Of the three characters from his “Summer Heights High” series, Chris Lilley has already done a spinoff concentrating on the spoiled private school snob Ja’mie. He now moves to the rebellious and barely literate transfer student “Jonah from Tonga” (HBO, 10 and 10:30 p.m.).
He had been expelled at the end of “Summer Heights,” so the new series shows him back in his homeland of Tonga, trying to get his life back on track with his uncle. It’s edgy material that’s also borderline racist, that begins with a white 39 year old playing a 14 year old of color. Controversial in Australia, it may have trigger a cringe here as well. But it only lasts six episodes. Its two initial episodes are accompanied by the first two of “Ja’ime: Private School Girl”
Want some true Chris Lilley overkill? Start with four hours and eight episodes of “Summer Heights High” (HBO Comedy, 6 p.m.).
And there’s more Australian comedy afoot — not from Chris Lilley, but from someone who looks just like him: Josh Thomas in the second season start for “Please Like Me” (Pivot, 10:30 p.m.).
It accompanies a new show about an interesting firm concentrating on recycling trash to useful products. But “Human Resources” (Pivot, 10 p.m.) seems undercut a bit by the need to create workers who are exaggerated characters for comic effect.
“The L Word”creator Ilene Chaiken travels South to chronicle lesbian life there in “L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin” (Showtime, 9 p.m.).
The thoroughly entertaining “American Hustle” (Starz, 9 p.m.), with Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper finally makes its premium cable debut.
A second season started this week for the Western spoof “Quick Draw” (Hulu, streaming) starring John Lehr as the annoying Harvard-educated sheriff in the Old West.
Magic trumps comedy on The CW with two same-week replays of “Master of Illusion” (The CW, 8 p.m.) and “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” (The CW, 8 p.m.) amid a single “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (The CW, 8:30 p.m.).
No “Real Time with Bill Maher” for a couple of weeks, but there are a couple of the most recent episodes of “The Leftovers” (HBO, 8 and 9 p.m.).
A ninth season starts for “Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team” (CMT, 9 p.m.), which means the show must be a part of the recruiting process by now. Melissa Rycroft and Neal McCoy join as celebrity judges.
Animation is the challenge on “Funniest Wins” (TBS, 10 p.m.).
There’s no stopping NFL preseason now with New Orleans at St. Louis (NFL, 8 p.m.).
Jeanne Moreau is star of the day on Turner Classic Movies, which means a lot of cool international films with “The 400 Blows” (6 a.m.), “La Notte” (7:45 a.m.), “The Fire Within” (10 a.m.), “Bay of Angels” (noon), “Yellow Rolls- Royce” (2 p.m.), “The Immortal Story” (4:30 p.m.), “Great Catherine” (6 p.m.), “The Trial” (8 p.m.), “Elevator to the Gallows” (10:15 p.m.), “Jules and Jim” (midnight), “The Lovers” (2 a.m.) and “Diary of a Chambermaid” (3:45 a.m.).
Baseball today includes Detroit at Toronto (MLB, 7 p.m.).
Daytime Talk
Kelly & Michael: Will Arnett, Nick Cannon, Kate Upton. The View: The Muppets. The Talk: Kelsey Grammer, Mark Feuerstein, Jet Tila. Ellen DeGeneres: Megan Fox, Taye Diggs (rerun). Wendy Williams: Tameka “Tiny” Harris, America Ferrera, Diego Luna (rerun).
Late Talk
David Letterman: Joan Rivers, Keith Olbermann, Capital Cities (rerun). Jimmy Fallon: Jeff Bridges, Ali Larter, Andy Woodhull. Jimmy Kimmel: Kerry Washington, Tom Petty (rerun). Seth Meyers: Chris Pratt, Laverne Cox, Big Data and Joywave (rerun). Craig Ferguson: Daniel Radcliffe, Cathy Ladman. Carson Daly: Wil Wheaton, the Birds of Satan, Courtney Kemp Agboh (rerun). Tavis Smiley: Amma Asante (rerun). Arsenio Hall: Hulk Hogan, Stephen A. Smith, TerRio (rerun). Chelsea Handler: Chris Pratt, Brody Stevens, Jen Kirkman, Ian Karmel (rerun).