Tune In Tonight: True crime rules night
The year winds down with one thing certain: Saturday nights belong to true crime.
Based on a true story, “She Made Them Do It” (7 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime) recalls the remarkable tale of Sarah Pender (Jenna Dewan-Tatum, “American Horror Story”). Found guilty of plotting a double murder, Pender escaped from a maximum-security prison and became a notorious celebrity of sorts, immortalized by “America’s Most Wanted.” That show makes a cameo appearance here, with scenes reshot by host John Walsh. “She Made Them Do It” co-stars Mackenzie Phillips as Sarah’s cellmate, who becomes embroiled in her schemes.
Other true crime distractions include a Halloween homicide in the Windy City on “Motives and Murders” (8 p.m. Saturday, ID) and the marital murder series “Fatal Vows” (9 p.m. Saturday, ID).
”48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS) consistently ranks as one of Saturday’s most-watched series. Tonight: After being tricked by her boyfriend, a woman goes missing.
• About this there is no mystery: When networks air unseen episodes of new series on Saturday, those shows are as dead as disco. On CBS, catch back-to-back episodes of “Made in Jersey,” the first show canceled this fall: cult life (7 p.m. Saturday), and a rash comment has unintended consequences (8 p.m. Saturday).
Many thought the distinction of first canceled would belong to “The Mob Doctor.” You also can catch an orphaned episode (8 p.m. Saturday, Fox) of that misbegotten series. Saturdays can seem like the network morgue.
Saturday’s other highlights
• On two episodes of “Cops” (Fox): Springfield, Mo. (7 p.m.), and Las Vegas (7:30 p.m.).
• Daniel Radcliffe stars in the 2005 sequel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (7 p.m., ABC).
• The new series “Heroes of Hell’s Highway” (7 p.m., Discovery) profiles the 23rd Sappers unit, assigned to clear highways approaching Taliban-held territory in Afghanistan.
• “Oddities” (8 p.m., Science) glances back at some of the past year’s cherished discoveries.
• Courtney Love’s labors lost on “Wedding Band” (9 p.m., TBS).
• Filmmaker Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”) joins an exploration of France’s Chauvet Cave in “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” (9 p.m., History).