More than 30 years after its cancellation, “The Beverly Hillbillies” lives on. Two out of three Fox comedies debuting tonight are blatant imitations of the comic story about a man named Jed. It’s almost impossible to conceive of the popularity of this comedy about a poor mountaineer trying to keep his family fed.

The new series “Method & Red” (8:30 p.m., Fox) offers a hip-hop twist on “Hillbillies.” The comedy duo (Method Man and Redman) portrays rap moguls who move into a starchy, pretentious, nouveau riche community.

“Hillbillies” worked so well because the Clampetts’ core values and common sense offered them a steady compass in an absurd world. “Method & Red” features Anna Maria Horsford as Method’s hardworking mother. Method explains how he bought his nice house just for her, but this alone cannot ground the story or compensate for the steady barrage of hip-hop minstrel-show stereotypes that dominate the proceedings. Doors open to clouds of pot smoke, scantily clad women boogie at nonstop parties, and televisions tuned to basketball games can be found in every nook and cranny of Method’s McMansion.

• Paris and Nicole return for “Simple Life 2” (7 p.m., Fox), a reality show that inverts the premise of “The Beverly Hillbillies” and sends two ditzy Beverly Hills brats to interact with decent, ordinary people, beg money from them and then humiliate them. When confronted with Hollywood excesses on “Hillbillies,” the unflappable Jed would often shake his head and say, “Pit-i-ful, pit-i-ful.” I couldn’t put it any better.
• Speaking of pitiful, Andy Richter stars in the new comedy “Quintuplets” (7:30 p.m., Fox) Richter and Carol Chase star as Bob and Carol, whose use of fertility drugs confronts them with an instant brood. Through the magic of television, the kids become petulant teens right after the opening credits. None of them look alike or even appear to be the same age, so “Quintuplets” quickly becomes just another teen-centric sitcom that makes “8 Simple Rules” seem like Shakespeare.
• Contestants spend two weeks training to become their favorite screen star in their favorite movie scene in the new series “Into Character” (9 p.m., AMC). Tonight: “Rocky.”

Tonight’s other highlights

• Scheduled on “60 Minutes II” (7 p.m., CBS): a woman travels to Vietnam in search of her father; skateboarder Tony Hawk.
• Casey Affleck and Eliza Dushku star in the 2001 supernatural thriller “Soul Survivors” (7 p.m., WB).
• “Ship Ablaze” (7 p.m., History) revisits the 1904 sinking of the steamship General Slocum, in which more than 1,000 perished.