SATURDAY’S BEST PICKS
4PM (ESPN) College Basketball A clash of Big 12 rivals is in the offing today in the Heartland, where Ochai Agbaji and the Kansas Jayhawks defend home court from Timmy Allen and the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns, ranked No. 20 at this writing, got the better of the eighth-ranked Jayhawks in these teams’ first meeting last month in Austin as Allen’s jumper and Marcus Carr’s steal and free throws in the closing seconds sealed a 79-76 Texas victory.
8PM (LIFE) MOVIE Stolen by Their Father Adapted from Lizbeth Meredith’s memoir “Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters,” this new docudrama stars Sarah Drew (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Meredith, who reluctantly allows her two young daughters to spend a non-custodial visit with their father (Kimonas Kouris). A few days later, she discovers her abusive exhusband has kidnapped the girls and spirited them away to Greece. Lizbeth spends the next two years desperately searching for her daughters, despite dire threats from her ex.
8PM (HBO) MOVIE F9 The Fast Saga “Fast & Furious” action franchise veteran Justin Lin returned to the helm of this 2021 installment, which he also co-wrote with Daniel Casey. The story finds Vin Diesel reprising his familiar role as former criminal turned street racer Dominic Toretto, who comes out of retirement to stop a nefarious plot with grave global implications that is headed by Dom’s younger brother Jakob (John Cena). Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Lucas Black, Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron also return in their roles from earlier “Fast” films. 8PM (TCM) MOVIE Tootsie An out-of-work actor (Dustin Hoffman), desperate for a job, poses as a woman and gets a role on a daytime soap opera. But he finds it difficult to keep up the charade, especially when he falls in love with a co-star (Jessica Lange). Teri Garr, Bill Murray, Dabney Coleman and Charles Durning also star in the 1982 romantic comedy, which was nominated for 10 Oscars but won only one: best supporting actress for Lange.
9PM 39 World’s Funniest Animals Host Elizabeth Stanton welcomes actor Jayson Blair (“Good Trouble”) as her special guest for a new episode that features clips of such animals as perplexed penguins, outlandish owls, leering lizards, a Husky who enjoys playing hide-and-seek and another dog who has made a new playmate out of the neighbor on the other side of a fence. Among the other humans offering commentary are Brian Cooper, Noah Matthews, Mikalah Gordon and Carmen Hodgson.
9PM (SHO) MOVIE The Djinn Co-directors and -screenwriters David Charbonier and Justin Powell received enthusiastic reviews for their 2021 supernatural horror film, which was praised for achieving a creepy atmosphere and some thoroughly unnerving moments, despite its limited budget. Young actor Ezra Dewey also earned warm reviews for his performance in the lead role of Dylan Jacobs, a mute boy who attempts to summon a malevolent spirit known as a Djinn. Predictably, things go horribly wrong. Rob Brownstein, Tevy Poe and John Erickson also star.
9PM (SUND) MOVIE Grease John Travolta trades his “Saturday Night Fever” disco duds for slicked-back hair and a leather jacket in this 1978 film version of the Broadway musical. He plays a tough 1950s high school student who is reunited with the shy Australian exchange student (Olivia Newton-John) he met the previous summer. Songs include “You’re the One That I Want” and “We Go Together.” Olivia Newton-John and Stockard Channing also star.
10 PM (ESPN) College Basketball One of the most storied rivalries in college basketball history gets another chapter tonight in Southern California, where the No. 21 USC Trojans will play host to the No. 12 UCLA Bruins. The Trojans are led by Isaiah Mobley, the junior forward who has a knack for coming through when a clutch shot is needed. The Bruins, meanwhile, look to junior guard Johnny Juzang to lead their attack.