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"The Night Of" (Sunday, 10 p.m.) is the best new drama to air on HBO since the first season of "True Detective" in 2014.

That's not faint praise, although there's been a definite dearth of a quality drama on HBO in recent years. (Even Season 2 of "True Detective" was terrible.) And there was reason to be skeptical about "The Night Of," which has been in development at the pay-cable channel for years.

But the finished product is exceptional.

Adapted from the British drama "Criminal Justice," this is the sort of story that shows like "CSI" or "Law & Order" would wrap up in an hour. "The Night Of" tells this story in eight hours.

And if you're used to the rhythms of weekly crime dramas, yes, the first hour is an adjustment. It's not exactly slow, but it is deliberate.

But having seen seven of the eight episodes — HBO did not provide Episode 8 to critics — I can tell you that "The Night Of" (Sunday, 10 p.m.) is absolutely gripping.

(For the full review, click here.)

Friday on TV ...

• "Masters of Illusion" (7 p.m., CW/Ch. 30): Magicians include Jonathan Pendragon, Eric Buss, Naathan Phan, Barry and Stuart, Chris Randall and David and Dania.

• "The Great British Baking Show" (8 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): The remaining 11 bakers tackle biscuits — including some very elaborate biscuits.

• "Outcast" (8 and 11 p.m., Cinemax): Kyle presses his estranged wife to meet him; Chief Giles shadows his best friend.

• "Morgan Spurlock: Inside Man" (8 p.m., CNN): Spurlock joins the ranks of pro video gamers.

• "Girl Meets World" (9:30 p.m., Disney): Maya and Riley take a trip without telling Cory and Topanga where they are going.

• "Killjoys" (11 p.m., Syfy): The Killjoys return to the ruins of Old Town to hunt eight escaped convicts

• "Dark Matter" (11 p.m., Syfy): Imprisoned in Hyperion-8, the crew plotstheir escape.

Saturday on TV ...

• Tennis (7 a.m., ESPN): Wimbledon — women's final

• "Angel from Hell" (7 and 7:30 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): CBS burns off two more episodes of this canceled sitcom: Amy suggests Amy have a "fling" to help her gain confidence; Allison starts dating a new guy, and Amy tries to facilitate their first kiss.

• "Outlander" (7 and 10 p.m., Starz): The narrative flashes forward to the present, where Claire reveals the truth to her daughter. Back in the 18th century, the Battle of Culloden arrives.

• MLS (8 p.m., KMYU): Montreal Impact at Real Salt Lake

• "Hell on Wheels" (10 p.m., AMC): Mickey has blood on his hands; Campbell returns to town.

• "The West" (11:10 p.m., AMC): Billy the Kid uses his talents with a gun to get what he wants; and Wyatt Earp fights for justice. Meanwhile, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse make a big decision.

Sunday on TV ...

• Tennis (7 a.m., ESPN): Wimbledon — men's final

• Soccer — Euro Cup (1 p.m., ESPN): Championship game — France vs. Portugal

• NBA summer league (6 p.m., NBAtv): Utah Jazz vs. New Orleans Pelicans

• "Big Brother" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2): Nominations for eviction are announced.

• "Celebrity Family Feud" (7 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Snoop Dogg and family vs. Sugar Ray Leonard and family; Laila Ali and family vs. George Hamilton and family.

• "Broken Promise" (7 p.m., Lifetime): In this TV movie, a high-school couple breaks into a mansion and accidentally kills the owner. Two decades later, the boyfriend — who took the fall for the crime — is released from prison and comes searching for his former girlfriend, who has a husband and a daughter.

• "The Last Ship" (7 and 9 p.m., TNT): A mission becomes complicated; President Michener deals with pressure from regional leaders.

• "$100,000 Pyramid" (8 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Martha Stewart vs. Snoop Dogg; Ken Jeong vs. Tisha Campbell Martin.

• "Endeavor on Masterpiece" (8 and 10:30 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): Morse takes the sergeant's exam and investigates the murder of a garment factory owner. (Season finale)

• "Murder in the First" (8 p.m., TNT): Pressure increases over the shooting death of an unarmed suspect.

• "Match Game" (9 p.m., ABC/Ch. 4): Alec Baldwin hosts; Tituss Burgess, Ana Gasteyer, Bobby Moynihan, Rosie O'Donnell, Maggie Q and Pete Wentz are the celebrity guests.

• "The Tunnel" (9:30 p.m., PBS/Ch. 7): Karl and Elise try to find an elderly soldier before he freezes to death.

• "Preacher" (10 p.m., AMC): Billy the Kid uses his talents with a gun to get what he wants; and Wyatt Earp fights for justice. Meanwhile, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse make a big decision.

• "The Night Of" (10 and 11:30 p.m., HBO): In the premiere of this eight-part miniseries, a young Pakistani-American — the son of immigrants — awakes to discover that the young woman he just had sex with has been brutally murdered.

• "D.B. Cooper: Case Closed" (10 p.m., History): A look at the 1971 case of airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper, who received a $200,000 ransom, parachuted out of a plane and was never found.

• "Ray Donovan" (10 p.m., Showtime): An intruder breaks into the Donovan house.

• "Escaping Polygamy" (11 p.m., A&E): The women help one of their sisters escape, but the plan goes awry when they stop at The Order bank and face a dramatic confrontation about finances. (Season premiere)

• "Roadies" (11 p.m., Showtime): Rainn Wilson ("The Office") guest stars as a ridiculous (and, quite frankly, ill-conceived) music blogger who writes a scathing review of the band — so Reg invites him to return for the next show.

• "The Jim Gaffigan Show" (11 p.m., TV Land): Jim tries to help a friend whose career has tanked. (Part 1 of 3)

• "Ride with Norman Reedus" (11:02 p.m., AMC): Reedus travels from Lafayette, La., to New Orleans.