Not to damn with faint praise, but the new comedy “Community” (8:30 p.m., NBC) is not nearly as dreadful as the often-repeated commercials for the series that ran all summer.

“Soup” host Joel McHale heads an ensemble cast of quirky types attending a status-challenged institution. McHale’s character, Jeff Winger, is a former lawyer disbarred for lying about his college degree. Channeling Jim Carrey, Jeff thinks he can bamboozle his way through an easy school experience. Along the way, he meets the pretty Britta (Gillian Jacobs), who resists his obnoxious flirtation; Chuck (Chevy Chase), a local entrepreneur with seven divorces to his credit; Abed (Danny Pudi), a Palestinian-American with self-esteem issues and a mind crammed with pop-culture trivia; and Troy (Donald Glover), a former high-school jock who just can’t forget his glory days.

Jeff’s efforts to get Britta alone in a fake Spanish study group backfire when others join and begin confessing and bickering “Breakfast Club” style. The group develops a cracked camaraderie, and they are rather easy to like, unlike Jeff, who maintains a steady, glib condescension to them and their school. In a Jim Carrey movie, an obnoxious jerk can get his comeuppance, learn some lessons, and earn redemption in 90 minutes. “Community” asks us to return to Jeff’s schemes and lies week after week. I’m not sure many viewers will want to audit that course.

• “The Office” (8 p.m., NBC), entering its sixth season tonight, has long walked that fine line between deadpan dissection of white-collar drudgery and mean-spirited condescension to its setting and characters. Michael’s delusional take on his place in the universe was hard to believe but easy to like.

Until tonight. In the season opener, Michael feels left out of the gossip circle and retaliates in a way that is beyond hurtful and beyond forgivable. It’s a disturbing wrong note for his character and for the series.

l With Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” season just concluded, adventurous eaters may wish to embark on the new series “Extreme Cuisine with Jeff Corwin” (8 p.m., Food Network), which sets sail for the cuisine of Crete and the Peloponnesus region of Greece.

Tonight’s season premieres

• Twenty castaways arrive on a Pacific paradise on the 19th season of “Survivor” (7 p.m., CBS).

• Brennan and Booth follow a psychic’s path on the fifth-season opener of “Bones” (7 p.m., Fox).

• A “cute” wedding of zoo penguins roils the culture wars on the second-season debut of “Parks & Recreation” (7:30 p.m., NBC).

• Olivia returns from her illuminating voyage as the second season of “Fringe” (8 p.m., Fox) begins.

• Dee agrees to become a surrogate mother, and the rest of the gang try to exploit the housing market as “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (9 p.m., FX) enters season five.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Female inmates at the Oklahoma State Prison rope and ride in the documentary “Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo” (6 p.m., Cinemax).

• Paula Abdul hosts “VH1 Divas” (8 p.m., VH1), a charity concert featuring Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Leona Lewis and Jordin Sparks.

• Jane’s hunt for answers may lead him into a trap on “The Mentalist” (9 p.m., CBS).