DVR Digest is a weekly column that highlights 10 hours of programming SLING subscribers can record to fill up their complimentary Cloud DVR Free service. Check out this week’s best picks below.
Wednesday, April 22, 8pm ET
Travel Channel
Paranormal investigators Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves, and Dave Tango are basically the real-life version of the Ghostbusters. Enlightened view of the supernatural based on practical real-world experience? Check. Crazy gizmos and technology? Check. Surprising sense of humor in the face of dark and unexplained phenomena? Check. The trio were all part of the Travel Channel hit Ghost Hunters and their new show, Ghost Nation, finds them assisting other ghost hunters across the country whose cases are at a dead-end. If you ain’t afraid of no ghost, catch the two-hour season 2 premiere Wednesday night.
Thursday, April 23, 5:30am ET
SYFY
SYFY’s 2005 reboot of Battlestar Galactica is one of the crowning achievements of both sci-fi storytelling on television and creative reboot-ery (it’s apparently now on track to get re-rebooted). Beyond being a harrowing tale of survival in the face of an unrelenting enemy, the show wrestled with meaty questions about free will, self-identity, and the line that separates good and evil. SYFY is in the midst of a linear marathon that wraps up with Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, a standalone movie that reimaged many of the show’s most pivotal moments through the eyes of the Cylons rather than the human survivors. Directed by series star Edward James Almos, it’s a nuanced coda to a show that always explored multiple perspectives and points-of-view.
Thursday, April 23, 9pm ET
NBC (available in select markets)
Two decades and nearly 250 episodes after its premiere, groundbreaking sitcom Will & Grace is signing off for the second and final time on Thursday night. The finale promises to give closure to the titular duo and their friends, as Will says goodbye to the city, Grace says hello to her baby, and Karen and Jack do hilarious Karen and Jack things. Following the final episode, star Eric McCormack will host a half-hour retrospective that looks back on the show’s entire history.
Weekdays at 12pm ET
NBCSN
Without any live games to keep us entertained, quarantine has been especially hard on sports fans. However, the dark clouds parted a bit this week, thanks to the premiere of the 10-part Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance on ESPN and this weekend’s NFL Draft. Mike Turico of NBC Sports recently launched his new talk show Lunch Talk Live on NBCSN and the esteemed broadcaster should have plenty to talk about on Friday, including a breakdown of the draft’s first-round and a look ahead at the third and fourth episodes of The Last Dance. It ain’t the Stanley Cup or NBA Playoffs, but at least it’s something.
Friday, April 24, 10pm ET
AMC
Did you ever wonder what the inside of The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s house looks like? Wonder no more. This warm and fuzzy half-hour features everyone’s favorite Grey’s Anatomy ghost and his wife, Hilarie Burton, straight from their farm in upstate New York video chatting with their famous friends and a few lucky fans. In the debut episode, we got a semi-steamy recollection of the night the couple first met from Morgan’s former Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles and his wife, Danneel Ackles, who introduced the pair. Since hanging out with your own friends is off the table for the foreseeable future, Morgan and the missus are the next best thing. – Janine Schaults
Friday, April 24, 9pm ET
Food Network
One of the greatest tragedies of these fraught times is the effect the coronavirus is having (and will continue to have) on the food industry. With restaurants across the country open only for takeout, Triple D host Guy Fieri is setting up a virtual version of Flavortown. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Takeout finds Fieri checking in on (and cooking along with) memorable chefs who previously appeared on the show. It’s a great way to spotlight the industry; if you want to offer direct support, click the link to check out Fieri’s work with the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.
Sunday, April 26, 7pm ET
Oxygen
There are probably a few friendly, peaceful cults out there, but by and large, things don’t usually end well for their members (or leaders, for that matter). The Oxygen show Deadly Cults returns with its second season on Sunday and this year, the show takes us inside some of true crime’s most infamous cases. The season 2 premiere will focus on the story of James Aurthur Ray, a self-help guru whose intense ceremonies and practices ultimately pushed some of his followers past their breaking point.
Sunday, April 26, 10pm ET
Showtime
The original Penny Dreadful series was a clever reimagining of 19th-century gothic characters like Dorian Gray and Frankenstein’s monster. And although the show traveled to America in its third season, Showtime’s new spin-off series — Penny Dreadful: City of Angels — looks like an entirely new show. Set in 1938 Los Angeles, the new series appears to be an intriguing mix of era-appropriate noir, cultural criticism, and supernatural horror. With a compelling cast that includes Nathan Lane as a hardened police detective and Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer in multiple roles, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels could be the rare spin-off that’s better than the original.
