Tonight's TV Hot List: Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010

Real Housewives of D.C.
9/8c Bravo
Bravo gives a big vote to Washington, D.C. The current season of Top Chef is based in the nation's capital, and now this newest entry in the soapy "Housewives" franchise is set there as well. Here, the manicured realms of five D.C. women — Stacie Scott Turner, Michaele Salahi, Catherine Ommanney, Lynda Erkiletian and Mary Schmidt Amons — are charted in reality fashion. In tonight's premiere, Michaele (notorious as a crasher of a 2009 White House state dinner) throws a polo event, but modeling-agency proprietress Lynda snubs her. Meanwhile, Mary gets ready for her birthday bash, and Stacie presides over a dinner party. — Dean Maurer
So You Think You Can Dance
9/8c Fox
We're down to the Final Four in the seventh season's competition, but there are no Cinderellas at this year's Big Dance, as the quartet of remaining contestants — Kent Boyd, Lauren Froderman, Robert Roldan and Adéchiké Torbert — all have a legitimate shot at the title. But before we find out which three will advance to next week's finals, we'll be treated to performances by rapper Flo Rida, singer Janelle Monáe and ballet dancer Desmond Richardson. — Joe Friedrich
Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape
9/8c BBC America
Like most Brits, Gordon Ramsay has a fond appreciation for Indian cuisine. But until now, he'd never actually been to India. This three-part series follows the celebrity chef as he cooks his way across the country, learning the authentic preparation of his favorite dishes, from butter chicken to spiced leg of lamb. In the opener, Gordon visits Lucknow, which he calls "India's foremost city of cuisine and culture." There, he has a humbling experience when he assists a legendary Indian chef who's catering a wedding for 1100 people. — Karen Andzejewicz
The Nightlife
9:30/8:30c Teen Nick
This new show allows teens to get up to speed on the latest trends in music, dance, fashion and entertainment. Interviews and performances take place in a club setting, where Nick Cannon tackles both hosting and DJ duties. In the premiere episode, pop-R&B singer Aaron Fresh performs, and hip-hop act New Boyz dance. Also: Ice Cube stops by to chat with Cannon, and two teen correspondents are on hand to provide scoops on pop culture. — Jennifer Sankowski
Bethenny Getting Married?
10/9c Bravo
The inaugural season of Bethenny Frankel's real-world chronicling closes, with Bethenny continuing to wrap herself around her whirlwind life changes (getting married and having a baby, not to mention capturing it all on a solo reality TV show). Because baby Bryn debuted one month early, Bethenny never had a proper baby shower. Enter fellow Real Housewives of New York City wife Alex McCord, who helps plan an official shower for Bethenny. The Hoppy family then takes in a weekend getaway, but balancing a career and her new role as a mother soon proves difficult for Bethenny. (Bethenny returns next week in a "Lost Footage" edition.) — Dean Maurer
Stan Lee's Superhumans
10/9c History
As co-creator of such classic comic characters as Spider-Man and the Hulk, Stan Lee imagined those with extraordinary powers. In this new series, he shows that such things are not always limited to the realm of the imagination by profiling people with remarkable abilities. (His co-host, contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, is living proof of the show's premise.) The opener includes a man supposedly unharmed by electric currents; a man known as the "Human Calculator"; and a blind man who has developed sonar. — Bill Ecklund
Ace of Cakes
10/9c Food Network
Here's something you don't see every day: Duff in a tux. But when the Boston Symphony Orchestra requests a cake to celebrate the opening of its 125th season, Duff delivers it in style, and he even sticks around long enough to conduct the Pops' rousing encore of "The Stars and Stripes Forever." He then caps off his visit to Beantown with a trip to Fenway Park, where he's tapped to throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game. — Karen Andzejewicz