In an age of “Gossip Girl” and “The Hills,” everyone wants to watch richer, prettier and more socially-adept versions of themselves in high school or working in a big city. ABC Family’s hit series “Greek” bridges the gap between the two and maintains the same level of fun, scandal and unrealistic perfection. “Greek” is a show starring the Cartwrights, a sister and brother duo who attend Cyprus-Rhodes University. The two siblings deal with Greek politics, cheating boyfriends, lying girlfriends, obnoxious pledges, awkward social situations and much more. Everything begins with Rusty Cartwright, an endearingly wide-eyed freshman at Cyprus-Rhodes who is focused on attaining “the real college experience.” Instead of the late nights and raging parties that he imagines, he finds himself living on the honors physics floor with a roommate who’s decorated their room with a confederate flag. His older sister Casey is a junior, and a prominent member of the “best sorority on campus,” Zeta Beta Zeta. Until Rusty’s arrival at school, Casey had been pretending her nerdy younger brother didn’t exist. Their two very different worlds collide when Rusty ends up joining the wildest, most notorious fraternity on campus, the Kappa Taus. Besides Rusty and Casey, many other characters in the “Greek” world make the show dynamic and enjoyable. My favourite character in the show is Dale Kettlewell, Rusty’s roommate. A devout Christian from the Deep South, Dale is adamantly opposed to the Greek system and everything else Rusty enjoys at the university. However, they develop a sort of dysfunctional yet caring friendship that is very fun to watch. The actor who plays Dale, Clark Duke, is Michael Cera’s best friend in real life; they have a band and do a lot of comedy acts together. Cappie, a lovable delinquent, is president of Kappa Tau Gamma and Rusty’s “Big Brother” within the frat. Cappie and Casey dated in the past, and as Season 1 progresses, we see that the two aren’t completely over each other. Rebecca Logan is a senator’s daughter recruited to Zeta Beta Zeta for the publicity and prestige she could bring. In the first episode, Rusty walks in on her sleeping with Casey’s boyfriend, Evan. This encounter starts Casey and Rebecca’s feud, which continues to escalate throughout the season. Jen K. is Rusty’s first love and a new pledge of Zeta Beta Zeta. She betrays him in the worst way when she writes a tell-all article for the school newspaper, exposing all of the scandals of the Greek system. Their relationship ends tearfully, and because of the article, the horrified school administrators come down hard on the Greeks, restricting all their social activities. Currently, Greek is seven episodes into Season 2. A lot has changed, but I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t even started Season 1 yet. The show can be a little predictable, but the characters are so endearing and there are so many overlapping plotlines that it’s hard to get bored. Greek airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC Family.
