Daily Best Bets

Best-bets for May 17: A farewell for “SNL50”

1) “Saturday Night Live” season-finale, 11:29 p.m., NBC. The 50th season ends with a big night for Colin Jost. His wife, Scarlett Johansson (shown here) has her seventh time as host, this time with Bad Bunny as the music guest. And there’s a season-finale tradition: On “Weekend Update,” Jost and Michael Che each write jokes the other must read. Read more…

Best-bets for May 16: the end of an eight-year run

1) “SWAT” series-finale, 9-11 p.m., CBS. An eight-year, 163-episode run is ending. First an auto-carrier is hijacked, sparking a frantic chase and a search for a mysterious, $60-million car. Also, Hondo (shown here in a previous episode) confronts a violent thief he thought was dead. Then he finds that Russian mercenaries have planted bombs throughout Los Angeles. Read more…

Best-bets for May 15: a flurry of finales

1) “Grey’s Anatomy” season-finale, 10 p.m., ABC. It’s finale time everywhere, including all three ABC shows. There’s “9-1-1” at 8 p.m., “Doctor Odyssey” at 9 and “Grey’s,” wrapping its 21st season. After last week’s festive wedding (shown here), things seem cheerful The interns are ending their first year; then an emergency intervenes. Read more…

Best-bets for May 14: amid the finales, a season-opener

1) “Sullivan’s Crossing” season-opener, 8 p.m., CW. Last season ended with jolts: Maggie and Cal (shown here) finally admitted they love each other … just as she found she was pregnant by her ex-fiance. Then the diner exploded, after her dad raced in for a rescue. Now — a week later than scheduled, due to a news special — a good episode views the aftershocks. Read more…

Best-bets for May 13: Joan, Pati and lots of drama

1) “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute,” 10 p.m., NBC. Rivers (shown here) carefully catalogued 70,000 jokes on note cards. There were four on Hitler, 34 on Nixon, 866 on Elizabeth Taylor. There were also 218 on death. Now, 11 years after her death at 81, people read from those cards; some (especially Nikki Glaser) add clever bits of their own. Read more…

Best-bets for May 12: Hackman gems, plus “Idol”

1) “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967), 8 p.m. ET, Turner Classic Movies. Here’s a tribute to Gene Hackman, who died in February at 95. He had supporting roles in this film and “Hoosiers” (1986, midnight), both gems. He starred in the bracing “French Connection” (shown here, 1971, 10 p.m.), “Mississippi Burning” (1988, 2 a.m.) and “Night Moves” (1975, 4:15.). Read more…

Best-bets for May 10: country night with Judds, Johnny

1) “The Judd Family: Truth Be Told,” 8 p.m., Lifetime, also 10:03 p.m. and midnight. Here’s the start of a documentary (concluding Sunday) with a great story. Naomi Judd, a nurse and single mother, formed The Judds (shown here) with her daughter Wynonna; they had 14 No. 1 country songs. It’s told by Wynonna and Ashley (a movie star), with clips of their late mom. Read more…

Best-bets for May 9: musical passion, heroic Percy

1) “Next to Normal,” 9-11:30 p.m., PBS. A four-Friday Broadway series starts with a stunning musical — a roller-coaster through grief and a fractured mind. Some viewers will consider this too painful; more will find it deeply moving. In its original version (shown here), it won a Pulitzer Prize for drama and Tonys for its music. Now cameras can add the subtlety behind quaking emotions. Read more…

Best-bets for May 8: It’s a double-delight — Elsbeth and Charlie

1) “Elsbeth” season-finale, 9 p.m., CBS. It’s a real stretch to plunk Elsbeth into prison, alongside eight people she helped convict. But it’s worth it, to see them again. Several are good singers (Gina Gershon, Retta, Alyssa Milano (shown here), Elizabeth Lail), so there’s even a dream scene of a song from “Chicago.” And there’s a clever, in-prison murder mystery. Read more…