Best-bets for May 17: a great diva and tough cops

1) “Audra McDonald at the London Palladium,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Broadway’s all-time leader (with six Tonys) fills the night with show tunes, backed by a 40-piece orchestra. Some viewers will wish she spent less time in the upper octaves. Still, McDonald (shown here in a previous concert) finds lots of fun and has powerhouse moments, including several songs about diversity, plus the triumphant “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” Read more…

1) “Audra McDonald at the London Palladium,” 9-10:30 p.m., PBS. Broadway’s all-time leader (with six Tonys) fills the night with show tunes, backed by a 40-piece orchestra. Some viewers will wish she spent less time in the upper octaves. Still, McDonald (shown here in a previous concert) finds lots of fun and has powerhouse moments, including several songs about diversity, plus the triumphant “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

2) “SWAT” season-finale, 8 p.m., CBS. Battered by community complaints, Hondo worries about his leadership. It’s at a bad time for doubts; a terror cell is ready to strike. Afterward, “Fire Country” has its season-finale on Gabriela’s wedding day.

3) “Blue Bloods,” 10 p.m., CBS. When CBS announced this would be the final season, it had already ordered too many episodes for this strike-shortened season. So tonight’s hour – Aidan Quinn as a police detective, irate that a rapist is free –is merely a “mid-season finale.” There will be eight more this fall.

4) “Separate but Equal” (1991), 8-11:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. This takes us back to 1954, when “states rights” just meant segregation. States said they had the right to send Blacks to separate schools; a landmark case reached the Supreme Court. This won the Emmy for best mini-series and nominations for actors Sidney Poitier and Richard Kiley and writer George Stevens Jr., who also directed.

5) “Doctor Who,” Disney+. The Doctor steps on a landmine; now he must find a way to save Ruby (and the entire planet) without moving. That follows two major streaming arrivals Thursday: Netflix has the first half of an eight-episode “Bridgerton,” focusing on Penelope. Amazon Prime starts the second season of “Outer Range,” with a cowboy (Josh Brolin) stepping into a supernatural world.

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