Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver star as married grifters, posing as a wealthy dead couple, in the new FX drama, "The Riches." Controversial filmmaker Vincent Gallo, left, appeared as an out-of-work, former child star who takes hostages, including paparazzo Don Konkey, played by Ian Hart, on a recent episode of FX's "Dirt."

It says a lot about a channel's reputation when a series about a family of grifters who contribute to the death of a wealthy couple, then dump the bodies in a swamp so they can assume their identities, can seem downright earnest.

But thanks to its signature series "The Shield," "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me" -- which push more envelopes than the postal service -- that's the position in which FX finds itself with its new drama, "The Riches" (10 p.m. today).

Cult comedian Eddie Izzard stars as Wayne Malloy, the head of a family of Travellers, the so-called Irish Gypsies that turn up every so often on "60 Minutes" or "20/20" after coming into a town, bilking the locals, and then traveling on.

Wayne wasn't born into the clannish society, but his wife, Dahlia (Minnie Driver), is considered Traveller royalty. Still, with Dahlia fresh off a two-year prison stint and strung out on cough syrup and God knows what else, Wayne decides to break away from the lifestyle.

Flush with cash after ripping off Dahlia's family, he tries to outrun fellow Travellers in the Malloys' dilapidated RV, but oncoming motorists Doug and Cherien Rich are forced off the road and killed in the ensuing wreck. And when a tearful Wayne finds their IDs, credit cards and the keys to the luxurious home they just bought on the Internet, it's goodbye Malloys and hello Riches.

Unlike the anti-heroes of the other FX dramas, Wayne/Doug is bad for the good of his family. "I'm going to get us the life we deserve," he says, "whether we want it or not."

But stealing the American dream isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Maintaining their new gated-community lifestyle means Dahlia/Cherien must fit in among Baton Rouge society; Wayne/Doug must con his way through a job as a shady developer's in-house legal counsel, despite no knowledge of the law; and their three kids, who've only known a life of conning "buffers," Traveller-speak for outsiders, must go to school for the first time.

The series is being billed as FX's first family drama -- as in about a family, not family-friendly; this is still FX -- but it's clearly Izzard's show. Easily my favorite Yemeni-born, Tony-nominated, British transvestite comedian, he brings a sense of mischief to even the most routine scenes.

But "The Riches" could use more of the big elaborate cons -- like the one that starts the series, with Wayne crashing a high school reunion and becoming the life of the party so his kids can rob the distracted guests -- that really let Izzard soar.

As it is, though, like HBO's polygamy tale "Big Love" -- which also focuses on a family trying to escape its secretive roots while being threatened by violent, and possibly inbred, relatives over money matters -- "The Riches" just sort of washes over you, making you a part of its little-known world.

But it's a welcome relief from the excesses of "Dirt" (10 p.m. Tuesdays), FX's first true misfire.

The drama, starring Courteney Cox as tabloid editor Lucy Spiller, was intriguing at first. But sitting through "Dirt" has become what I imagine watching snuff films to be like. Though, to be fair, those at least tend to have a point.

The aptly titled "Dirt" can be summed up best by the recent episode in which a former child star holds the magazine's staff hostage.

The publisher, the reporter he's been sleeping with and a cleaning lady are hiding in a closet -- the women are huffing stain remover and he's got a 3-inch sex toy lodged in his rectum. (This is at least the fourth "marital aid" to be prominently featured in "Dirt"; Lucy's vibrator plays such a big role, it's now eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild.)

And the hostage taker? That role went to indie-auteur Vincent Gallo, who's best known for wishing cancer on Roger Ebert and writing and directing "The Brown Bunny," whose sole purpose seemed to be having Chloe Sevigny fellate him on camera.

For a series so obsessed with sex, "Dirt" usually has trouble with its climaxes. This particular episode ended with Gallo's character just giving up and leaving.

That's something viewers should have done a long time ago.

"Idol" chatter: Former Las Vegas "American Idol" contestants Mikalah Gordon and Amanda Avila are keeping busy. Gordon co-hosts Fox Reality Channel's "American Idol Extra" (premieres at 7:30 p.m. Thursday). And Avila is writing an "Idol" blog for foxreality.com.

Back for more: The Penn Jillette-hosted game show "Identity" returns as a regular series (9 p.m. Friday, KVBC-TV, Channel 3).

Turning up the heat: Crack dealer turned Bellagio chef turned best-selling author Jeff Henderson will be a guest on "The Montel Williams Show" (10 a.m. today, KVBC-TV, Channel 3).

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Mondays. E-mail him at clawrence@reviewjournal.com.