TV HIGHLIGHTS

Basketball Wives, 8 PM on VH1; 10:01 PM on VH1: Virtually all of the women on this hit series find themselves sorely tested by a variety of unexpected challenges as Season 8 launches on a new night. Among the returning characters, Shaunie has adopted a new attitude of gratitude after her son’s heart surgery, and she’s trying to mend fences with old adversaries, including her ex. Jackie, meanwhile, has early-onset empty nest syndrome as her son prepares for college. Elsewhere, new cast member Feby Torres seeks to move out from the shadow of her famous ex.

When Whales Walked: Journeys in Deep Time, 9 PM on Ch. 16 and Ch. 48; 1 AM on Ch. 16 and Ch.

48: Created in a first-ever partnership between PBS and Smithsonian Channel, this breathtaking new twohour special, premiering on both channels, features top scientists unlocking the evolutionary secrets of four iconic creatures: crocodiles, birds, whales and elephants. Actor Lee Pace narrates the documentary, timed to the opening of the new Deep Time Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Yellowstone, 10 PM on CMTV and PARMT; 11:04 PM on PARMT; 12:05 AM on PARMT; 1 AM on TVL;

1:06 AM on PARMT: John Dutton (Kevin Costner) continues to defend his property on the largest contiguous ranch in the lower 48 states as this contemporary Western drama returns for Season 2 with a premiere called “A Thundering.” Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), chief of a nearby reservation, poses the biggest threat with plans to build a casino and resort on neighboring lands. Kelly Reilly also stars.