1) “The Ten Commandments” (1956), 7-11:44 p.m., ABC (check local listings). This has become an ABC tradition – on the night before Easter, showing Cecil B. DeMille’s epic. In its time, the mega-movie – with Charlton Heston as Moses – was well-regarded; it drew seven Oscar nominations (including best picture), winning for special effects. By modern standards, it feels stiff and the effects aren’t that special.
2) More Easter movies, cable. On the light side, “Easter Under Wraps” is 8 p.m. on Hallmark; a marketing director and a chocolatier (both quite attractive, of course) try to learn why sales have dipped. On he serious side, National Geographic has “Killing Jesus” (2015) at 8 p.m. and midnight ET. UPtv has “Risen” (2016) at 5 p.m. ET, with “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965) at 7 and “The Passion of the Christ” (2004) at 11:30. There’s more Sunday on UP, History and Turner Classic Movies.
3) “Ransom,” 8 p.m., CBS. The negotiation team faces an imposing villain – a sociopath who targets diabetics via tainted insulin.
4) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. John Mulaney spent six years as an “SNL” writer, creating (among other things) Bill Hader’s hilarious Stefon character. Here’s his second turn at host, with a particularly good opening monolog. Thomas Rhett is music guest and Hader shows up in sketches.
5) “Murdoch Myseries” season-opener, 7 and 8 p.m. ET, Ovation. After airing arts-oriented shows the rest of the week, Ovation offers imported dramas on Saturdays. This one – with a Toronto crimesolver in the early 1900s — is low-key and modestly entertaining. The first hour is fairly light, as Murdoch and his wife, Dr. Julia Ogden, move into an ultra-modern house and meet its architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. The second is serious, as Dr. Ogden tackles a medical mystery.