What's On Tonight (Saturday): A deep Jehovah's Witness criminal conspiracy

The Witnesses (via Giphy)

Happy Oscar weekend! Tonight, for the first time, an Oxygen program gets top pick. In the first night of a two-night event special, The Witnesses explores stories of child sexual abuse among the Jehovah's Witnesses that is being covered up. This isn't your typical light Saturday program. Elsewhere, like I said, it's Oscar weekend, so I listed every Academy Award-nominated/-winning movie that will air. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that I've seen all of them. Also, the college admissions scandal gets documentary treatment, Kong has a son, and there's murder at a church. Alert the media Hobson, here's what's on television for tonight, Saturday, February 8!

💻 STREAMING / EARLY PRIMETIME

Avatar 🎥🏆 (FXX, 7 p.m.): This visual wonder lacks a good story and characters. [don't make Dances with Wolves joke... don't make Dances with Wolves joke... don't make Dances with Wolves joke].

The Coldest Game 🎥 (Netflix, 3 a.m.): Playing a major chess match in Warsaw against the Russian champion, brilliant but forgotten former US champion, and alcoholic, Josh Mansky is sucked into the world of espionage and conflict between the world's superpowers. So, kinda like the Family Ties episode "Checkmate" but more intense?

The Devil Wears Prada 🎥🏆 (IFC, 7:30 p.m.): Anne Hathaway lands a job as an assistant to Meryl Streep, the demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine. I still love this movie.✔️

Fifty Shades of Grey 🎥🏆 (E!, 6 p.m.): This got a nomination for Best Song!

Jackie Brown 🎥🏆 (Starz Encore, 7:23 p.m.): This Elmore Leonard-based Quentin Tarantino film is pretty good. Pam Grier is a solid lead, but supporting actor Robert Forster is the one who garnered an Oscar nomination.

Jerry Maguire 🎥🏆 (Showtime Showcase, 6:40 p.m.): Before she wins another Oscar (probably) on Sunday, see Renee Zellweger back when all you had to do was say hello to her and Tom Cruise showed Cuba Gooding, Jr. the money.

The Mummy 🎥🏆 (Paramount Network, 6:30 p.m.): This adventure flick is just fine for what it wants to be. It's not high art. And it has great sound work.

Murdoch Mysteries (Ovation, 7 p.m.): Murdoch investigates the bizarre murder of a young woman who disappeared a decade earlier yet somehow hasn't aged a day. Later, a death at an investment event leads Crabtree to the father he never knew.

The Shawshank Redemption 🎥🏆 (Paramount Network, 6:30 p.m.): A beloved classic that I believe is by far the most overrated movie of the 1990s.

⭐ The Witnesses (Oxygen, 7 p.m.): After receiving leaked documents, reporter Trey Bundy sets out to expose a cover-up of child sexual abuse among the Jehovah's Witnesses in this two-night special event. When he meets abuse survivors and an attorney fighting for justice, he learns the conspiracy goes much deeper. The stories of four survivors are detailed.

FOR THE RECORD: Crash Landing on You (Netflix, 3 a.m.)

The Devil Wears Prada (via Giphy)

🕗 EASTERN / 🕖 CENTRAL

All That (Nickelodeon, 8:30 p.m.): Nathan cancels Valentine's Day candy... a contestant on a baking show has to defend his cake... an important date gets interrupted by extreme weather at the Weather Café.

Bicentennial Man 🎥🏆 (HBO Family, 8:50 p.m.): I hate this movie. I gave it 3 stars on IMDb, and I stand by it.

Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (Reelz, 8 p.m.): SPECIAL. A documentary that is by no way related to the movie Varsity Blues. This digs into the scope of the college admissions scandal and how it operated.

Henry Danger (Nickelodeon, 8 p.m.): Kid Danger and Captain Man enter an escape room by a factory owner with a "chip" on his shoulder, and become trapped inside with two new kids, Mika and Miles, who are oddly good at solving the puzzles they need to answer to get out.

Hidden Figures 🎥🏆 (FX, 10 p.m.): Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe cross gender and race lines at NASA in this quality flick that deserved better awards love. Even my mother liked this one, and she's hard to please.

