Greek is Top of Freshman Class
New Drama Takes a Fresh Look at Collegiate Life
Following hot on the heels of the highly successful series "Kyle XY" and the made-for-TV movie "Fallen," ABC Family positions itself as a teenage triple threat with "Greek," a surprisingly fresh and unexpected look at college life.
Jacob Zachar plays Rusty, an incoming freshman at the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University. A former high school nerd who landed a spot in the school's prestigious honors program, Rusty wants a "real" college experience, which means drinking, girls and especially a taste of the Greek life. More than anything, he wants to become a member of a fratenity.
Because his older sister Casey (Spencer Grammer) is on track to become the "queen bee" at her sorority, she wants nothing to do with her nerdy little brother and tries to steer him away from the entire Greek system. She is so against him attending Cyprus-Rhodes that she neglects to tell anyone on campus that she has a little brother.
Rusty is determined, however, and eagerly participates in "Rush Week," the time when freshmen check out all the fraternities and sororities while the upperclassmen select only the best new pledges for their respective houses.
The honor student understands stress formulas but he learns some hard lessons about life after meeting Evan (Jake McDorman), Casey's boyfriend and a member of one of the top houses. Rusty witnesses Evan cheating on Casey and, in an effort to keep him quiet, Evan offers to make him a member of his house. Fratenity brothers, Evan explains, are loyal to each other.
Rusty also meets Cappie (Scott Michael Foster), the president of the Kappa Tau house who dated Casey for a year and, despite what he says, still has strong feelings for her. Cappie takes a liking to Rusty, even after the freshman has a disastrous first drink of tequila at a Kappa Tau party.
With the help of his more experienced friend Calvin (Paul James) and a germ-phobic roommate named Dale (Clark Duke), Rusty will navigate the complexities of collegiate life over the coming year.
With a promising pilot episode, "Greek" looks as if it will continue to make ABC Family the place to go for high-quality original programming with a mature edge.
Fresh-faced Jacob Zachar avoids becoming the prototypical nerd in the lead role of engineering student Rusty. Brainy with SAT scores that could have easily landed him at MIT, Rusty fits in better at school than his sister gives him credit for.
Spencer Grammer, Scott Michael Foster and Jake McDorman also play three sides of a very intriguing romantic triangle. It's hard to tell at this time if Casey will opt to stay with Evan because of his status on campus or return to the loving arms of Cappie.
With a fine supporting cast and Zachar leading the way, this is shaping up to be a fine semester for this freshman drama.
"Greek" airs Mondays at 9 PM EST on ABC Family.
