Best-bets for Feb. 26: cops, crooks and a classic

1) “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. John Frankenheimer was a master of TV’s first golden age and beyond, getting 10 Emmy nominations for directing, with four wins. But he also made movies, peaking with this black-and-white masterpiece, which toys with characters’ memories. It drew Oscar nominations for its editing and for Angela Lansbury (shown here with Laurence Harvey); Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh also starred. There was a 2004 remake, but this one is hard to top. Read more…

1) “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. John Frankenheimer was a master of TV’s first golden age and beyond, getting 10 Emmy nominations for directing, with four wins. But he also made movies, peaking with this black-and-white masterpiece, which toys with characters’ memories. It drew Oscar nominations for its editing and for Angela Lansbury (shown here with Laurence Harvey); Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh also starred. There was a 2004 remake, but this one is hard to top.

2) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. An all-rerun CBS night concludes with Danny and Jamie working togther to nail a drug lord. Also, their sister Erin is nervously waiting for word on the appointment of the district attorney. And their dad is navigating the dynamics of having a newly discovered grandson – Joe Hill, whose father (also Joe) was killed before “Blue Bloods: began.

3) “The Blacklist,” 8 p.m., NBC. Liz has been mad at Red for many things lately, including the fact that he killed her mother. But now he makes a surprising connection; also, Cooper gets a government offer.

4) “Tom & Jerry,” any time, HBO Max. This animated movie opens simultaneously in theaters and on this streaming service. That’s on the same day that Disney+ adds “Myth: A Frozen Tale,” an eight-minute animated short from the ”Frozen” people… and one day after Peacock introduced its “Punky Brewster” sequel series. Soleil Moon Frye still plays Punky, now a divorced mom. The show starts weakly … then gets much better when she meets Izzy, a strong-minded, Punky-style orphan.

5) Also: There’s a new “Hip Hop Uncovered” at 9 p.m. on FX, rerunning at 10:21. And there are plenty of movies. Syfy has the first three Harry Potter films, at 12:30, 4:02 and 7:59 p.m. At 8, HBO has “Dunkirk” (2017), with great visuals and a surprisingly sparse story, and TNT has “Justice League” (2017), At 10:15 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies has “Butterrfield 8” (1960), a soapy story salvaged by Elizabeth Taylor’s Oscar-winning performance.

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