1) “Benjamin Franklin,” 9-11 p.m., PBS. Franklin (depicted here) rippled with contrasts. He was a left-brain guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and Franklin stove, a right-brainer whose wrote cleverly. He was warm and lovable, but fought with his family, owned slaves and ran slavery ads in his newspaper. Ken Burn created this rich profile, which reruns over two Fridays.
2) “Transplant,” 8 p.m., NBC. The next couple episodes pack fierce emotions on two continents. Bash is volunteering in Lebanon, at the sort of camp where he was once a refugee. Back home, there’s chaos in the emergency department, heightened when hackers take down the computers. It’s a tense and involving hour on both fronts.
3) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. In a rerun from early in this past season, Frank (Tom Selleck) starts an investigation when his family is harassed. Also, Danny links with an informant to prevent a murder. That’s preceded at 8 and 9 by reruns of “SWAT” (the team links with the DEA for a massive gang sweep) and “Fire Country” (a wellness retreat faces an out-of-control blaze).
4) “Hazbin Hotel,” Amazon Prime. This may be the first cartoon musical to be set in Hell (literally). And yes, it’s made for grown-ups. It wraps a streaming week that previously launched the terrific “Death and Other Details” (Hulu), continued “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” (Disney+) and profiled June Carter in “June” (Paramount+).
5) Movies. Set at a dog show, “Best in Show” (2000) – 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies — is one of the best examples of a quietly clever comedy that uses ample improvisation, If you prefer the opposite – non-quiet action – the 8 p.m. choices include “Batman Begins” (2005) on USA and “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) on TBS.
— Mike Hughes, TV America