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GRΣΣK
Greek Cup Logo.jpg
Promotional Poster
Format Comedy-drama
Created by Patrick Sean Smith
Starring Clark Duke
Tiffany Dupont (Seasons 1-2)
Scott Michael Foster
Spencer Grammer
Paul James
Jake McDorman
Amber Stevens
Dilshad Vadsaria
Jacob Zachar
Opening theme "Our Time Now" (played on commercials, not during credits)
Composer(s) John Swihart
Country of origin  United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 61 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Lloyd Segan
Shawn Piller
Running time 43 mins approx.
Broadcast
Original channel ABC Family
Picture format 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format
Audio format 5.1 channel surround sound
Original run July 9, 2007 – present
External links
Official website
For other uses, see Greek.

Greek (promoted in faux-Greek alphabet as GRΣΣK) is an American dramedy television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University (CRU) who partake in the school's Greek system. The show's plots often take place within the confines of the fictional fraternities, Kappa Tau Gamma (ΚΤΓ) and Omega Chi Delta (ΩΧΔ), or the fictional sorority, Zeta Beta Zeta (ΖΒZ). Throughout the course of the series, other non-Greek characters and situations are introduced, but they all tie into larger relationships with the Greeks.

Contents

Production

In April 2007, ABC Family announced plans to begin airing Greek in July of that summer. The series premiered on July 9, 2007.[1] The show depicts a school similar to Miami University in Oxford,Ohio which also has a large greek community. Show creator Patrick Sean Smith began the show as a spec script of a show that he "really wanted to see," noticing a lack of shows in an hour-long format following a comedic take on college life. Citing "shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty" that "were pushing the envelope comedically in [sic] one-hour format," Smith saw the idea working for a younger set.[2] Greek became an example of ABC Family's desire to change their image to appeal to the emerging generation of viewers. The show's content is not traditionally considered "family friendly" due to its depiction of sex and drinking. The producers and the network believe the friendships, which substitute for family during college, achieve the network's motto: A New Kind of Family.[3] At the heart of the series is the sibling relationship between Casey and Rusty. The producers recognize that while it is a show about families, it is not necessarily for families, believing it is important that the authenticity of college life be portrayed, which includes the mature elements of that lifestyle. Even still, they work at making sure their depictions aren't gratuitous.[4]

Filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California, the show is also filmed on location at the UCLA campus in the Westwood district of Los Angeles. Many campus scenes have also been shot at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, outside of Los Angeles. They've also filmed at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina,[5] and used aerial footage of Stanford University. The exterior and some interior shots were filmed in the historic West Adams District within Los Angeles.The house used in the pilot to establish the ZBZ residence is the same house used in the reality series Beauty and the Geek.[4]

The first season was halted in September 2007 due to the Writers Guild of America strike and returned March 24, 2008, to a triple digit increase in ratings over the pilot's premiere.[6] On May 1, 2008, ABC Family renewed Greek for a second season, premiering August 26, 2008. The series was moved from the Tuesday lineup to Monday nights.[7] Twelve more episodes were ordered for late spring 2009 and aired beginning March 30. On January 31, 2009, it was announced that Greek would return for a third season, premiering on August 31, 2009.[8] ABC Family has scheduled the midseason premiere of Greek for Monday, Jan. 25, at 10/9c, TVGuide.com has confirmed.[9]

The show airs in the US on ABC Family on Mondays 9/8c, encores ran the following Friday during its First Chapter.[10] The show originally aired on BBC Three in the UK but now airs on BBC Two, pay-TV FOX8 in Australia, TV2 in New Zealand, MuchMusic in Canada, Virgin 17 in France, Universal Channel in Brazil, pay-TV network FOX in Germany, and on MTV Italia, MTV Greece and MTV Russia in Italy, Greece and Russia, respectively. In Egypt, it airs on FOX Series. In Sweden, it airs on Kanal 5 and in Denmark on Kanal 4. In the Republic of Ireland it airs on RTE2. It will begin airing on RTL 5 in the Netherlands. In Slovenia, it airs on Kanal A. In South Africa it airs on VUZU, (DSTV Channel 123)

