Adam Sandler Hosts Saturday Night Live for the FIRST Time

Considering what a big star Adam Sandler was on Saturday Night Live, and how well embedded he is in a comedy community that constantly hops back and forth onto each other's projects, it's somewhat strange that he set sail for the movies and, with very few exceptions, never looked back. It's tough to quibble with the decision. Starting with 1995's Billy Madison, Adam began a box-office takeover that lasted for years, and even now that he's taken the bulk of his talents to Netflix, he's still decidedly on the movies side of things.

In recent years, Sandler has only made scant appearances on TV: an uncredited cameo on Undeclared (a favor to pal Judd Apatow), a guest spot on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but not much else. Heck, Meryl Streep has done more TV than Sandler since he became a movie star. Most surprising is that Adam Sandler has never been back to host Saturday Night Live.

Think about that for half a second. The list of SNL alums who've returned to host is long and frankly, they're not the most exclusive group. Jon Lovitz returned to host. Paul Shaffer returned to host. David Spade returned to host! Not Sandler, though. Not until now. 

NEW EPISODE: It's been about 24 years since Adam Sandler left Saturday Night Live. Back in 2010, he told Conan O'Brien that he and Chris Farley were both fired from the show upon which they'd made such an impact. This weekend, Sandler makes his big return, and while there is every chance that the whole episode becomes a nostalgia tour for Sandler's greatest hits, the more exciting option would be for Sandler to really mix it up with the new cast members and writers. Who else would kill to see Sandler in a Julio Torres-scripted sketch? Oh! Also! Musical guest Shawn Mendes! 11:30 PM ET on NBC

SERIES PREMIERE: True-crime fans will want to check out Oxygen's two-night documentary event, The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell. The doc tells the horrifying true story of Susan Powell, who disappeared in 2009 under great suspicion and whose husband Joshua was a seemingly bottomless pit of suspicion and villainy. The four-hour special will include never before seen footage of Joshua's father, Steven (who went to prison for voyeurism) and an interview with Joshua's sister Alina. 7:00 PM ET on Oxygen

SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Speaking of true crime, Lifetime is following up Surviving R. Kelly with a new two hour special. Surviving R. Kelly: The Impact will delve into the conversations and reactions that stemmed from the January docu-series that broke ratings records for Lifetime. Topics include the broader cultural conversation around sexual violence as well as the fallout on R. Kelly's career. 10:00 PM ET on Lifetime

ALSO TONIGHT

• The Predator premieres tonight on HBO. From writer/director Shane Black (Iron Man 3; Die Hard), the latest film in the Predator saga stars Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Game of Thrones's Alfie Allen, and The Handmaid's Tale's Yvonna Strahovski. 8:00 PM ET on HBO
• Million Dollar Mile disappeared from the CBS schedule, briefly, in favor of a new season of The Amazing Race, but it's back tonight with host Tim Tebow presiding over the most challenging obstacle course ever devised (take that Daedalus!) for the prize of a cool million dollars. 8:00 PM ET on CBS
• Iyanla: Fix My Life kicks off a series of "Where Are They Now?" episodes, this one starting with host Iyanla Vanzant revisiting the 2013 episode "Fix my R&B Family." 9:00 PM ET on OWN

Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.