It’s a night of elaborate hairpieces on “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) with Donald Trump the controversial choice to host and Sia the musical guest.
It’s bad enough that a network chooses a single candidate for such a prominent showcase in the middle of a primaryy season; worse yet it is a former network partner who had since been ostensibly kicked out for the racist comments that marked his announcement speech.
At the time NBC said no more Miss Universe on the network; now they’ve forgotten all that in homes of big ratings. That might come because “SNL” will finally live up to its potential as a live program — some anti-Trump people are offering rewards to those who disrupt or otherwise call out the candidate whose quest for being taken seriously will likely only drop further. And Teran Killan, we presume, has the night off.
College football dominates prime time with games on three of the four major broadcast networks with Utah at Washington (Fox, 7:30 p.m.), LSU at Alabama (CBS, 8 p.m.) and Minnesota at Ohio State (ABC, 8 p.m.).
They won’t leave the former First Lady alone with a new two hour special “Jackie Behind Closed Doors” (Reelz, 9 p.m.), hosted by Natalie Morales.
Zygotes shift their shape on a new “Doctor Who” (BBC America, 9 p.m.).
Some are concerned Ash has fired up his old chainsaw arm again on “Ash vs. Evil Dead” (Starz, 9 p.m.).
The Isley Brothers perform on a new “Legends: OWN at the Apollo” (OWN, 10 p.m.).
“Unfinished Business” (HBO, 8 p.m.) with Vince Vaughn and Dave Franco, makes its premium cable debut, as does “Blackhat” (Cinemax, 10 p.m.) with Viola Davis and Chris Hemsworth.
Animals need another doctor, so here’s “Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet” (Animal Planet, 8 p.m.).
The documentary “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me” (CNN, 8 and 10 p.m.) gets a replay.
Too soon for a “Holiday Baking Championship” (Food, 9 p.m.)? Depends what holiday. Veteran’s Day? OK.
No such confusion with “Ice Sculpture Santa” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.), the first of the new holiday films there, with Rachel Boston, Brenda Strong and David Alpa. It’s matched with, well, “Matchmaker Santa” (Hallmark, 10 p.m.).
Camille tries to help Audrey and Esteban understand what’s happening on “The Returned” (Sundance, 10 p.m.). Maybe she can help us too.
Updates on cases in Toledo and Hanover are featured on “The Dead Files Revisited” (Travel, 10 p.m.).
Leonardo is a busy man. In addition to the art, he investigates a murder on “Da Vinci’s Demons” (Starz, 8 p.m.).
The liberation of the concentration camp in Dachau is the focus of “The Liberators — Why We Fought” (History, 10 p.m.).
The Danes are having their day on ‘The Last Kingdom” (BBC America, 10 p.m.).
Samuel L. Jackson, Stephen Merchant, Amy Schumer and Muse are on an episode of “The Graham Norton Show” (BBC America, 11:15 p.m.) from earlier this year.
“Norma Rae” (TCM, 8 p.m.) kicks off a night of fighters with “Marie: A True Story” (TCM, 10:15 p.m.) and “Blossoms in the Dust” (TCM, 12:15 a.m.). Later comes a couple of music stories from the 80s, Susan Sideman’s “Smithereens” (TCM, 2 a.m.) with Richard Hell and “Border Radio” (TCM, 3:45 a.m.) with John Doe.
College football today begins with the following games at noon: Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (ABC), Vanderbilt at Florida (ESPN), Duke at North Carolina (ESPN2), Texas Tech at West Virginia (Fox Sports 1), Penn State at Northwestern (ESPNU), UCF at Tulsa (ESPNews), and Akron at Massachusetts (CBS Sports Network).
Games at 3:30 include Florida State at Clemson (ABC), Arkansas at Ole Miss (CBS), TCU at Oklahoma State (Fox), Iowa at Indiana (ESPN), Cincinnati at Houston (ESPN2), Army at Air Force (ESPNU), Arizona State at Washington State (Fox Sports 1) and Utah State at New Mexico (CBS Sports).
Then comes Connecticut at Tulane (ESPNews, 4 p.m.), Michigan State at Nebraska (ESPN, 7 p.m.), Navy at Memphis (ESPN2, 7 p.m.), Iowa State at Oklahoma (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), South Florida at East Carolina (CBS Sports, 7:30 p.m.), Arizona at USC (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.) and California at Oregon (ESPN2, 10:30 p.m.).
TV on the Radio and the War on Drugs play a new “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 11 p.m., check local listings).