On February 19, 2010, it was reported that the show had been renewed for a fourth, ten-episode season.[11][12] Then, on March 13, 2010, creator Sean Smith announced his plans to end the series after the fourth series, saying, "We plan to end, that's the plan. We're all looking at this as an opportunity to come back, wrap up the show, and end strong. ABC Family could have ended it, but they gave us this opportunity and I don't want to squander it."[13]

Casting

Main cast

See also: List of Greek characters
Actor Character House
Clark Duke Dale Kettlewell non-Greek
Scott Michael Foster Cappie KTΓ
Spencer Grammer Casey Cartwright ZBZ
Paul James Calvin Owens ΩΧΔ
Jake McDorman Evan Chambers ΩΧΔ
Amber Stevens Ashleigh Howard ZBZ
Dilshad Vadsaria Rebecca Logan ZBZ
Jacob Zachar Rusty Cartwright KTΓ

CRU Greeks

The following is a list of fraternities and sororities featured in more than one episode.
Zeta Beta Zeta ZBZ Former top sorority based on academics, athletics, and philanthropy.
Omega Chi Delta ΩΧΔ The top fraternity based on the academics, athletics, and networking.
Kappa Tau Gamma KTΓ The black sheep of the CRU Greeks based heavily on socializing.
iota Kappa iota IKI A short-lived rival sorority house of ZBZ founded by Frannie.
Pi Pi Pi ("Tri-Pi") ΠΠΠ A rival sorority house of ZBZ often noted for their promiscuity.
Lambda Sigma Omega ΛΣΩ One of the top fraternities at CRU based solely on athleticism.
Psi Phi Pi ΨΦΠ One of the less popular fraternities at CRU based solely on academics.
Gamma Psi Alpha ΓΨA The sudden #1 sorority house that rivals ZBZ.

Synopsis

See also: List of Greek episodes

The pilot episode premiered on Monday, July 9, 2007 in the US on ABC Family.

Season Episodes Season Premiere Season Finale Region 1 DVD Release
1 22 July 9, 2007[14] June 9, 2008 Chapter 1: March 18, 2008[15] Chapter 2: December 30, 2008[16]
2 22 August 26, 2008[14] June 15, 2009 Chapter 3: August 18, 2009[17] Chapter 4: March 9, 2010[18]
3 20[19] August 31, 2009 [20] 2010 TBA TBA
4 10[21] TBA TBA TBA TBA

Season One

Rusty Cartwright (Jacob Zachar) is a freshman at Cyprus-Rhodes University, and in an effort to shed his nerdy image, he pledges Greek. His older sister, Casey (Spencer Grammer), is an active member of the Zeta Beta Zeta sorority, and is dating Evan Chambers (Jake McDorman), an active member of the Omega Chi Delta fraternity. Evan offers Rusty a spot in Omega Chi but gets declined after Evan gets spotted cheating on Casey with Rebecca Logan (Dilshad Vadsaria). Rusty later accepts an invitation for Kappa Tau by Cappie (Scott Michael Foster), Casey's ex-boyfriend, much to Casey's concern. Additionally, Rusty's straight-edged roommate, Dale (Clark Duke), is concerned for Rusty's involvement with the Greeks, but later accepts Rusty's new lifestyle, even befriending Rusty's gay friend Calvin (Paul James), an Omega Chi pledge who gets accidentally outed by Ashleigh (Amber Stevens). The biggest scandal for the Greeks erupts after Rusty's new girlfriend, Jen K, a Zeta Beta Zeta pledge, is outed for writing a newspaper article based on the secrets of the Greeks and getting them in trouble and forcing Dean Bowman to lay down strict rules on the Greeks. Since the article centers on the Zeta Beta Zeta sorority, the National Board for ZBZ forces Frannie to step down as president and have Casey take her place.

