1) “Ms. Marvel” opener, 8-11 p.m., ABC. Here’s a surprise bonus – a Disney+ mini-series, jumping to ABC. Iman Vellani, a Pakistan native who grew up in Canada, plays Kamala Khan, who plays videogames and writes fan fiction, especially about Captain Marvel. Then she gets a bangle from her grandmother and (shown here) her life transforms. This six-part tale concludes next Saturday, setting up a movie (“The Marvels”), tentatively set for Nov. 10.
2) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29, NBC. In a rarity for “SNL,” there are two hosts – Steve Martin and Martin Short. The result (with Brandi Carlile as music guest) is a delight … as is the “Only Murders in the Building” series they star in with Selena Gomez. The third season starts Tuesday (Aug. 8) on Hulu.
3) “The Great Chocolate Showdown” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. Cooking shows are swarming now on Saturdays. At 8 p.m., NBC has Amy Poehler’s “Baking It,” which previously ran on Peacockl; now CW adds a pair of Canadian transplants. “Showdown” is an amiable show, with regular folks — doctor, delivery driver, police detective, etc. — showing great skill, But “Recipe for Disaster” is just goofy, pelting chefs with “rain” and glitter and such.
4) “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), 1 and 8:35 p.m., Paramount Network. Four decades later, this remains a prime example of a great movie adventure. Steven Spielberg’s cinema sense merges with John Williams’ rousing score and Harrison Ford’s no-nonsense persona. The second Indiana Jones film (1984) is at 3:30 p.m. and 1:35 a.m.; the third (1989) – and maybe the best – is at 6 and 11. The fourth was OK; the fifth (now in theaters) is great fun.
5) More movies. This is a night for lioght films. There’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) at 6:56 p.m. on Starz, the animated delight “Rio” (2011) at 8 p.m. on the Disney Channel and an entertaining double-feature on MGM+. At 6:10 p.m. is “That Thing You Do” (1996), Tom Hanks’ buoyant movie-directing debut; at 8, “The Lost City” (2022) is silly fun with Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.