When “Lateline” returns tonight at 9 on NBC, more than a few people will be asking themselves if they hadn’t seen a show just like it last season.

The sharp-witted satire popped up for six episodes last winter, as Peacock programmers threw a little bit of everything at the screen to see what stuck and what stunk. (The two aren’t mutually exclusive. Check out “Working.”) So it was a bit of a surprise when “Lateline” was picked up as a midseason replacement.

“Lateline,” a pointed spoof of late-night news shows (especially “Nightline”), is centered on Al Freundlich, the overly gung-ho investigative correspondent played by series creator Al Franken, best known for his writing and commentaries on “Saturday Night Live.”

As portrayed by Franken, Al is an amiable doofus who occasionally hits the mark with his exposes. As associate producer Gale Ingersoll (Megyn Price) notes, “Working with Al is a lot like panning for gold. You have to sift through a lot of sludge, but occasionally you find a nugget.”

Franken is surrounded by a talented cast, including Robert Foxworth McKenzie as self-centered anchor Pearce McKenzie, Catherine Lloyd Burns as McKenzie’s worshipful assistant Mona, and Ajay Naidu as overeager intern Raji.

The standout among the supporting cast is Miguel Ferrer, perhaps best remembered for his recurring role as Albert Rosenfeld on “Twin Peaks.” A survivor of a string of misfiring series (extra points for recalling “Broken Badges”), playing producer Vic Carp has given Ferrer a role he can chew on.

One of the great moments of the last TV season was the impromptu “Lateline” tribute to the late comic Buddy Hackett, which scrapped Freundlich’s earnest report on the effects of an extended strike. (It was a scream watching Rep. Richard Gephart and then Labor Secretary Robert Reich goofily sing along on “Shipoopi,” Hackett’s showcase number from the movie “The Music Man.”) There was only one problem: Hackett wasn’t dead.

“Lateline” also makes liberal, sometimes effective, use of cameos from the worlds of politics, law, and entertainment. This year’s premiere, “Pearce on Conan,” shoehorns in not only Conan O’Brien and his sidekick, Andy Richter, but also Regis and Kathie Lee and William F. Buckley.

Taking over for “3rd Rock from the Sun” reruns, “Lateline” inherits a soft time slot, up against a fading “Party of Five,” the “60 Minutes” clone, and the Drew Carey hour. With crisp writing and a strong cast, it could easily develop into a top-notch workplace ensemble comedy, such as “Spin City.” But a lot will depend on whether NBC keeps it in one place and allows it to develop, like with “Just Shoot Me,” or if it gets moved all over the schedule so that the viewers can’t find it, as has been done with “Newsradio.”