Best-bets for Aug. 25: “Power” starts, “Instinct” ends, Halston reigns

1) “Halston,” 9 p.m. ET, CNN (barring breaking news). Somewhere near the top of the pop-culture world was the designer (show here with models) named Halston. He made Jackie Kennedy’s hats, Liz Minnelli’s gowns, the uniforms of Braniff stewardesses; handsome and articulate, he partied with Warhol, proclaimed on TV shows. Still, people knew little about him. Roy Halston Frowick was from Des Moines and Evansville, Ind. With rich detail, this describes his wild time at the top … and the finance schemes that toppled him. Read more…

1) “Halston,” 9 p.m. ET, CNN (barring breaking news). Somewhere near the top of the pop-culture world was the designer (show here with models) named Halston. He made Jackie Kennedy’s hats, Liz Minnelli’s gowns, the uniforms of Braniff stewardesses; handsome and articulate, he partied with Warhol, proclaimed on TV shows. Still, people knew little about him. Roy Halston Frowick was from Des Moines and Evansville, Ind. With rich detail, this describes his wild time at the top … and the financial schemes that toppled him.

2) “Instinct” finale, 9 p.m., CBS. The second season ends, for a show that’s not likely to have a third. Ratings were OK last year, but slumped this time. Alan Cumming is Dylan, a college professor and author who helps Lizzie, a homicide detective. Now they probe a gruesome discovery in a pond. Also, his husband, a lawyer-turned-barowner, helps Dylan’s student. And Lizzie embraces adventure.

3) “Power” season-opener, 8 p.m., Starz, rerunning at 9:26 and 10:52. Last season ended fiercely, with Tommy firing a shot at “Ghost,” his longtime friend and drug-dealing partner. That episode reruns at 6:50 p.m.; in fact, the entire fifth season reruns, starting at 9:52 a.m. Then the sixth and final season begins; as usual, it’s intense, violent, passionate and quite well-made.

4) “What Just Happened?” 8:30 and 9:30 p.m., Fox. For two straight Sundays, this was bumped – first by football, then by an awards show. It pretends to be for fans of TV’s “The Flare,” based on the novel “The Sun is the Moon at Night.” Except … the book and “The Flare” don’t exist; Fred Savage plays himself as the superfan host. At 8:30, he’s bothered by noise in the next studio; at 9:30, he’s stuck in an elevator and his disinterested co-host must take over. Guests include Eric Stonestreet and Taran Killam.

5) “Kingdom of the White Wolf,” 8-11 p.m. ET, Nat Geo Wild, rerunning at 11. Ronan Donvan, a gifted photographer, has filmed wolves in the past, but this is different. He spent three months in the Arctic, with wolves that have no reason to dislike humans. The result is gorgeous visually and has warm glimpses into the animals’ lives.

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