It’s a little shocking that the public television mainstay “Sesame Street” (HBO, 9 a.m.) becomes a kind of gated community today, with new episodes taking place on premium cable. Sure, things are spiffed up; there seems a little more energy to the proceedings and a new cast member in a girl named Nina.
But it’s largely a way to help finance the educational kids’ show; the episodes will move to PBS in several months.
Those with fond memories of the original show may not know that it’s become something different over the years, losing the rapid fire skits, short films and cartoons for long segments hosted by the annoyingly-voiced Elmo. But it moves faster in the half-hour format, and is designed to entertain (and I supposed educate) on demand for parents with iPads.
“The Social Network” (ABC, 8 p.m.) isn’t a bad Saturday night network movie.
NFL playoffs include Green Bay at Arizona (NBC, 8:15 p.m.), preceded by Kansas City at New England (CBS, 4:35 p.m.).
The latest made for TV romantic comedy, “Love on the Sidelines” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.) concerns a woman (Emily Kinney) who is hired to assist an injured football player (John Reardon) though she doesn’t know the game. It features NFL great Joe Theismann, who talked to me about it at the Hallmark dinner last week.
Also new tonight, “The Wrong Car” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) brings the car-for-hire industry into the woman-in-peril realm. The cast includes Danielle Savre, Jackson Davis, Francia Raisa and Christina Elmore.
Last year’s thriller “Unfriended” (HBO, 8 p.m.) makes its premium cable premiere.
Also new to premium television was “The Imitation Game” (Showtime, 8 p.m.) with Benedict Cumberbatch. But you can watch it too: It’s a Showtime free weekend, so you can watch that movie, some Championship Boxing (Showtime, 10 p.m.) and catch up on things like “Shameless” (Showtime, 7 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.), as well as its new shows premiering Sunday.
The new documentary series “From the Bottom Up” (BET, Centric, 10 p.m.), produced by Queen Latifah, looks at women trying to return from scandals, such as the one inside the mayor’s office in Detroit.
Kym considers casting, er, adopting a new child on “Raising Whitley” (OWN, 9 p.m.).
“Mythbusters” (Discovery, 8 p.m.) try to crush a tanker train with a vacuum.
Men’s college hoops include South Florida at Memphis (CBS Sports, noon), North Carolina State at North Carolina (ESPN, noon), Ohio State at Maryland (ESPN2, noon), Cincinnati at Temple (ESPNU, noon), St. John’s at Butler (Fox Sports, noon), Indiana at Minnesota (Big Ten Network, 12:30 p.m.), Villanova at Georgetown (CBS, 1 p.m.), Virginia Commonwealth at Richmond (CBS Sports, 2 p.m.), Notre Dame at Duke (ESPN, 2 p.m.), TCU at Kansas (ESPN2, 2 p.m.), Texas A&M at Georgia (ESPNU, 2 p.m.), Xavier at Marquette (Fox Sports 1, 2 p.m.), La Salle at Rhode Island (NBC Sports Network, 2:30 p.m.), Wyoming at New Mexico (CBS Sports, 4 p.m.), East Carolina at Central Florida (ESPNews, 4:30 p.m.), Seton Hall at Providence (Fox Sports 1, 4:30 p.m.), Oklahoma State at Texas (ESPN2, 6 p.m.), Florida at Mississippi (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), Penn at Northwestern (ESPNU, 8:30 p.m.) and San Diego State at Boise State (ESPN2, 10 p.m.).
Women’s games include Temple at Connecticut (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.).
Ryan Adams and Shakey Graves play a new “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 11 p.m., check local listings).
Adam Driver hosts the first new “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, midnight) in almost a month. Country’s Chris Stapleton is musical guest. It follows football, so the start time is approximate; alert your DVR.