1) “Farm Aid,” 7-11 p.m., CNN. Ever since 1985, this mega-concert has raised money for hard-pressed farmers. The co-founders — Willie Nelson, 93, shown here; Neil Young, 80; and John Mellencamp, 74 — are expected back, plus new generations (including Nelson’s son Lukas). Also: Dave Matthews, Margo Price, Lily Meola, Chris Pierce and many more.
2) “Saturday Night Live” season-opener, 11:29 p.m., NBC. It’s the earliest season-opener in 14 years — and an unusual one: Instead of a comedian or actor, it’s hosted by Jalen Brunson, who led the New York Knicks to the pro-basketball championship. The music guest is Katseye, a “global girl group” that has singers from four countries.
3) Football, ABC. Here are three straight collisions between ranked teams — Texas (No. 1) at Tennessee (No. 14) at noon ET; Mississippi (No. 4) at Florida (No, 21), 3:30; and Texas A&M (No. 23) at Louisiana State (No,. 10) at 7:30. Also, at 3:30 p.m., CBS has Iowa and Michigan, ranked 17 and 18.
4) “Descendants: Wicked Wonderland” (2026), 7-8:45 p.m., Disney Channel. Time-travel seemed like a fine idea in the previous movie musical; now Red and Chloe find that everything has changed at home. This is preceded by the “Moana” cartoon (2016) at 5:05. For more cartoons, Freeform has “Zootopia” at 4:30, “Finding Nemo” at 7, “Finding Dory” at 9:30.
5) “Backrooms” (2026), 8 p.m., HBO. This low-budget film, from a 21-year-old director, drew favorable reviews and topped $400 million worldwide. More movies include Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” 7 and 10:15 p.m., TruTV; and James Cameron’s brilliant “Aliens,” at 8 p.m. on MGM+.
— Mike Hughes, TV America