TV writers like to set characters in the world of advertising, where they can make piles of money for working too little and drinking too much.

The new hourlong comedy “Trust Me” (9 p.m., TNT) adds very little to this long entertainment tradition. Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”) and Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”) star as Mason and Connor, longtime partners in the ad game. Mason is the creative director, dedicated to his clients and his family. Connor likes to riff and whip out copy and taglines at the last possible moment, preferably after billing a long, boozy weekend and lots of room service to the client.

This creative yin and yang also allows both actors to fall back on familiar tricks. McCormack’s Mason gets to be the grown-up of the group, not unlike Will to Connor’s Grace. For his part, Connor babbles on in a manner that might seem cute and boyish in a teenager but is decidedly off-putting in a character pushing 40. In short, he’s a lot like “Ed.”

“Trust Me” is not the worst show in the world, but it seems pointless. The economic downturn has been a bloodbath for the advertising industry, making this series seem particularly out of touch.

And its workplace setting also invites comparisons to “Mad Men,” the drama that happens to be television’s most critically acclaimed. Of course, “Mad Men” is about a lot more than Madison Avenue. By the same token, “Bewitched” was about a lot more than advertising, too. In contrast, “Trust Me” seems to dwell exclusively in the shiny surface world of selling and bluffing and of talents and egos.

All of the gyrations of the pilot episode — including the death of an executive, a big client meeting and dramatic funeral scene — do little to provide any depth or make us care about its chatty characters.

• Actor David Strathairn (“Good Night and Good Luck”) has now spent so much time playing chain-smoking victims of the McCarthy era that you have to worry about his health. On tonight’s “American Experience” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings), he portrays scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in historical re-enactments of hearings held during the 1950s, when his loyalty and judgment were put on trial.

• Robert Osborne interviews Ernest Borgnine about his life and films, including “Marty” (8 p.m., TCM) and “From Here to Eternity” (1:45 a.m. Tuesday, TCM), on “Private Screenings” (7 p.m. TCM).

Tonight’s other highlights

• Conan O’Brien appears on “Inside the Actors Studio” (7 p.m., Bravo).

• Mother Cuddy cuts back and gives Cameron more responsibilities on “House” (7 p.m., Fox).

• “The Last Templar” (8 p.m., NBC) concludes.

• President Taylor begins to feel pressured on “24” (8 p.m., Fox).

• Sanchez’s fate is revealed as “The Closer” (8 p.m., TNT) begins to air the concluding five episodes of its fourth season.

• Jessi moves in on “Kyle XY” (8 p.m., Family).

• An escape artist thrives on extreme and contrived situations on the new series “One Way Out” (8:30 p.m., Discovery).

• The search for Horatio’s shooter on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

Cult choice

“Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten” (9 p.m., Sundance) profiles the late co-founder of the influential British band The Clash.