Media Life Magazine - For ABC Family's 'Greek,' rush is over

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For ABC Family's
'Greek,' rush is over

The college teen drama could be getting the axe

By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 25, 2010

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The ABC Family series "Greek," about the hook-ups and hijinks of a pair of college-age siblings, returns tonight at 10 p.m. for the second half of its third season with the prospect of a fourth season very much in doubt.

"Greek" was one the of network's first buzz-worthy shows at a time, earlier this decade, when ABC Family was struggling to find its identity, moving from the home of "The 700 Club" to the place for fun and surprisingly smart shows like teen pregnancy drama "The Secret Life of An American Teenager," which even outdraws the CW's "Gossip Girl" among 12-17s.

While "Greek" was once one of the network's top programs, "Teenager" and "Make It or Break It" are now generating bigger numbers, and when ABC Family announced a slew of renewals earlier this month, "Greek" was not among them.

That led to speculation on EW.com that the show was on the bubble, and a recent Tweet from one of the show's actors claims that tonight's ratings could help determine whether the show stays or goes.

The ensuing uproar prompted the inevitable "Save 'Greek'" campaign, urging fans to send the red cups that cast members sip from at the show's many, many fraternity parties to executives at ABC, much like the nuts for "Jericho" campaign a few years back.

Of course it's worth noting that there have been "Cancel 'Greek'" petitions floating around the internet for years, initiated by sororities and fraternities unhappy with how the hard-drinking greeks are portrayed on screen.

Whether "Greek" lives on, it's been an undeniably strong start to the year for ABC Family.

The network had its most-watched primetime week ever the week ended January 17 among teens and female teens, averaging 408,000 and 330,000, respectively. It also had its second-best week among women 12-34, averaging 603,000.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, JANUARY 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Big East rivalry game between Georgetown and Syracuse.
8 p.m.	Fox	“House” (D)	House tries to make up for being not-so-nice to someone back in medical school. If he goes down that road, he may have many, many such make-ups ahead.
9 p.m.	CW	“Life Unexpected” (D)	A social worker inspects the homes of both Cate and Baze.
9 p.m.	MTV	“True Life” (N)	A look at people who are addicted to playing video games.
9 p.m.	Fox	“24” (D)	President Taylor finds out about a terror threat.
10 p.m.	ABC Family	“Greek” (D)	Second-half season premiere. The Gamma Psis hold a fundraiser ball with hopes of rebuilding their burned down house.
10 p.m.	FX	“Damages” (D)	Season premiere. Patty is in charge of recovering assets lost in a Ponzi scheme.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry guest during auditions in Los Angeles.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Biggest Loser: Couples” (R)	The trainers don’t like the way one of the teams is playing the game.
8 p.m.	CBS	“NCIS” (D)	Tony and Ziva try to keep a government witness from being assassinated, while working in some witty banter during the downtime.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Human Target” (D)	Chance ends up in Russia while looking for a friend’s killer.
9 p.m.	CBS	“NCIS: Los Angeles” (D)	The team helps another agent who’s in trouble. (Possibly Tony, depending on what he said about Ziva.)
10 p.m.	HBO	“24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona” (R)	Series premiere. A look at preparations for the first NASCAR race of the year.
10 p.m.	Oxygen	“Bad Girls Club” (R)	Annie decides to finally start standing up for herself.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	This time it’s auditions in Dallas, with guests Joe Jonas and Neil Patrick Harris.
9 p.m.	Broadcast, cable news networks	“State of the Union Address” (N)	President Obama gives his first State of the Union address.
9 p.m.	TLC	“I’m Pregnant And…” (R)	A homeless couple tries to find jobs before their baby is born.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Ghost Hunters International” (R)	Exploring a 19th century prison in Tasmania.
10 p.m.	A&E	“Steven Seagal: Lawman” (R)	Seagal and his crew take part in a drug sting operation.
10 p.m.	FX	“Nip/Tuck” (D)	Melanie Griffith guests as Kimber’s mother.
10 p.m.	USA	“Psych” (D)	The suicide of a soldier may have actually been murder.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Good Big Ten matchup between Wisconsin and Purdue.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Bones” (D)	A dentist’s remains are found in a trench at a Civil War battle site.
8 p.m.	CW	“The Vampire Diaries” (D)	A new vampire comes to town, and Stefan and Damon try to figure out his story.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“Winter X Games” (S)	The 14th annual event begins in Aspen, Colo.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“Real Housewives of Orange County” (R)	Lynne asks her mother for advice about her daughters.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	Personalities clash as the designers work in pairs.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CW	“Smallville” (D)	Archer battles his former mentor.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Kitchen Nightmares” (R)	Season premiere. Ramsay starts the season by visiting a restaurant in Philadelphia.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Caprica” (D)	Zoe’s avatar tries to get used to living in the body of a robot.
10 p.m.	Food Network	“The Best Thing I Ever Ate” (N)	Food Network personalities dish about their favorite meat dishes.
10 p.m.	TLC	“Miss America: Behind the Curtain” (R)	A look at preparations for the 2010 Miss America pageant.
10 p.m.	Travel Channel	“Most Haunted” (R)	A house in Liverpool, England, may be haunted by a former resident.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	Interesting nonconference game between Duke and Georgetown.
7 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Should be a good game between in-state rivals Kansas and Kansas State.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	A park ranger in Tulsa can’t get a man to stop.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	“Lying to be Perfect” (M)	A magazine editor moonlights as an online advice columnist.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Meteor Storm” (M)	A rash of meteors begins hitting San Francisco.
10 p.m.	Spike TV	“UFC 107” (S)	Live event should draw a good amount of young male viewers.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	Either Florida-Tennessee or Minnesota-Ohio State.
7:20 p.m.	ESPN	“NFL Football” (S)	The annual Pro Bowl game, this year from Miami.
8 p.m.	Fox	“The Simpsons” (C)	Homer buys a lottery ticket that may be worth $1 million.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Grammy Awards” (A)	The 52nd annual event, this year from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
9 p.m.	HBO	“Big Love” (D)	Home Plus is audited and the results could affect Bill’s political aspirations. Of course so could that three wives thing.
10 p.m.	E!	“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (R)	The girls have a weekend from hell.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.