Anderson Cooper and Laura Coates host the annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” (CNN, 8 p.m.). The recipients are everyday heroes; those honoring them include Meryl Streep, Jon Batiste, Kathryn Hahn, Regina Hall, Parker Posey, Zachary Quinto, Kelly Ripa and Adam Scott. Also, the legacy of Robert Redford will be noted, with Al Gore accepting on his behalf.
A couple of college football conference championship games are on prime time tonight, with Duke vs. Virginia (ABC, 8 p.m.) in the ACC championship and Indiana vs. Ohio State (Fox, 8 p.m.) in the Big Ten championship.
Other college football showdowns today include BYU vs. Texas Tech (ABC, noon) in the Big 12 Championship, Miami, Ohio vs. Western Michigan (ESPN, noon) in the MAC championship, Prairie View A&M at Jackson State (ESPN2, 2 p.m.) in the SWAC championship and Rhode Island at UC Davis (ESPN2, 10 p.m.) in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
The new series “Jaguar Journals” (Nat Geo Wild, 10 p.m.) follows a biologist Lizzie Daly as she tracks big cats in Brazil.
“48 Hours” (CBS, 10 p.m.) reports on a woman who turns to Tik Tok to seek answers about the murder of her sister.
The documentary filmmaker en Burns is interviewed about grief on “All There Is with Anderson Cooper” (CNN, 9 p.m.).
“She’s Making a List” (Hallmark, 8 p.m.) is another made-for-TV holiday romance, this one concerning a woman who falls for a widowed father of a girl she’s trying to evaluate for a naughty or nice list. It’s followed by “The Hallmark Christmas Experience: A Hometown Holiday” (Hallmark, 10 p.m.), featuring stars from the films, clips, songs and a tree-lighting.
“Cranberries and Carols” (Great American Family, 8 p.m.) stars Jill Wagner and Trevor Donovan as a cafe owner who reunites with a blind date from decades earlier.
There are back to back holiday films on Lifetime. One concerns a tech exec and her childhood crush in “Deck the Hallways” (Lifetime, 8 p.m.) with with Naika Toussaint and Jaime M. Calica. The other is “Merry Missed Connection” (Lifetime, 10 p.m.), in which a woman accidentally swaps diaries with a stranger while speed dating — at Christmastime. Emily Alatalo stars.
Another new film, “The Christmas Showdown” (OWN, 9 p.m.) concerns former best friends competing for the same design job at a Christmas show and trying to impress the producer. Corbin Reid and Amber Stevens West star.
A woman cares for a dog but falls for its own in the romance “Paws in the City” (CW, 8 p.m.), which, in a holiday miracle, may not have anything to do with Christmas.
“Ghost Adventures: House Calls” (Travel, 9 p.m.) visits a haunted American Legion hall in Pomona, Calif.
Destiny learns Will is poly, and not a parrot, on “Love and Marriage: Huntsville” (OWN, 8 p.m.).
On “Seeking Sister Wife” (TLC, 8 p.m.), the Davises have had enough of Teresa.
Intruders invade restricted areas on “Toronto Airport Uncovered” (National Geographic, 9 p.m.).
Kevin James and Christina Ricci star in “Guns Up” (Showtime, 9 p.m.), an action film I actually reviewed earlier this year.
Svengoolie is screening “The Mummy’s Tomb” (MeTV, 8 p.m.).
“Reindeer in Here” (CBS, 8 p.m.), a computer-animated holiday special from 2022, gets a replay.
Debra Winger picks a pair on Turner Classic Movies: “People Will Talk” (8 p.m.) and “The Scarlet Empress” (10 p.m.). The 12 o’clock noir is “Cry of the City” (midnight), followed by the New York films “Crossing Delancey” (2 a.m.) and “Girlfriends” (4 a.m.). The midday musical is “Swing High, Swing Low” (noon).
Basketball includes Golden State at Cleveland (NBA, 7:30 p.m.).
Hockey has Utah at Calgary (NHL, 7 p.m.).
Men’s college basketball includes Dayton vs. Virginia (ESPN2, noon), Duke at Michigan State (Fox, noon), Iowa State at Purdue (CBS, noon), Rhode Island at Providence (truTV, noon), Old Dominion at Richmond (USA, 12:30 p.m.), North Carolina Asheville at North Carolina State (CW, 1 p.m.), Louisville at Indiana (CBS, 2 p.m.), Marquette at Wisconsin (Fox Sports 1, 2 p.m.), Boise State at Butler (truTV, 2 p.m.), Princeton at Loyola Chicago (USA, 2:30 p.m.), Maryland at Iowa (Fox Sports 1, 4 p.m.), Seton Hall at Kansas State (ESPNU, 4 p.m.), Baylor at Memphis (CBS, 4:30 p.m.), Colorado at Colorado State (CBS Sports, 5 p.m.), Wake Forest vs. West Virginia (ESPN2, 6 p.m.), Oklahoma State vs. Grand Canyon (CBS Sports, 7:30 p.m.), Illinois vs. Tennessee (ESPN, 8 p.m.), Arkansas Pine Bluff at DePaul (truTV, 9 p.m.), Auburn at Arizona (ESPN, 10 p.m.) and Oklahoma vs. Arizona State (CBS Sports, 10 p.m.).
Women’s games include Iowa at Rutgers (Fox Sports 1, 6 p.m.).
There is third round play in golf’s Hero World Challenge (NBC, 2:30 p.m.).
It’s the men’s downhill at skiing’s Beaver Creek World Cup (NBC, 5 p.m.).
“Austin City Limits” (PBS, 11 p.m., check local listings) features a replay with Mickey Guyton and Carin Leon.
Melissa McCarthy hosts a new “Saturday Night Live” (NBC, 11:30 p.m.) with musical guest (and possible mustard) Dijon. A rerun at 10 p.m. is last month’s show with Glen Powell and Olivia Dean.