TV Insider’s Top 25 of the Week (May 16-22): ‘American Idol’ Finale, ‘George Carlin’ HBO Doc & More

Meredith Jacobs May 16, 2022, 3:00 pm

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American Idol, George Carlin's American Dream, The Resident

Bookmark this page, because TV Insider is providing you with a handy weekly list. With so much on TV — including new and standout episodes in primetime, streaming premieres, movies, and specials — we’re hoping to make it a bit easier for you to keep track of everything you don’t want to miss. Every Monday, on our Shows page, we keep track of the 25 shows that excite us for the week ahead. Read on for what to watch the week of May 16-22.

There are quite a few season finales airing this week, and topping our list is American Idol‘s season finale (May 22 on ABC) as the Top 3 take to the stage once more and we find out who will emerge as the latest winner. Meanwhile, Emily VanCamp returns to The Resident (May 17 on FOX) for flashbacks to a date night between Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) and late wife Nic (VanCamp) as Conrad ponders the next steps in his love life. Another key finale return is Raúl Esparza as Rafael Barba on Law & Order: SVU (May 19 on NBC), after his previous meetup with Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) left the former friends in a rocky place.

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HBO chronicles the life and work of a legendary comedian in George Carlin’s American Dream (May 20 and 21). Other special events this week include some sports highlights like the PGA Championship (May 19 on ESPN).

May 18 is a good day for those who like Fox reality competition shows: The Masked Singer will be revealing its Season 7 winner, while So You Think You Can Dance returns after a three-year hiatus.

This Is Us, airing its penultimate episode this week, is the only show returning from the previous list, making a big jump up from #25.

Which other shows make our Top 25 of the week? And where do all of these shows, movies, and specials fall in our must-see rankings? Click here to find out, then sound off in the comments with your buzziest shows of the week.