As the political action and chatter move from Iowa to New Hampshire, the debates upgrade from cable to network. Republican presidential candidates will meet in debate (6 p.m. today, ABC) on the campus of St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Democrats (7:45 p.m., ABC) will follow.

Plans for the debate have already sparked controversy. Candidates who have yet to reach a certain level in the polls have been excluded. Some think this weeds out the marginal players. Others contend that it only rewards the candidates who have amassed enough money to afford media attention in the first place.

¢ Tom Bosley (“Happy Days”) returns to television in “Charlie & Me” (8 p.m. today, Hallmark), a two-hanky drama about a larger-than-life grandfather (Bosley) who suffers a massive heart attack while taking care of his precocious granddaughter, Casey (Jordy Benattar).

Charlie survives surgery only to realize that his days are numbered and that his time to check the last few items on his life’s list has grown short. Chief among these are lessons for his often-absent son (James Gallanders), who has channeled grief over his wife’s accidental death into an unhealthy focus on work that has left Casey to spend an inordinate amount of time with her iguana and her grandfather.

¢ Don’t hate them because they’re rich, thin and beautiful. Hate them because they’re boring. The new series “Cashmere Mafia” (9 p.m. Sunday, ABC) hits the not-so-sweet spot between the mega-rich hijinx of the fun soap opera “Dirty Sexy Money” and the stylish ennui of “Gossip Girl.”

Lucy Liu stars as Mia, a magazine-publishing powerhouse who gets engaged to an office rival (Tom Everett Scott) only to discover that their Murdoch-like boss has pit them against each other in a contest to see who brings in the most ad revenue. The winner becomes publisher, the loser, as Heidi Klum might chirp, “is out.” Will Mia fight for her job or her man?

Her power pals include Caitlan (Bonnie Somerville), a gorgeous blonde who comes to the realization that her problem with men might have something to do with her attraction to women. Ten years ago, this subplot would have been controversial. Now it’s just contrived.

Charity queen and socialite Juliet (Miranda Otto) discovers a few unpleasant things about her perfect husband, and power lawyer/CEO or something-or-other Zoe (Frances O’Connor) discovers that mergers and acquisitions are a cakewalk compared to fighting for a nanny. “We’re being held hostage by our help,” she complains to her husband. Good teenage help is hard to find these days, we learn on “Cashmere,” even with salaries starting at $900 per week.

Darren Star, creator of “Sex and the City,” is listed as an executive producer. Perhaps he was retained by “Cashmere” so he wouldn’t sue them for copyright infringement, as this show steals so shamelessly from “Sex” – from its title score to its power breakfast gab-fests. But it completely lacks that older show’s flashes of wit, humor and insight.

Its characters are devoid of the slightest traces of vulnerability. There’s not one laugh here, nor any surprises. While not as badly written or as dumb as “Big Shots,” it shares that failed series’ inability to present characters with any resemblance to human beings.

Today’s highlights

¢ The Steelers host the Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card playoff game (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ Scheduled on “48 Hours Mystery” (9 p.m., CBS): An apparently perfect marriage incinerates.

Sunday’s highlights

¢ Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (6:30 p.m., CBS): Pitcher Roger Clemens challenges allegations of steroids and hormone abuse; Boston killer for hire.