This Week On Sling TV
All times Eastern.
Monday
Better Call Saul: The prequel to Breaking Bad is back, and there are many questions the series will (hopefully) answer in its second season. (10pm Monday, AMC)
NCAA on ESPN: Five of Oklahoma State’s final six games are against nationally ranked opponents, all of them from the mercilessly brutal Big 12 conference. First up for the Cowboys is a trip Kansas to face the Jayhawks, who’ve been ranked no lower than seventh all year long and feature Wooden Award Late-Season Top 20 finalist Perry Ellis, a 6-foot-8 senior forward averaging 16.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.(9pm Monday, ESPN)
Major Crimes: The final part of season four premieres Monday night, the first in a five-episode arc. (10pm Monday, TNT)
Gravity Falls: After only two seasons, this much-loved, animated X-Files-for-kids and their ’90s-nostalgic parents comes to an end. Though the characters might come back someday in one form or another, don’t miss the epic series finale. (7pm Monday, Disney XD)
Tuesday
Rizzoli & Isles: Season seven will be the last, but there are still six episodes left before the final season. Catch the mid-season premiere and then start your search for a new favorite buddy cop. (9pm Tuesday, TNT)
NCAA on ESPN: Georges Niang (19 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists), another Wooden Top 20 honoree, leads the Iowa State Cyclones into Texas to face a Baylor team featuring Rico Gathers (second cousin of the late All American, Hank Gathers), in a clash of two nationally-ranked Big 12 teams. (7pm Tuesday, ESPN)
Wednesday
NCAA on ESPN: It’s the 241st meeting between two of college basketball’s most storied franchises as the Duke Blue Devils head to Charlotte to play the North Carolina Tar Heels, who lead the series 133-107. Duke appears to have recovered from a stretch when they lost four of five, while UNC is getting it together following back-to-back losses to Louisville and Notre Dame. (9pm Wednesday, ESPN)
Little Women: Atlanta: This show has everything: a pregnancy rumor, horseback riding, evil(?) twins, and Ms. Juicy Baby, the Queen of Atlanta. Just grab some popcorn and watch. (11pm Wednesday, Lifetime)
Thursday
Vikings: Watch the true story of a group of hunky models whose Williamsburg loft magically becomes a portal to eighth-century Europe. (Editor’s note: not the actual premise.) Regardless of the in-story explanation for having the most attractive invaders ever assembled on screen, check out the season four premiere for an action-packed hour of beards, braids and guyliner. (10pm Thursday, History)
NBA on TNT: The Los Angeles Clippers, who have been playing like one of the best teams in the league since Christmas after losing Blake Griffin to injuries, pay a visit to the San Antonio Spurs in an rematch of last season’s seven-game opening-round series, which the Clips won. (8pm Thursday, TNT)
Join or Die with Craig Ferguson: With the premiere of his new weekly talk show, Craig Ferguson and celebrity guests will discuss such topics as history’s biggest frenemies, history’s biggest douchebags, and today’s politicians who might be well on their way to appearing on either or both of those lists. In Ferguson’s own words, the show will consist of “smart, funny people talking in a smart, funny conversation on television. It’ll never work, but we’ll give it a try.” (11pm Thursday, HISTORY)
Friday
NBA on ESPN: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who appear to have surpassed the Cleveland Cavaliers as the third-best team in the NBA, welcome Paul George and the Indiana Pacers in a matchup of two likely playoff contenders. (8pm Friday, ESPN)
Watchmen: Fanboys flipped over this painstakingly faithful (mostly) adaptation of their favorite graphic novel in 2009, and while you wait for Jeffrey Dean Morgan to make his debut as Negan in The Walking Dead, check out his turn as the similarly nihilistic character, the Comedian. (6pm Friday, IFC)
The Darkest Hour: Invisible aliens attack Moscow in this disaster of a disaster movie that’s heavy on special effects and light on plot. If you’re anxiously awaiting the release of Independence Day: Resurgence, then this might be the Friday night flick for you. (9:30pm Friday, IFC)
Saturday
NCAA on ESPN: It’s another Big 12 showdown between the Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia Mountaineers, two teams who have spent much of the season in the top 10 and at the top of their conference. Sooner swingman Buddy Hield, the prohibitive favorite to win the Wooden Award, is second in the nation with 25.7 points per game. (4pm Saturday, ESPN)
Bunnicula, Wabbit, & Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!: You’re never too old for Saturday morning cartoons and Cartoon Network has an excellent slate filled with new and familiar characters like a vampiric rabbit, a wascally wabbit, and a binge-eating Great Dane. (10:30, 11, & 11:30am Saturday, Cartoon Network)
Sunday
The Girls are back and are growing up… sort of. Hannah is still unable to have a healthy relationship, while Marnie is getting married, Shoshanna is in Japan to avoid all her problems, and Jessa is basically the same free spirit she’s always been. (10pm Sunday, HBO)
The Walking Dead: The mid-season premiere left a gaping hole in fans’ hearts, and the next episode warns of new threats to Rick’s beleaguered crew. (9pm Sunday, AMC)
NBA on ESPN: The Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour makes its final stop in the Windy City as the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have found themselves struggling to stay above .500 this season and in the playoff hunt following the loss for three-to-four weeks of star guard Jimmy Butler. (8pm Sunday, ESPN)
Blacked out shows this week:
The Four Musketeers (6pm Sunday, TCM)