Iron Man 🎥🏆 (Syfy, 8:05 p.m.): Marvel Studios' first self-financed movie is still one of its best.✔️

Ma 🎥 (HBO, 8 p.m.): Lonely Octavia Spencer befriends a group of teens and decides to let them party at her house. Then things get creepy.

Megachurch Murder 🎥 (BET, 8 p.m.): After the apparent suicide of her father, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, suspicious teen Shanica Knowles finds evidence that points to a murder conspiracy involving those closest to her.

The Neighbor in the Window 🎥 (Lifetime, 8 p.m.): When Karen, her husband Scott, and their son relocate to Washington, Karen looks forward to starting a new life. However, soon after she meets Lisa, her charming neighbor, her life starts to spiral out of control.

Real Steel 🎥🏆 (Showtime Extreme, 8 p.m.): Hugh Jackman really helps sell this movie with an odd premise. I went in expecting little; rather enjoyed it. And the visual effects are quite good.

Separate Tables 🎥🏆 (TCM, 8 p.m.): Of course there are Oscar-nominated movies on TCM! This 1958 Best Picture nominee is a great actors movie as it boasts a stellar cast, which won Oscars for David Niven and Wendy Hiller. It is a pretty simple character study that gets better on repeat viewings.

Shakespeare in Love 🎥🏆 (TMC Xtra, 8 p.m.): Before she fell for making Goop, William Shakespeare fell for Gwyneth Paltrow.

Steppin' Back to Love 🎥 (TV One, 8 p.m.): A once-loving Chicago couple uses stepping to find each other again after their marriage is threatened by money and infidelity woes.

Svengoolie: The Son of Kong 🎥 (MeTV, 8 p.m.): In this mediocre but not terrible sequel to King Kong, made and released in mere months, Robert Armstrong returns to Skull Island and finds Kong's young son.

FOR THE RECORD: Say Yes to the Dress America (TLC)

Iron Man (via Giphy)

🕘 EASTERN / 🕗 CENTRAL

In Memoriam (Investigation Discovery, 9 p.m.): SPECIAL. Wounded survivors, grieving relatives, and heroes from three recent mass shootings in the U.S. relive the moment their lives changed forever, revealing the emotional scars they left.

Matching Heats 🎥 (Hallmark Channel, 9 p.m.): As Valentine's Day nears, a matchmaker must find a mate for an entrepreneur who believes staying single is the key to success.

Prisoners 🎥🏆 (HBO Signature, 9 p.m.): One of Roger Deakins many nominations. This one found Hugh Jackman as a dad who wanted to find his missing daughter. It's really good.✔️

Seven Worlds, One Planet (BBC America, 9 p.m.): To Asia! Where in the frozen north, walrus congregate in extraordinary numbers, bears gather inside volcanoes and yeti-like monkeys fight in the remote forests of China. In the tropical south, the last few Sumatran rhino roam.

FOR THE RECORD: Criminal Confessions (Oxygen); Family or Fiancé (OWN); Live PD (A&E); Pit Bulls & Parolees (Animal Planet); These Woods Are Haunted (Travel Channel, premiere)

Prisoners (via Giphy)

🕙 EASTERN / 🕘 CENTRAL

Atlantic City 🎥🏆 (TCM, 10 p.m.): Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon are wonderful in this crime drama. Director Louis Malle did a fantastic job.

Gosford Park 🎥🏆 (TMC Xtra, 10:05 p.m.): Robert Altman's masterful murder mystery that should have won him an Oscar!✔️

The Magical Cracker 🎥🏆 (Sho2, 10 p.m.): What every minority like me in America wants to see in the 21st century: a story about racism from a white person's perspective! I'll forever love that alternative title. (H/t Whistler)

Poseidon 🎥🏆 (Unimas, 10 p.m.): This movie not good. Very not good. But yeah, I guess the special effects are modestly impressive.

