Donal Logue (“Grounded for Life”) returns to prime time in “Terriers” (9 p.m., FX). It’s a detective series set in a deceptively sunny California that spends most of its time in the neighborhoods where you can smell the garbage curdling in the streets. Hank (Logue) is an ex-cop with a drinking problem who works as a freelance private investigator with Britt (Michael Raymond-James), a much younger man who shares Hank’s shambling lifestyle and downward mobility. In the pilot, an old, unreformed drinking buddy of Hank’s asks them to find his missing daughter, and the search uncovers a trail of conspiracy, coverups, municipal fraud and murder.

Hank and Britt share an easy chemistry, but I haven’t the slightest clue what the title is supposed to mean, except to figure they are small dogs who don’t let go. A vague title can often indicate that a show hasn’t exactly figured itself out, and the tone of “Terriers” seems to waver at times. I’m not sure whether it wants to be “Chinatown,” “The Big Lebowski” or a down-market variation on “Burn Notice,” but I’m willing to stick around for a while.

• Perhaps the best way to understand the success and popularity of “Glee” is to watch a bad imitation of “Glee.”

Ashley Tisdale (“High School Musical”) returns to television in “Hellcats” (8 p.m., CW), a backstage melodrama set in the high-strung world of competitive cheerleading at Lancer University, a small, private institution located in Memphis. She’s Savannah, the terminally perky co-captain of the squad.

Aly Michalka (“Bandslam”) stars as the “edgy” Marti Perkins, who can attend the posh Lancer only on scholarship. Actually, she really co-stars, along with her hair, a pile of processed blonde ringlets that appears to have a life of its own.

Moments into the pilot, Marti discovers that her sweet but hapless waitress mother (Gail O’Grady) has messed up her scholarship paperwork. Faced with expulsion, the spunky and rebellious Marti swallows her pride and cool-girl street cred (established by repeated scenes of Marti bicycling down Beale Street), and tries out for the pep squad. Completely untrained in the cheerleading arts, she consults the bible of the art form, the 2000 movie “Bring it On.” Soon she’s tossing herself around the gym floor, wowing the coaches and squad members with her natural talent and outrageous moves.

Before you can say “Bring it On: The Sequel,” Marti has made the squad and finds herself roommates with the cheerful control-freak Savannah.

Look for Sharon Leal (“Dreamgirls”) as the coach and Matt Barr (“Harper’s Island”) as Marti’s best friend, Dan. His hair is almost as ridiculous as Marti’s.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Catch and release on a two-hour “Masterchef” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Tyra Banks hosts the 15th season premiere of “America’s Next Top Model” (7 p.m., CW).

• The top four are revealed on “America’s Got Talent” (8 p.m., NBC).

• A vacation gets crowded on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Bear Grylls takes two fans along on the special “Fan vs. Wild” (8 p.m., Discovery).

• “The Curse of the Lottery II” (9 p.m., E!) offers new tales of folks who hit the jackpot and hit the skids.

• “Sci Fi Science” (9 p.m., Science) ponders a cataclysmic meteor strike.

• Designers prepare for a major fashion show on the series “The Day Before” (9 p.m., Sundance).