During the audacious pilot of the departed “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” a TV producer played by Judd Hirsch goes on a tirade, attacking network programmers for creative cowardice and “making content to appeal to 12-year-old boys, and not even the smart ones, but the dumb ones.”

He could have been describing “The Real Wedding Crashers” (9 p.m., NBC), airing in the time slot once occupied by “Studio 60.”

Combining elements of “Punk’d,” “Candid Camera” and a certain summer-movie hit, “Crashers” will air for six laugh-free weeks.

On “Crashers,” real brides and grooms invite a troupe of pranksters to pull embarrassing practical jokes on their unsuspecting families and friends. In what can only be considered a comedy travesty, the jokesters on “Crashers” turn to the camera and reveal their plans and set-ups before they unfold. Explaining a joke before telling it is a little like performing an autopsy and then expecting the body to tap dance.

¢ “Cities of the Underworld” (8 p.m., History) will spend 13 weeks exploring the hidden life of great metropolises, peeking into abandoned train tunnels, subterranean apartment complexes and eerie tombs. Tonight: hidden Edinburgh, Scotland.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Alex and Corinna may get an unfair advantage on “Drive” (7 p.m., Fox).

¢ Playing the numbers on “Everybody Hates Chris” (7 p.m., CW).

¢ Sobriety does not bring serenity on “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (7:30 p.m., CBS).

¢ Sylar’s violence continues on “Heroes” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ “Summer of Love” on “American Experience” (8 p.m., PBS, check listings).

¢ The vice president takes charge on “24” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ A victim (Lea Thompson) becomes a crusader in the 2007 TV movie “A Life Interrupted” (8 p.m., Lifetime).

¢ Derrick-building in the Gulf on “Oil, Sweat and Rigs” (8 p.m., Discovery).

¢ Host Guy Fieri goes on a road-food road trip on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (9 p.m., Food).