Will Ferrell joins the cast of “The Office” (8 p.m., NBC) for a few weeks. He’s there to usher in the post-Michael Scott era. While many of us believe this would be the perfect time to end “The Office,” the show will go on, because NBC doesn’t have much else to offer.

Take “The Paul Reiser Show” (7:30 p.m., NBC). It’s a genial, if consistently laugh-free, old-fashioned sitcom desperately trying to pass as “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which isn’t exactly a new idea.

As on “Curb,” Reiser plays himself, a Hollywood fixture and actor made rather comfortable by the success of an NBC sitcom but wonders what to do next. He’s been waiting for some time. “Mad About You” left the airwaves in 1999.

I give “Reiser” points for some honesty. The wisecracks revolve around his life as a dad and his interaction with other dads, guys he describes not so much as friends but as acquaintances forced upon him by circumstance. What they really resemble is a cast of sitcom stereotypes. Almost nothing they do or say seems believable for a second.

The genius of “Curb,” is its ability to seamlessly weave Larry David’s ridiculous and often self-inflicted problems into a tight little half-hour minuet. In contrast, every comedic setup on “Reiser” can be seen a mile away. And nothing is more sadly obvious than the scene in the first episode between Reiser and Larry David, where David offers a rather lukewarm blessing to this faded photocopy of an idea.

For all of the obvious comparisons to “Curb,” “Reiser” made me think about another show entirely. Ray Romano was also faced with the aftermath of a career-defining sitcom. But rather than land on “Everybody Still Loves Raymond,” he worked on another kind of show entirely. The characters on “Reiser” are also men of a certain age. They’re just not that original or interesting.

• “The American Tax Cheat” (8 p.m., CNBC) examines the moral and legal ramifications of widespread evasion.

• Bike messengers face deadlines and dangers in the new series “Triple Rush” (9 p.m., Travel).

Tonight’s other highlights

• Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson & Jason Aldean are scheduled to perform on “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Shred and dead on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS).

• A slain TV host does not rest in peace on “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox).

• Andy and April throw a posh party on “Parks and Recreation” (8:30 p.m., NBC).

• Exonerated by DNA, a con is murdered upon leaving prison on “The Mentalist” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Liz tries to unearth Tracy on “30 Rock” (9 p.m., NBC).