Television is “nothing but auditions.” That’s a quip from Addison Dewitt, the crabby critic played by George Sanders in “All About Eve,” a movie made in 1950, at the dawn of the television era. The line and the movie may be 60 years old, but the sentiment rings truer than ever — particularly in the age of reality television.

It’s hard to watch “Teach: Tony Danza” and not think the star may be using his Friday A&E series as a screen test to expose him to younger directors.

But the new reality-celebrity show “Harry Loves Lisa” (9 p.m., TV Land) takes this a step further. It builds Hamlin’s quest for a comeback right into the action and shows him returning from auditions for new TV pilots. To be fair, Dean McDermott did the same thing on “Tori and Dean” several seasons ago.

As the title makes clear, the show spotlights the Hollywood marriage of Harry Hamlin (“L.A. Law”) and Lisa Rinna (“Melrose Place”). She’s perky, chatty and irrepressible. He wears glasses and passes for a Hollywood intellectual — cerebral and more prone to go hiking in the woods.

Hamlin may be 58, but he’s ready for a new acting gig. He’ll do anything for the part, including getting his signature shaggy hair cut (by Bravo star and hair stylist Jonathan Antin) and doing a stand-up stint at LA’s Improv comedy club.

We’re reminded that both appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” in separate seasons, but neither does a pasodoble. And a more recent “Stars” reject looms large in their legend.

As they make abundantly clear, they met only after Hamlin’s then-wife, Nicollette Sheridan, cheated on him with crooner Michael Bolton. Rinna goes so far as to thank Bolton for their happiness and jokingly invites him on the show to sing the theme song.

Another, weirder twist on the notion of a 1980s star playing himself, “Steven Seagal Lawman” (9 p.m., A&E) returns for a second season. But here, the “Under Siege” star is a moonlighting deputy and 20-year veteran of a Louisiana SWAT team.

• On a similar note, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” (8 p.m., A&E) returns for a seventh season.

• “Great Performances” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings) offers a new adaptation of “Macbeth,” set in modern times and starring Patrick Stewart.

Tonight’s other highlights

• A CIA identity crisis on “Undercovers” (7 p.m., NBC).

• A retro-prom theme requires elaborate preparation on “Hell’s Kitchen” (7 p.m., Fox).

• The three-part series “Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook” (7 p.m., PBS, check local listings) surveys popular music.

• Human trafficking on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (8 p.m., NBC). Gloria Reuben guest stars.

• An earthquake rattles some more than others on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• A stripper needs “The Defenders” (9 p.m., CBS).

• A cult killing defies logic on “Law & Order: Los Angeles” (9 p.m., NBC).

• A teen from a posh neighborhood stands accused of targeting his parents on “The Whole Truth” (9 p.m., ABC).

• A murder rap looms on “Terriers” (9 p.m., FX).

• The animated comedy “Ugly Americans” (9:30 p.m., Comedy Central) returns with a second season of devils, mutants, aliens and monsters.