New series lacking ‘Conviction’

They’re young and good-looking. They sleep around. They make mistakes. They’re district attorneys. Did I mention they’re young and good-looking? They’re the characters on “Conviction” (9 p.m., NBC), the latest in a series of “Law & Order” spin-offs produced by Dick Wolf.

Nick Potter (Jordan Bridges) has it made. He’s an overpaid lawyer for a posh law firm. But he jettisons the easy lucre for a stint with the New York district attorney’s office, a place where the doughnuts come laced with passive-aggressive frosting. His new boss is so busy and dismissive that young Nick can hardly tell he’s been hired.

“Conviction” follows the normal “Law & Order” structure. We follow a case from its murky beginnings to its compromise-laden conclusion. And “Conviction” borrows Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), the ludicrously beautiful prosecutor from “Law & Order: SVU.” But along the way we get to watch young 20-somethings jump in and out of bed with significant others and insignificant one-night stands.

All of this extracurricular activity takes its toll as Nick and a young colleague, Sara Finn (Julianne Nicholson), make gargantuan mistakes in the show’s first episode.

“Conviction” also features Eric Balfour, the actor who made such an indelible impression on “Six Feet Under.” In “Conviction” Balfour is once again typecast as the impossibly sexy guy whose appeal all but eclipses his personality and professional life.

The young-lusty-litigator theme condescends to its characters and is just too dumb for most “Law & Order” viewers to endure. I have a conviction this series won’t last.

¢ Cuba Gooding Jr. hosts the “37th NAACP Image Awards” (7 p.m., Fox). Guitarist Carlos Santana will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

¢ Claudia Black returns as con artist Vala on the cliffhanger season finale of “Stargate SG-1” (7 p.m., Sci Fi). Black will join the regular cast of “SG-1” when it enters its next season, its 10th. And on the season-ending episode of “Stargate Atlantis” (8 p.m., Sci Fi), the Wraith make a peace offer that seems hard to believe.

¢ Conan O’Brien and Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”) add their voices to the season premiere of “O’Grady” (8:30 p.m., The N).

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ A workaholic is haunted by the ghost of the child she ignored on “Ghost Whisperer” (7 p.m., CBS).

¢ Howie Mandel hosts “Deal or No Deal” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ A devious adversary on “Close to Home” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ The buffet goes digital on “Las Vegas” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ The quest to clear an accused man puts a victim on the spot on “In Justice” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ A blast from the past on “Numb3rs” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Scheduled on “20/20” (9 p.m., ABC): people who keep secrets for years and even decades, and how they come to reveal them, willingly or under duress.

¢ Adrian suspects that an astronaut may be a killer on “Monk” (9 p.m., USA).