episode 2
Thu, 21 May· 65 minIn the summer of 1962, Marilyn travelled to Nevada with Frank Sinatra, placing her among mob figures and dangerous rumours. Days later, she was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Although her death was ruled a suicide, circumstances and later investigations fuelled decades of speculation. Marilyn was caught between fame, political power and organised crime. But was her death a conspiracy or an accident?