Season Two

With elections around the corner, Casey and Frannie (Tiffany Dupont) rally for the presidential bid. After the sharing of words at a house-meeting, the girls ultimately select Ashleigh to be president. With this, Frannie leaves ZBZ along with some of the girls to start a new house, Iota Kappa Iota. When her new beau, Evan, accepts a multi-million trust fund from his parents, Frannie uses this to her advantage as how to fund her new sorority. Meanwhile, Casey starts dating Rusty's RA, Max, but the pair struggles when it comes to his graduation and spending the summer apart. When the new year begins, it is found out that Max had turned down a full scholarship to Grad School to stay at CRU with Casey. As far as relationships go, Rusty starts dating ZBZ pledge, Jordan. Ashleigh starts dating Fischer who works at ZBZ. Fisher and Rebecca shared a kiss and Casey finds out and they don't tell Ashleigh. Additionally, Cappie and Evan are among the very few to be selected for a secret society headed by Dean Bowman, and it is there as to how the two begin to settle their differences. At a Kappa Tau party Casey confronts her feelings for Cappie but to her surprise Cappie does not want her to mess up things with her beau, Max, so she dumps him.

Season Three

Rebecca confesses that she shared a kiss with Fischer, and Ashleigh refuses to accept the apology from both parties. Casey's break up with Max was difficult, but she put her energy into her participation in Pan Hellenic. Meanwhile, Rusty struggles to keep up his GPA while still participating in Kappa Tau activities, and Cappie enlists himself as help. Calvin and Grant quietly begin a relationship, and Evan helps them keep it a secret from the rest of Omega Chi. Rusty and Jordan take their relationship to the next level, but due to a once in a lifetime opportunity Jordan moves to New York, and the two split up. Cappie and Evan's friendship is discovered by Casey and the three are friends again. When Thanksgiving rolls around Cappie and Casey share a special moment and get back together. Dale and Rusty begin to fight when they are put up for the same academic grant. In the final episode of the season, Cappie & Evan make a deal to unite their houses against Officer Huck, but Evan betrays Cappie. The Gamma Psi house burns down, and the ZBZ house is to blame.

Music

  • The Plain White T's "Our Time Now" played during commercials advertising Greek during the show’s first chapter promotional run. The band has appeared in numerous Greek episodes, making their debut in the season one episode, "The Rusty Nail". They appeared in subsequent episodes "Friday Night Frights", "A New Normal", and "See You Next Time Sisters"[22]. The show sometimes features members of the band as KT brothers, such as in the episode "The Great Cappie". The Chapter Two DVD features a video for the band’s song, "Natural Disaster", which features Tiffany Dupont.
  • The Dollyrots appeared in the season one episode, "Multiple Choice", playing “Because I’m Awesome”.[22]
  • Marié Digby performs “Better Off Alone” in the penultimate season one episode, "Barely Legal".[22]
  • American Bang performs two songs in the season one finale, "Spring Broke", “Wild and Young”, and “Move to the Music”.[22]
  • The War Tapes are the featured band during the season two finale, "At World’s End", “Always Falling”, and “Dreaming of You”.[23]
  • Alpha Rev appeared in the season preview performing Phoenix Burn.[24]

Reception

Greek has received a score of 62 out of 100 from review aggregator Metacritic.[25] In a review released soon after the premiere of the show, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the show "light-hearted fun" and "authentic" while the New York Times claimed that Greek "captures the spirit of the hedge-fund age like nothing else."[26][27] Other critics did not find the drama as authentic, with Elizabeth Fox of the Philadelphia Inquirer criticizing the show's predictability and lack of originality as another "teenage soap opera."[28] Other reviews were middling, calling the writing of the show acceptable and praising the strength of the cast.[29]

Members of the real life Greek community have claimed that Greek's depiction of fraternity and sorority life is stereotypical.[30] USC banned the show from filming on their campus, in reaction to the promotional poster featuring the Greek logo over a red cup, since the cup is often used to symbolize alcoholic consumption during parties. However, upon viewing the pilot episode they held off on sending a letter to ABC Family, complaining about the depiction of the Greek System, when they realized there was more to the show than just parties.[31] Others recognize it as a hyperbolic representation of "tamer, more modest" Greek life.[32]

The show has been noted by LGBT activists for the character of Calvin, a gay fraternity brother, who struggles with the stereotyping and homophobia that coming out of the closet entails. Critics have praised the character's "three dimensionality."[2][33]

