What's On: Ponzi Damages

Bernie Madoff may be safely tucked away in a Butner, NC federal prison for over a hundred years, but that does not mean that he is safe from Glenn Close. In tonight's third season premiere of Damages, Close's brilliant-yet-savage litigator Patty Hewes is responsible for recovering the assets from Madoff's nearly identical cable avatar, Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), who was just arrested for the largest securities fraud in history.

Damages [10 PM, FX]

Martin Short and Lily Tomlin join the top-notch Damages cast this season as Louis Tobin's attorney and wife, who help Louis Tobin adjusting to life under house arrest in his luxury apartment. Like Madoff, Tobin claims that neither his wife nor his son (Campbell Scott) knew of his Ponzi scheme. Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) busily works on the prosecution from the district attorney's office. Meanwhile, a motivated architect (Keith Carradine) searches for Patty.

The Inbetweeners [9 PM, BBC America]

Cult status alert. ABC is currently working on an American iteration of this popular UK series about a group of dorky high school students, but until that hits the airwaves, enjoy the original which debuts in the U.S. tonight. BAFTA-winning actor Simon Bird stars as the new kid at Rudge Park Comprehensive high school, who has a hard time navigating the hallways with a briefcase, three geeky friends and a hot mom.

La La Land [11 PM, Showtime]

British comedian Marc Wooton's first American series, premiering tonight, borrows its concept from Sacha Baron Cohen. Wooton transforms himself into three, fame-obsessed characters (a fraudulent psychic, a struggling actor/cabbie and an aspiring documentarian) and releases them into Hollywood, where they pray upon gullible Angelenos, whom Showtime claims have no knowledge that they are speaking to an actor.

Sweet Bird of Youth [10 PM, TCM]

In this 1962 adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play, Paul Newman stars as an opportunist named Chance, who returns home after his dream of making it in Hollywood fades, along with an aging alcoholic actress (Geraldine Page). Also in the cast are Rip Torn, Shirley Knight and Ed Begley (the father of Ed Begley, Jr.), who won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as a politician father who prevents his daughter (Knight) from seeing her former flame (Newman).