FOR THE RECORD: Ancient Aliens (History); Fire Masters (Cooking Channel); Haunted Hospitals (Travel Channel); Heartland Docs, DVM (Nat Geo Wild); Iyanla, Fix My Life (OWN); The Vet Life (Animal Planet)

Gosford Park (via Giphy)

🕚 EASTERN / 🕙 CENTRAL

Bohemian Rhapsody 🎥🏆 (HBO 2, 11:30 p.m.): Sure, Remy gave a great performance and the concert scenes were beautifully executed. But the rest was not good.✔️

Dr. Stone (Adult Swim, 11:30 p.m.): Senku, Chrome and Magma venture into a cave to search for Tungsten. A suspicious accident leaves Senku and Chrome trapped at the bottom of a pit.

Get Out 🎥🏆 (FX, 11 p.m.): Don't listen to the haters. This is a masterpiece. The anxiety of meeting your significant others' parents when you are in an interracial relationship is very, very real. But it has never spiraled to this... in my experience... Yet?

Monsanto Night Presents Lena Horne 📺 (getTV, 11 p.m.): In this 1969 special, Lena Horne is joined by David Janssen and O. C. Smith.

My Hero Academia (Adult Swim, 11 p.m.): Izuku, Eraser Head and Sir Nighteye catch up to Chisaki and the others. Togata is in dire straits.

Bohemian Rhapsody (via Giphy)

💤💤😴💤💤

Arthur 🎥🏆 (HBO Family, 1:15 a.m.): The line "It's so small, they recently had the whole country carpeted" will never not make me laugh.✔️

Black Clover (Adult Swim, 1:30 a.m.): After a surprise encounter with their possessed squad-mate Luck, Magna and Vanessa go to extremes in an attempt to free their friend.

Bull Durham 🎥🏆 (TCM, midnight): Baseball groupie Susan Sarandon has affairs with both pitcher Tim Robbins and catcher Kevin Costner.

Demon Slayer (Adult Swim, 12:30 a.m.): Tanjiro and Nezuko head to a mountain crawling with spiders.

Food Wars! (Adult Swim, 1 a.m.): Subaru and Takumi face off.

The Invaders 📺 (MeTV, midnight): A police shooting causes Vincent to investigate a possible alien encounter with hidden secrets. Diana Muldaur guest stars. No word if elevators are involved.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa 🎥🏆 (FXM, 1:25 a.m.): Makeup nominee!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind (Adult Swim, 2 a.m.): Abbacchio and Giorno fight against Illuso in a battle on the verge between the real world and the mirror world, with Abbachio forced to make a painful choice in hopes of retrieving the key.

Lost in Space 📺 (MeTV, 1 a.m.): The "War of the Robots" is more an introduction to The Robot, who gets lots of spotlight and show it has personality when it and Will find other, more capable robots.

Naruto: Shippuden (Adult Swim, 2:30 a.m.): Naruto, an adolescent ninja, dreams of becoming the Hokage in his village.

Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld (Adult Swim, midnight): Shasta had intended to use Administrator's death as a chance for peace with the Human Empire, but his plans are thwarted by Emperor Vecta's return to the land of darkness.

Winter's Bone 🎥🏆 (HBO Signature, 12:05 a.m.): Jennifer Lawrence made her big splash with this first-rate movie about life and crime in the Missouri sticks. Director Debra Granik deserved an Oscar nomination, too!

Arthur (via Giphy)

LATE-NIGHT TV

Austin City Limits (PBS, 11 p.m.): Rosalía
The Greg Gutfeld Show (Fox News, 10 p.m.): Rob Long, Dagen McDowell, Kat Timpf, and Tyrus
Saturday Night Live (NBC, 11:29 p.m.): RuPaul and Justin Bieber (live thread)
SNL Vintage 📺 (NBC, 10 p.m.): Kirk Douglas and Sam & Dave (23 Feb 1980)

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Note: All times are Eastern.

Key Sources: The Futon Critic (outline); Zap2it (descriptions); TV Passport (throwbacks)
⭐: Top pick(s)
📺: Throwback
🎥: Movie
🏆: Academy Award-nominated/-winning movie
✔️: Midlevel video/gif

Saturday Night Live (via Giphy)

Happy watching, everyone!