Awards

In 2008 GLAAD nominated Greek for an Outstanding Drama Series award, and in 2009 they nominated the show in the Outstanding Comedy Series category. Actor Paul James was nominated for a 2009 Image Award as Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.[34] In 2010, Beautiful People it was again nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding Comedy Series" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[35]

Ratings

The viewership for Greek's pilot episode was 1.1 million,[36] and Chapter 2 ended with 1.3 million viewers.[37]

Chapter 3 saw a ratings spike, premiering to 1.6 million viewers, a 78% increase, doubling and tripling their ratings in all demographics, marked a network high for male viewers, and was the 2nd most watched cable show with females age 12-34. Greek also appeared on the list of top ten downloads on iTunes.[4][6] Chapter 4 premiered much lower, with 0.99 million viewers,[38] and ended with 0.745 million.[37]

The third season premiere (Chapter 5) had a total of 1.21 million viewers, down almost 2 million from its lead in, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.[39] The second episode pulled in 1.31 million viewers.[40] Ratings dropped dramatically from there, with the Chapter 5 finale, or the season 3 mid-season finale, attracting only 0.660 million viewers.[41] Chapter 6 premiered on January 25, 2010, in a new 10 pm time slot, to 1.03 million viewers.[42] This was a drop of almost 1.27 million from the show's lead in, Make It or Break It.

Specials

In the United Kingdom, after each episode airs a special behind the scenes episode entitled Greek Uncovered, which can be found on the BBC iPlayer and on BBC Three.[43] In the Australian iTunes store, each week, a new episode (to Australia) will appear, after it is aired on FOX8.

References

  1. ^ "Greek, Cats new offerings at ABC Family". TV.com. 2007-04-23. http://www.tv.com/greek/show/71239/story/9375.html?tag=story_list;title;1. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  2. ^ a b Juergens, Brian (2008-03-23). "Interview with "Greek" creator Patrick Sean Smith". After Elton on Logoonline.com. http://www.afterelton.com/people/2008/3/patrickseansmith?page=0%2C1. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  3. ^ http://www.afterelton.com/people/2008/3/patrickseansmith?page=0%2C2
  4. ^ a b c “Pilot” GREEK (DVD Commentary). Prod. Sean Pillar, Lloyd Segan, Patrick Sean Smith. Disney, 2007. DVD. Buena Vista Entertainment, 2008.
  5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976014/locations
  6. ^ a b http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20080827abcfamily01
  7. ^ "ABC Family adds five to mix". TV.com. 2008-05-01. http://www.tv.com/greek/show/71239/story/11240.html?tag=story_list;title;0. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  8. ^ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/01/exclusive-abc-f.html
  9. '^ Kate Stanhope. "ABC Family Sets Date for Greeks Midseason Premiere". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/ABC-Family-Sets-1011346.aspx. 
  10. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7403
  11. ^ Michael Ausiello (February 19, 2010). "Breaking: ABC Family pledges more 'Greek'". The Ausiello Files. Entertainment Weekly. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/02/19/breaking-abc-family-pledges-more-greek/. Retrieved February 20, 2010. 
  12. ^ Nellie Andreeva (February 19, 2010). "'Greek' renewed for a fourth season". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i5a7bc96eb52f8d10ee12f6d1d22de7b9. Retrieved February 20, 2010. 
  13. ^ Catriona Wightman (March 13, 2010). "'Greek' to end after fourth season". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/news/a208548/greek-to-end-after-fourth-season.html. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
  14. ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976014/episodes
  15. ^ http://videoeta.com/movie/98437
  16. ^ http://videoeta.com/movie/110344
  17. ^ http://videoeta.com/movie/115740
  18. ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Greek-Chapter-4/13081
  19. ^ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/01/31/exclusive-abc-f/
  20. ^ http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20090727abcfamily01
  21. ^ http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/02/19/breaking-abc-family-pledges-more-greek/
  22. ^ a b c d http://www.tvshowmusic.com/shows/greek/season01.html
  23. ^ http://www.tvshowmusic.com/shows/greek/season02.html
  24. ^ www.kidmercuryblog.com
  25. ^ "Television: Greek (ABC Family". Metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/greek. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  26. ^ "Freaks and Greeks". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2007-06-29. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07180/795662-352.stm. 
  27. ^ Bellafante, Ginia (2007-07-16). "'Greek' - Television Review". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/arts/television/16bell.html?ex=1342238400&en=647b5c71c56e62c2&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  28. ^ Fox, Elizabeth (07-09-2007). "Teen soap opera tells a tale of Greek life". Philadelphia Enquirer. 
  29. ^ Weigand, David (2007-07-07). "'Animal House' it ain't. Some are hot, and one's even gay.". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/07/DDGMGQRN0E1.DTL. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  30. ^ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/greek/cast-and-crew-sound-off-on-abc-9762.aspx
  31. ^ http://www.dailytrojan.com/news/filming-on-campus-not-always-ok-d-1.204665
  32. ^ http://www.dogstreetjournal.com/story/3831
  33. ^ Krochmal, Shana Naomi (2008-04-28). "Greek's Family Values". Out.com. http://out.com/detail.asp?id=23651. Retrieved 2008-05-30. 
  34. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976014/awards
  35. ^ "21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards - English Language Nominees". Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. 2010. http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/21/nominees. Retrieved February 21, 2010. 
  36. ^ http://www.comedycentric.com/2008/08/28/greek-premiere-rocks-the-ratings/
  37. ^ a b http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-06-23-nielsens-analysis_N.htm
  38. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-04-07-nielsens-analysis_N.htm
  39. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/09/09/cable-ratings-football-nascar-wwe-raw-lead-weekly-cable-viewing/26551/comment-page-2#comment-117125
  40. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/09/15/abc-family-for-the-week-ending-september-13-secret-life-greek-and-10-things-i-hate/27206
  41. ^ http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/63310451/m/409107252/p/12
  42. ^ "Monday Cable Finals". The Programming Insider. Mediaweek. January 26, 2010. http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=32410241&f=63310451&m=646109072&r=503101172#503101172. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
  43. ^ "BBC iPlayer: Greek Uncovered". iPlayer. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=Greek+Uncovered&go=Find+Programmes. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 

