— A Sunday morning series celebrating adoption, "The Day I Picked My Parents" (10 a.m. Sunday, A&E, TV-PG), focuses on a unique California program that allows children without homes to choose their prospective adoptive families. Airing over five hours, each episode focuses on a different teen (and some ‘tweens) who have been in foster care for far too long.
— Tired of watching hurricane coverage? Looking for something even more catastrophic? Smithsonian embarks on a two-part series about volcanoes. First up: "Volcanoes: Dual Destruction" (9 p.m., Sunday) offers firsthand accounts and home movie footage of explosive eruptions in Guatemala and Hawaii. The Central American event killed hundreds while in Hawaii, Kilauea spewed out over 4 billion cubic feet of lava, altering the landscape in an instant. Next Sunday night, the series continues with "Islands of Fire," about eruptions deep under the Atlantic Ocean.
— Eight years in the making and 16 hours in length, Ken Burns’ documentary series "Country Music" debuts next Sunday. To celebrate and promote the event, PBS presents "Country Music: Live at the Ryman" (8 p.m. Sunday, TV-PG, check local listings), an all-star concert recorded last March, featuring performances by Dierks Bentley, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Rhiannon Giddens, Vince Gill, Brenda Lee, Kathy Mattea, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, Asleep at the Wheel, Holly Williams and Dwight Yoakam.
— Saoirse Ronan stars in the title role in the 2018 Tudor costume drama "Mary Queen of Scots" (8 p.m. Saturday, HBO), adapted from John Guy’s biography "Queen of Scots: The True Life of Mary Stuart."
Margot Robbie stars as Mary’s mortal rival, Queen Elizabeth. While nominated for two Oscars, the film was overshadowed by another period piece, "The Favourite."
A fan of historical dramas like "Wolf Hall," I found this one a tad slow going.
Ever wondered how to pronounce the name "Saoirse"? I recently caught the Irish star on a repeat of an old "Graham Norton Show," where she told the audience (as well as her Irish-born host) that she prefers "Cer-sha," explaining, it "rhymes with inertia." She added that there were Gaelic purists who would probably argue with her.
While not nominated for "Mary," Ronan has received three Oscar nominations in fairly short order, including Best Actress nominations for "Lady Bird" and "Brooklyn" and Best Supporting Actress for "Atonement," a role she played when she was just 13. She’s yet to win an Academy Award, but she’s only 25 after all these years.
— "60 Minutes" (7 p.m. Sunday, CBS) glances back at the 50-year career of correspondent Steve Kroft, who spent a full 30 at the news magazine. For quite a few of those three decades, Kroft was the fair-haired boy of "60 Minutes," the "kid" whose relative youth stood out in a crowd dominated by Mike Wallace, Morley Safer and Andy Rooney. In addition to this profile, "60 Minutes" will air a Steve Kroft piece on the 100 or so residents of the Isle of Eigg, located 10 miles off the coast of Scotland, blissfully removed from 21st-century life.
The special will recall some of Kroft’s more notable interviews, including a few with a just-inaugurated President Barack Obama and a 1992 interview with candidate Bill Clinton, trying to save his campaign from allegations about a woman named Gennifer Flowers. For many viewers, it was their first encounter with his wife, Hillary Clinton.
Kroft is also noted for an exchange with actor/director Clint Eastwood. When he asked Eastwood about the number of children he had had out of wedlock, the "Unforgiven" star responded with an icy stare lasting some 30 seconds, an eternity on television. Apparently, the interview didn’t make his day.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— College football action includes BYU at Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPN), Buffalo at Penn State (7:30 p.m., Fox) and LSU at Texas (7:30 p.m., ABC).
— Daniel Radcliffe stars in the 2011 fantasy sequel "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
— A 30-something sicko strikes in the 2019 shocker "Identity Theft of a Cheerleader" (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-PG).
— A confections expert vies for a prestigious position in Belgium in the 2019 romance "Love, Romance and Chocolate" (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— Melissa McCarthy co-stars with a puppet in "The Happytime Murders" (9 p.m., Showtime), a raunchy parody of buddy cop movies released to savage reviews in 2018.
— A comic riffs on racial identity in the special "Gary Owen: #Doinwhatido" (10:30 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers meet in NFL football action (8:15 p.m., NBC).
— "2019 Black Girls Rock!" (8 p.m., BET, TV-PG) celebrates the better half.
— The handsome new kid in school earns the attention of "The Wrong Cheerleader" (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— A fire leaves scorched earth behind as "Serengeti" (8 p.m., Discovery, TV-PG) comes to a conclusion.
— Dre remains a guest of the state on "Power" (8 p.m., Starz, TV-MA).
— "Fear the Walking Dead" (9 p.m., AMC, TV-MA) explains what makes Logan run.
— The Pierce alliance goes a bit wobbly on "Succession" (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Sasha has suggestions on "The Affair" (9 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
— "The Righteous Gemstones" (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA) always improves when Walter Goggins shows up as bitter Baby Billy.
— A sudden ailment sends Crystal on a pilgrimage on "On Becoming a God in Central Florida" (10 p.m., Showtime, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— Often cast as the girl-next-door who’s not quite right, Carol Lynley stars as an American in London whose story of a vanished child sparks suspicion in the 1964 shocker "Bunny Lake Is Missing" (8 p.m. Sunday, TCM, TV-PG). She also plays a teen girl in "trouble" in the 1959 drama "Blue Denim" (10 p.m. Sunday, TCM).
SATURDAY SERIES
A bank’s terror ties go to trial on "Bull" (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Two hours of "48 Hours" (9 p.m., CBS, r).
SUNDAY SERIES
"Football Night in America" (7 p.m., NBC, TV-14) recaps the day’s action … Two face eviction on "Big Brother" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … Jealousy consumes Bart on "The Simpsons" (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … "Celebrity Family Feud" (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Illusionists audition on "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG).
On two helpings of "Last Man Standing" (Fox, r, TV-PG): an unplugged weekend (8:30 p.m.), vows renewed (9:30 p.m.) … Trouble at the border on "NCIS: Los Angeles" (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Sarah Paulson guest-voices on "Family Guy" (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … "The $100,000 Pyramid" (9 p.m., ABC, TV-14) … Dean Cain hosts "Masters of Illusion" (9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., CW, r, TV-PG).
Taking down rogue agents on "NCIS: New Orleans" (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … "To Tell the Truth" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).
