Last summer, enough viewers preferred “The O.C.” to repeat helpings of “The Guardian” to make that sun-dappled soap a success. Will the same happy fate befall “North Shore” (7 p.m., Fox)? Don’t bet on it. Like “The O.C.,” this new drama features plenty of fetching young things getting in and out of bathing suits. In contrast the intergenerational melodrama on “The O.C.,” “North Shore” opens with a bracing shot of a nubile youth emerging from a swimming pool, her dripping cleavage shoved into our faces by the camera. We quickly learn that this pneumatic youth is the bored jailbait daughter of a miserable rich woman who ignores her at the poolside of the posh Hawaiian hotel the Grand Waimea, which is presided over by brash, handsome Jason Matthews (Kristoffer Polaha), a native islander and all-around wonderful guy who had his heart broken by heiress Nicole Booth (Brooke Burns), who just so happens to have arrived to work as the hotel’s director of guest relations.

Little Miss Jailbait spends most of the first episode trying to “hook up” (oh, you kids and your lingo) with the handsome young lifeguard Gabriel (Corey Sevier). After he turns her down, she retaliates by accusing him of rape. Can Jason and Nicole forget their past and save their young pal? I’ll never tell.

• If “American Idol” can search for the next Whitney Houston and get great ratings, can “Next Action Star” (9 p.m., NBC) be entertaining as its casting agents look for the next Ah-nold? Only if you consider watching dozens of bad actors burst through a door screaming “freeze” remotely entertaining. This is possibly the most boring reality show ever.

Tonight’s other highlights

• The payoff is uncertain for all concerned on “For Love or Money” (8 p.m., NBC).
• “The Casino” (8 p.m., Fox) chronicles two young investors as they try to restore a Las Vegas betting parlor to its glory days.
• Nutty nuptials unfold on “Weddings Gone Wacky, Wonderful and Wild: Anything for Love” (9 p.m., ABC).

Late night

Paris Hilton and Patty Scialfa are on “Late Show with David Letterman” (10:35 p.m., CBS) … Jay Leno welcomes Marlon Wayans, Jesse James and Hoobastank on “The Tonight Show” (10:35 p.m., NBC) … Method Man & Redman and Steven Cojocaru appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (11:05 p.m., ABC).

Minnie Driver and Usher are booked on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (11:35 p.m., NBC) … Natalie Coughlin and The Streets are booked on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn” (11:37 p.m., CBS).