External links


Quotes

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

From Wikiquote

Greek (2007- ) is an American teen comedy-drama television series in which the show follows students of Cyprus-Rhodes University who partake in the school's Greek system.

Contents

Season 1

Seperation Anxiety 1.8

Rusty: I think I'm ready to use the 'L' word with Jen.
Cappie: That's a pretty bold move. What makes you think she's a lesbian? And is that a deal-breaker for you?

(While sitting is an especially seedy strip club)

Rusty: What's the worst thing you can imagine?
Calvin: This.
Rusty: Try telling your girlfriend 'I love you' and getting a 'thank you' back.
Calvin: Ouch.
Rusty: In less than 24 hours I went from Boyfriend, to moron, to stalker.
Cappie: (drunk)Spitter, what possessed you to ignore my advice? Have I ever led you afoul - like...really afoul? Like of the law?
Rusty: I did it because of the law.
Cappie: Which one?! And together we'll fight it.

Seperation Anxiety 1.9

Rusty: Can we use your room?
Jen K: I don't think so. My roommate Stephanie could barely make it past the dresser this morning.
Rusty: She needs to go to Student Health.
Jen K: That's the problem. She's agoraphobic. She can't really GO anywhere. She spends all day on the internet talking to her little webcam. It's like living with Lonelygirl15
Rusty: Nevermind. I've got to go talk to Dale. He's probably finishing his fruit-rollup
Cappie: What is your hurry? We have all weekend. Besides, I'd like to get to know my supervisor before I get to 'stroop' her. (Rebecca glares) It really is an amazing word that can be used in many different ways.
Dale: Well. You know, love the sinner, hate the sin.
Rebecca: I know how hard you work to pretend that nothing ever bothers you.
Cappie: (sarcastically) Stop, I'll tell you where the nukes are.
Calvin: (dancing) I am lucky to have such a beautiful lady on my arm. (groans) Aaaaaaand my feet.

External links

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