1) “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” 6:27 p.m., TBS. One of the all-time great shows (shown here) arrives early – 12 days before Thanksgiving, 39 before Christmas. Chuck Jones’ animation turned Dr. Seuss’ tale into a mini-masterpiece, boosted by Boris Karloff’s narration and Thurl Ravenscroft’s booming song about a mean one, Mr. Finch.
2) “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), 8.p.m., TBS. It’s a night of greats –”Grinch” and “Oz” – and pretty-goods. “The Polar Express” (2004) is at 4:27 and 10:15 p.m., with “The Year Without a Santa Claus” at 6:57.
3) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. At the start of its 50th season, “SNL” seems to have forgotten about reruns; this is its seventh new episode in eight weeks. Charli XCX doubles as host and music guest – the first person to do both since Dua Lipa on May 4.
4) “A Waltons Thanksgiving” (2022), 8-10 p.m., CW. This is set in 1934, as the family prepares for the Harvest Festival, amid complications. Bellamy Young (“Scandal”) stars and Richard Thomas narrates; the same people did “The Waltons: Homecoming” (2021), which will rerun Dec. 21.
5) ALSO: At 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC has the day’s best football match-up, with Tennessee (ranked No. 7) at Georgia (No. 3), And at 8, CBS reruns the first half of the two-hour “NCIS: Origins” opener, a good one. Young Gibbs, widowed and shattered, joins the emerging unit.