SATURDAY’S BEST PICKS
12 PM $ College Basketball A clash of powerhouse NCAA programs is in the offing today in Sioux Falls, S.D., where the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs go at it against the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes. While the Zags lost elite big men
Killian Tillie and Filip Petrusev over the summer, they’ve brought in exciting freshmen Jalen Suggs, Dominick Harris and Julian Strawther to complement returnees Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi. Turnover has hit the Hawkeyes, too, but they still have a solid core built around reigning conference player of the year Luka Garza and junior guard Joe Wieskamp.
8 PM & Global Citizen Prize For the second year, John Legend returns to host this one-hour special that honors leaders who are shaping the world in positive ways, including taking action to end extreme poverty. The program contains several video segments spotlighting stories of taking action against major problems and the positive results that follow, as well as special musical collaborations from guest artists. 8 PM ( HALL) MOVIE A Christmas Carousel Rachel Boston (“The Witches of East End”) stars in this 2020 royal romance as Lila, who is summoned by the royal family of Marcadia to repair an antique carousel that has seen better days. Given the antique ride’s immense value, the prince himself offers his personal assistance to Lila to ensure the carousel is restored to its regal magnificence. Neal Bledsoe,
Jennifer Vallance and Kathryn Davis also star in this 2020 romance.
8 PM ( LI FE) MOVIE A Christmas Exchange As the Christmas season approaches, Molly (Laura Vandervoort) realizes a long-held dream by swapping her quaint farmhouse for the season with London financier Patrick Kingston (Rainbow Sun Francks), who brings a posh London flat to the exchange. As they exchange emails while living in each other’s worlds on a temporary basis, a warm rapport begins to grow between the two in this 2020 romance. Yanic Truesdale, Martin Roach and Rachael Crawford co-star.
8 PM ( HBO) MOVIE Wendy Director Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”) transplants the “Peter Pan” story to the rural Deep South in this 2020 fantasy drama, which he also cowrote with his sister, Eliza. Devin France stars as 9-year-old Wendy Darling, whose mother, diner waitress Angela (Shay Walker), gave up her childhood dreams to raise a family. Wendy and twin brothers Douglas and James (Gage and Gavin Naquin) are swept into an adventure, though, as they hop a train with a rambunctious boy named Peter (Yashua Mack). Kevin Pugh plays Captain Hook.
8 PM ( LMN) MOVIE Stolen in Plain Sight Reaching the end of her rope with her abusive husband, Melissa (Gracie Gillam, “Z Nation”) flees with her baby to her parents’ cabin in a small Louisiana town, where Melissa and her sister spent many idyllic summers together. Soon, however, the baby is abducted and local authorities are less than helpful in responding to her frantic report. Forced to take matters into her own hands, Melissa sets out to find her infant, in the process uncovering a dark secret the town is hiding.
11:29 PM & Saturday Night Live Kristen Wiig, who was a series mainstay on this late-night comedy show from 2009-2012, returns for her fourth time in the hosting spotlight, which could mean “guest appearances” for some of her most popular characters, including girl-group singer Dooneese; Sue, the excitable party guest; the chatty Target Lady; and Broadway actress Mindy Elise Grayson, who never grasped the rules during her frequent appearances on the game show “Secret Word.” Wiig, who earned four Primetime Emmy nominations during her “SNL” run, welcomes Grammy Award-winning vocalist Dua Lipa as the musical guest.