Get your movie awards weekend started the way the stars do: on the beach in Santa Monica, with the Independent Spirit Awards (IFC, 10 p.m.). Patton Oswalt hosts the lower-key, dressed-down affair which nonetheless attracts the stars.
Some of its best feature nominees are also Oscar nominees, such as “Nebraska” and “12 Years a Slave.” But it also gives a chance to films snubbed by the Academy including “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “All is Lost” and “Frances Ha.” Invariably you’ll be jotting down titles for future viewing including these nominees for best first feature: “Blue Caprice,” Una Noche,” Wadjda,” “Concussion” and “Fruitvale Station.”
Clips from the nominated documentary features and shorts are offered on “For Your Consideration: The 2014 Oscar-Nominated Documentaries” (Al Jazeera America, 10 p.m.).
Shut out of nominations the Independent Spirit Awards was “A Good Day to Die Hard” (HBO, 8 p.m.) with Bruce Willis.
Too new to be considered for the awards is the made for TV “Happy Face Killer” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) about a real life killer who taunted police with happy face signatures starring David Arquette and Gloria Reuben. The real case is explored immediately after in “Beyond the Headlines: The Happy Face Killer” (Lifetime, 10 p.m.).
Deion Sanders puts his wife and kids in a new reality series, “Deion’s Family Playbook” (OWN, 10 p.m.).
To commemorate the arrest of the powerful drug lord a week ago an updated version of the documentary “El Chapo: CEO of Crime” runs, titled “El Chapo: CEO of Crime, Captured” (Fusion, 8 p.m.).
The efforts of a family to find justice in a 1960 murder is chronicled on “48 Hours” (CBS, 10 p.m.).
The 31 Days of Oscar continues for a few more days on Turner Classic Movies, saluting the best picture nominees from 1967 tonight. They include the winner “In the Heat of the Night” (8 p.m.) as well as “The Graduate” (10 p.m.), “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (midnight), “Bonnie and Clyde” (2 a.m.) and “Doctor Dolittle” (4 a.m.).
Pretty good run of Disney movies: “Cinderella” (ABC Family, 6:30 p.m.), “The Little Mermaid” (ABC Family, 8:15 p.m.) and “Mulan” (ABC Family, 10 p.m.).
Other movies on tonight include “The Wrestler” (IFC, 7:45 p.m.), “The Impossible” (Showtime, 8 p.m.), “The Social Network” (ABC, 8 p.m.), “The Descendants” ((Fox Movies, 8 p.m.), “Platoon” (Encore, 8 p.m.), “Traffic” (Sundance, 9 p.m.) and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (Syfy, 9 p.m.).
Another outdoor hockey game gets prime time network coverage: Penguins vs. Blackhawks (NBC, 8 p.m.) at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
In a less chilly part of the country, the first Saturday spring baseball: Phillies at Yankees (MLB Network, 1 p.m.).
Men’s college hoops includes Massachusetts at Dayton (ESPNU, 11 a.m.), Vanderbilt at Tennessee (ESPN2, noon), Cincinnati at Connecticut (ESPN, noon), South Florida at Rutgers (ESPNews, noon), Northern Iowa at Indiana State (ESPNU, 1 p.m.), Bucknell at American (CBS Sports, 2 p.m.), Pittsburgh at Notre Dame (ESPN2, 2 p.m.), Louisville at Memphis (CBS, 2 p.m.), Missouri State at Wichita State (ESPN, 2 p.m.), Saint Joseph’s at St. Bonaventure (NBC Sports, 3 p.m.), Auburn at Alabama (ESPNU, 3 p.m.), LSU at Florida (CBS, 4 p.m.), Illinois at Michigan State (ESPN2, 4 p.m.), Syracuse at Virginia (ESPN, 4 p.m.), Central Florida at Southern Methodist (ESPNews, 4 p.m.), La Salle at Fordham (NBC Sports, 5 p.m.), Creighton at Xavier (Fox Sports 1, 5 p.m.), Kentucky at South Carolina (ESPN, 6 p.m.), Saint Louis at Virginia Commonwealth (ESPN2, 6 p.m.), Boise State at Wyoming (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.), Iowa State at Kansas State (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), Kansas at Oklahoma State (ESPN, 9 p.m.), Houston at Temple (ESPNU, 9 p.m.), Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s (ESPN2, 10 p.m.) and San Diego State at Fresno State (CBS Sports, 10 p.m.) and Cal Poly at UC irvine (ESPNU, 11p.m.).
The Shins and Dr. Dog play a replay of “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 9 p.m., check local listings).
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) returns for the first time in a month. Jim Parsons hosts and Beck is musical guest. Also, Colin Jost makes his debut in Seth Meyers’ old seat on “Weekend Update.”