Even the most horrible new show is interesting in some way. And “Anchorwoman” (7 p.m., Fox) is a pretty horrible show, a reality-comedy that all but dares the audience to despise it on sight.

“Anchorwoman” follows the travails of the newsroom of KYTX in Tyler, Texas. Desperate for ratings, the owner, Phil Hurley, hires Lauren Jones, a former beauty queen and professional-wrestling diva to become a news anchor.

As I said, it’s hateful but interesting.

Like other recent reality offerings, “Anchorwoman” offers both an echo and a perverse inversion of classic comedy. “The Simple Life” took the screwball-comedy formula and stood it on its head. In beloved movies like “Sullivan’s Travels” and “My Man Godfrey,” silly rich people encountered “the common man” and were changed and humanized by the experience. In “The Simple Life,” rich women took advantage of ordinary people and asked audiences to jeer at their humble lifestyles. “Simple” assumed that its viewers wanted to identify with and aspire to fantastic wealth and to affect a decadent contempt for ordinary people. That’s why it never had too many viewers.

“Anchorwoman” offers a bizarro-world version of “Mary Tyler Moore.” On that classic sitcom, we rooted for Mary Richards, a hardworking, sincere, spunky news producer. On “Anchorwoman,” the reigning anchor, Annalisa Petralia, is a bit put off by the arrival of the unqualified beauty queen. After all, Petralia has been writing, producing and anchoring the show for some time. But in the first half-hour of “Anchorwoman” made available for review, the show portrays Petralia as brittle and insecure and as someone who won’t “get over it” and become a “team player.”

It’s also interesting to note that the long-legged, buxom Jones makes almost no effort to fit in or show any understanding for what her presence at KYTX means to her new colleagues. In the loopy logic of reality television, she’s “hot” and blond so she doesn’t have to behave like a human being. Even the office dog doesn’t like Jones. And who can blame her?

“Anchorwoman” is only a summer show, but it seems like Fox is using the show to degrade the value of television news and attack and humiliate anyone who takes journalism seriously. Isn’t that what Fox News is for?

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ The miniseries “The Starter Wife” (10 a.m., USA) unfolds in its entirety.

¢ Penguins rule on “Emperors of the Ice” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings).

¢ “Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) presents a history of Spain under Islamic rule when Christians, Jews and Moslems lived in relative harmony.

¢ The top five perform on “Last Comic Standing” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ Christiane Amanpour hosts “God’s Muslim Warriors” (8 p.m., CNN).

¢ Brennan hears from her long-missing father on “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ Scheduled on “Primetime” (8 p.m., ABC): outsiders.

¢ A trip to Guantanamo on “Criminal Minds” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ An abandoned wife (Divine) meets the man of her dreams (Tab Hunter) in director John Waters’ 1981 comedy “Polyester” (8 p.m., IFC), a rude parody of Douglas Sirk melodramas. It was originally released in “Odorama,” a device that allowed viewers to smell along with the movie.

¢ The Gavin road to recovery has many detours on “Rescue Me” (9 p.m., FX).

¢ A race against time on “Top Chef” (9 p.m., Bravo).

¢ Death by marathon on “CSI: NY” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ Auto racing on “NASCAR in Primetime” (9 p.m., ABC).