The strong cast of “Dirty Sexy Money” (9 p.m., ABC) more than compensates for its dumb and badly punctuated title.

Peter Krause (“Six Feet Under”) stars as Nick George. He watched his long-suffering father act as lawyer and gofer for the Darlings, a dysfunctional brood and New York’s richest family.

But after Nick’s dad dies mysteriously, patriarch Tripp Darling (Donald Sutherland) makes Nick an offer he can’t refuse – promising to bankroll Nick’s many charities and legal-defense funds if Nick will step into his old man’s shoes.

Nick’s hopes that he can keep the Darlings at a professional distance soon evaporate. Daughter Karen (Natalie Zea) has held a torch for Nick during her three-going-on-four marriages. Son Brian, now an Episcopal priest, has always detested Nick. Ambitious Patrick (William Baldwin) is the state attorney general with his eye on the U.S. Senate. But he has a secret that tabloids would die for. Tripp’s wife, Letitia’s (Jill Clayburgh), starchy demeanor melts at the mention of Nick’s late father.

Not to give too much away, but before the pilot ends, Nick discovers something that motivates him more than even the Darlings’ money.

ABC has developed a knack for matching a strong cast with a sprawling melodrama rich in sizzle and soap. From “Desperate Housewives” to “Grey’s Anatomy” to “Brothers & Sisters,” they have followed one hit with another. I think we can add “Dirty” to that list.

¢ Are we ready for an enlightened detective? Damian Lewis stars on “Life” (9 p.m., NBC) as Charlie Crews, a cop who spent a dozen years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Released with the help of a friend and attorney, Constance (Brooke Langton), Charlie receives a multimillion-dollar settlement. But rather than retire, he rejoins the force.

Charlie spent his incarceration studying Zen Buddhism. This allows him to rise above the hurly-burly of the precinct house and the violent scrum of police work with a certain transcendent nonchalance. And this spiritual equanimity drives both good guys and bad guys crazy.

More curious than compelling, “Life” has the feeling of an interesting failure, a murky police procedural with a central character easier to admire than like. What is the sound of one fan clapping?

¢ The remake of “Bionic Woman” (8 p.m., NBC) stars Michelle Ryan as Jaime Sommers, a beautiful bartender mutilated in a car accident and rebuilt by her genius boyfriend in his supersecret government lab.

She’s not too thrilled about all of the new hardware. And the previous and defectively violent bionic model (Katee Sackhoff) seems intent on kicking her around.

“Bionic” is not so much an original series as a hybrid creature built on the scraps of other NBC Universal shows. Miguel Ferrer, the morgue boss from “Crossing Jordan,” co-stars as the cranky lab boss. Sackhoff, recently killed off on Sci Fi’s “Battlestar Galactica,” makes a nice guest stint here as a woman turned machine.

Also a remake of a campy 1970s show, “Battlestar” has become one of the smartest dramas on television. It’s impossible to imagine “Bionic” making that leap.

¢ Kate Walsh, Tim Daly and Audra McDonald star in the “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off “Private Practice” (8 p.m., ABC).

Tonight’s season premieres

¢ Murder on a small campus on “Criminal Minds” (8 p.m., CBS).

¢ Hints of a vigilante group on “CSI: NY” (9 p.m., CBS).