1) Football, 4:35 p.m., Fox, and 8:15 p.m. ET, NBC. We’re two steps from the Super Bowl, with this weekend’s winners colliding next week for the conference championships. First, the Packers (shown here with Davonte Adams), who are used to the cold, host the Rams, who aren’t; the winner faces Sunday’s Bucs-Saints winner. Then the Bills (another cold-weather team) host the Ravens; the winner faces Sunday’s Browns-Chiefs winner.
2) “In the Heat of the Night” (1967), 6 p.m ET., Turner Classic Movies. One of the all-time great movies viewed race relations through a crime story. Visiting in Mississippi, a Black cop from Philadelphia becomes a murder suspect … then must work the case with a redneck sheriff. Two great actors – Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger – collide. The result won five Oscars, including best picture, actor (Steiger) and script and two more nominations, including director Norman Jewison.
3) More movies, cable. There are two more great ones tonight – the animated “Lion King” (1994) at 7:25 p.m. on Freeform and Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) at 8 p.m. on History. On the light side, CMT has three of Chevy Chase’s “Vacation” films. The original (1983) is noon and 8:45 p.m., with “European Vacation” (1985) at 2:15 and “Vegas Vacation” (1997) at 6:45 p.m. and 1 a.m.
4) “Prodigal Son,” 9 p.m., Fox. After a “Masked Dancer” rerun at 8 p.m., we get a rerun of this season-opener. The final minutes include a sudden reminder of racial issues. Until then, this follows the show’s heightened style, complete with a guillotine and a duel involving Medieval weapons.
5) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m. (or much later, with football overrun), NBC. With a late start expected in Eastern and Central zones, “SNL” settles for another rerun. Justin Bateman hosts, with country’s Morgan Wallen as music guest.