The earnest new series “Mister Sterling” (7 p.m., NBC) poses the question, “Can a well-meaning, young and handsome man without political ambitions make a difference in Washington?” More to the point, can a show about political rectitude achieve great drama?

Fans of “The West Wing” already know the answer to the second question. MSNBC political analyst Lawrence O’Donnell served as an adviser on that show and is now the creator and executive producer of “Mister Sterling.”

Josh Brolin stars as William Sterling Jr., who is appointed to the Senate by California’s savvy governor (Bob Gunton) to complete the term of a corrupt politician whose fatal heart attack spared him the indignity of resignation (or worse). The governor picks Sterling because he’s the virtually unknown son of the state’s former and still beloved Gov. William Sterling Sr. (James Whitmore). Noble young Sterling is first seen teaching in a high school he established in a California prison.

Once in Washington, Sen. Sterling keeps the honest members (Audra McDonald and William Russ) of his crooked predecessor’s staff and quickly fires an aide who seems more obsessed with raising campaign funds than with doing the people’s business.

While smart and often fast-paced, “Sterling” quickly becomes mired in the minutia of Capitol politics. Apparently nobody back in Sacramento checked to see if young Sterling was a registered Democrat. His independent status, and an old article he wrote advocating the decriminalization of drug use, engulf him in a minor scandal only minutes after he takes office.

Such tempests may reflect Beltway life as O’Donnell knows it, but they’re hardly the stuff of Shakespearean struggle. In the course of the two episodes available for review, we learn very little about Sterling’s character, his love life or his passions. While I have serious quibbles with “The West Wing,” I still admire that show’s creator, Aaron Sorkin, and his efforts to find glimpses of poetry amid the political. So far, “Sterling” is strictly prosaic.

• It might be unfair to call “Queens Supreme” (9 p.m., CBS) dead on arrival. But dead it is. The talented Kristen Johnson (“3rd Rock from the Sun”) kicks off the show with a turgid imitation of a witchy tirade. And “Queens” goes down hill from there. She’s Maude, the soon-to-be-ex-wife of colorful Judge Jack Moran (Oliver Platt), who presides over a New York City courthouse with wit and insight masked behind world-weary cynicism. “Queens” allows Platt to rattle off speeches and asides that are neither funny nor original. But they do seem smug.

Halfway into tonight’s pilot, an angry juror (Lee Tergesen) takes Moran’s courtroom hostage just so he can smoke a cigarette. Much to my amazement, this throwaway scene devours at least a half-hour of the interminable episode. But “Queens” is more than just a mediocre show. It’s a supreme waste of acting talent, including cast regulars Annabella Sciorra, Robert Loggia, Marcy Harriell, James Madio and Vincent Pastore.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Scheduled on “48 Hours Investigates” (7 p.m., CBS): Elizabeth Smart’s siblings discuss her case for the first time.
• “Fastlane” (7 p.m., Fox) moves to a new night and time.
• Omar Epps stars in the 2000 romance “Love & Basketball” (7 p.m., UPN).