Just announced as the Super Bowl Talent, Bad Bunny also hosts the 51st season premiere of “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.), It’s as if he never left, since he was also musical guest on the season 50 finale in May. Musical guest tonight is Doja Cat.
The show may feel a bit different with some cast changes. The absences of Heidi Gardner and Ego Nwodim will be most obvious. Three others not returning were much less seen (or remembered): Devon Walker, Emil Wakim and Michael Longfellow. The new featured players, for the record, are Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Sam Patterson and Veronika Slowikowska. Redhead Ben Marshall is being bumped up to featured cast from being a writer and member of the Please Don’t Destroy troupe that did short films. Those films will stop now; of his two partners, Martin Herlihy will stay on as a writer, and John Higgins will leave the show to pursue Please Don’t Destroy projects.
“SNL” is not the only live show starting its 51st season tonight. “Austin City Limits” (PBS, 11 p.m., check local listings) returns, featuring Finneas, previously known as the brother and collaborator of his sister Billie Ellis, now out on a solo outing with a new album.
College football again dominates broadcast primetime with Minnesota at Ohio State (NBC, 7:30 p.m.), Colorado at TCU (Fox, 7:30 p.m.) and Miami at Florida State (ABC, 7:30 p.m.). Dozens of other games are listed below.
But there is also Professional Bull Riding (CW, 8 p.m.) from Kansas City.
The daughter of Warren Jeffs, the notorious leader of a polygamist sect now serving a life sentence, tells her story in “Surviving My Father: The Rachel Jeffs Story” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) starring Kaitlyn Bernard and Michael Eklund, based on her memoir “Breaking Free: How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult and My Father, Warren Jeffs.”
Nikki DeLoach and Warren Christie star in a made-for-TV romance about a college president and her football coach, “Home Turf” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.).
“The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher” (Oxygen, 9 p.m.) tries to identify a body left in the icy East River.
John Hodgman and Akilah Hughes are guests on a new “Have I Got News for You” (CNN, 9 p.m.).
“Rosie O’Donnell Joins the Best People with Nicolle Wallace” (MSNBC, 9 p.m.) is an interview with the entertainer and Trump infuriator.
A wife guards a secret for 25 years to protect her preacher husband and their megachurch on “Unlocked: Family Secrets” (OWN, 8 p.m.).
There’s a timely replay of the documentary series “The Fall of Diddy” (Investigation Discovery, 8 p.m.).
It’s not just gloves and sunglasses. “Inside Airport Lost & Found” (National Geographic, 9 p.m.) has included a 40th anniversary gift and $1,500 in cash.
“Bring Her Back” (HBO, 8 p.m.), a horror movie about a brother and step sister who live with a foster mother who conducts occult rituals, makes its premium cable premiere. The film, from Michael Phillippou and Danny Philippou, is from the same universe as their previous film “Talk to Me,” though it is not a direct sequel. Sally Hawkins, Billy Barratt and Mischa Heywood star.
The live action “Lilo & Stitch” (Disney+, streaming), which actually still involves a lot of CGI, makes its way to the streaming service.
A man found dead in a corporate parking garage is the subject of “48 Hours” (CBS, 8 p.m.).
Svengoolie goes double duty in October, with double features every Saturday night. He begins with what he says is one of the most requested film “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (MeTV, 8 p.m.) with Don Knotts, followed by “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (MeTV, 10:30 p.m.) with Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
Lin-Manuel Miranda picks a pair for Turner Classic Movies tonight. His choices: “The Band Wagon” (8 p.m.) and “All That Jazz”(10 p.m.). The midnight noir is “The Big Street” (12:15 a.m.), followed by two with Telly Savalas: “Sophie’s Place” (2 a.m.) and “Inside Out” (4 a.m.). The midday musical is “Flying Down to Rio” (noon).
Baseball’s league championships begin with Cubs at Milwaukee (TBS, HBO Max, 2 p.m.), Yankees at Toronto (Fox, 4 p.m.), Dodgers at Philadelphia (TBS, truTV, HBO Max, 6:30 p.m.) and Detroit at Seattle (Fox Sports 1, 8:30 p.m.).
Preseason hockey has Rangers at Boston (NHL, 2 p.m.), Colorado at Dallas (NHL, 6 p.m.) and San Jose at Utah (NHL, 9 p.m.).
Preseason basketball has Philadelphia vs. New York (NBA, 11 a.m.), Orlando vs. Miami (NBA, 8 p.m.) and New Orleans at South East Melbourne (NBA, 11 p.m.) from Australia.
College football begins at noon with Air Force at Navy (CBS), Wisconsin at Michigan (Fox), Kentucky at Georgia (ABC), Clemson at North Carolina (ESPN), Army at Alabama-Birmingham (ESPNU), Iowa State at Cincinnati (ESPN2) and Ohio at Ball State (CBS Sports).
After Wake Forest at Virginia Tech (CW, 1 p.m.), and Oklahoma State at Arizona (TNT, 3 p.m.), games at 3:30 p.m. include: Virginia at Louisville (ESPN2), Boise State at Notre Dame (NBC), Vanderbilt at Alabama (ABC), Penn State at UCLA (CBS), Texas at Florida (ESPN) and Florida International at Connecticut (CBS Sports).
Then comes Texas State at Arkansas State (ESPNU, 4 p.m.), Michigan State at Nebraska (Fox Sports 1, 4 p.m.), Texas Tech at Houston (ESPN, 7 p.m.), UNLV at Wyoming (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.), Kansas at UCF (ESPN2, 7:30 p.m.), Tulsa at Memphis (ESPNU, 8 p.m.), Duke at California (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.) and Nevada at Fresno State (CBS Sports, 10:30 p.m.).
Auto racing includes the Owens Corning 200 (Fox Sports 2, 4 p.m.) and the Blue Cross NC 250 (CW, 5 p.m.).