1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Adam Sandler was enmeshed in a wild “SNL” era, alongside Chris Farley, David Spade, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey and more. He left in 1995 – he and Farley were fired, he said later – and has made only brief appearances on the show since then. Here’s his first time as host. Shawn Mendes – born three years after Sandler left “SNL” — is the music guest.
2) “Happy Gilmore” (1996), 6:50 and 9 p.m., Comedy Central. As a warm-up for “SNL,” try the movie Sandler made shortly after leaving the show. It’s the story of a former hockey player who tries golf. Sandler drew one nomination (from MTV) for best actor and two well-deserved ones for worst actor.
3) “Star Wars” marathon, TBS. In some circles, May 4th is Star Wars Day (as in “May the 4th be with you”), so TBS celebrates properly. It has the first three films at 9:30 a.m. (1977), 12:15 p.m. (1980) and 3:02 p.m. (1983). Then it’s “The Force Awakens” (2015) at 6 p.m. and “Rogue One” (2016) at 9.
4) Basketball, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC, with preview at 8. Now that the playoffs have reached the conference semi-finals, every game is star-vs.-star. Tonight, Golden State, with Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, visits Houston, with James Harden and Chris Paul.
5) “The Son,” 9 p.m., AMC. It’s a theme that rippled through “Cat On aHot Tin Roof” and beyond: The older son is diligent and obedient … but the prodigal gets their dad’s attention. This dad, Eli, may be biased because the older son is gay … or may simply see more of himself in the younger. In a strong hour tonight, we flash back to Eli’s time with the Comanche. And we see him as a patriarch around 1910, celebrating Christmas and confronting a speculator who’s intent on getting his oil wealth.