Last night ABC Family premiered its new series Greek, and it was surprising in a number of ways, including in that it features a gay character.

The character in question is Calvin, played by Paul James (probably best known from the teen cyber-thriller Cry_Wolf). He's an African-American, Jewish former football star and model -- or at least, that's what he leads his potential frat brothers to believe. He's actually a legacy, so he couldn't care less, but his sexuality is just about the only thing he hasn't brought up to his new brothers (which will doubtless lead to much of his character's conflict as the show progresses). Calvin seems destined to outsmart all the shallow fratguys -- and we'll see if he gets a love story to match his wits. As it is he's just sleeping with "straight" guys, which ... okay, it's pretty common in college, but it's obviously not the best he can do.

It's also a surprise to see ABC Family running a show that so openly discusses sex, underage drinking, and other adult topics with such candor (not to mention that features some naked man-buns in the first episode!). Some may be shocked to see a family-targeted show feature so much partying, but hey -- that's what happens in college, and Greek could open up a dialog between parents and kids about this kind of behavior and its repercussions. It's certainly a bold move for the network and one that's certain to set off some complaints.

We reported a few months back that ABC Family was developing the gay film Quinceañera as a television show and at the time were a wee bit concerned that the "family" net would shy away from the gay subject matter. It's a good sign that they're acknowledging that gay kids show up on college campuses with the rest of the students, and that they're more than cardboard cutouts or abstractions. It's encouraging to think that they may be taking their tagline, "a new kind of family," to heart.

But possibly most surprising is that the show is actually pretty good. It's full of interesting characters at a very exciting point in life, and the show's sense of humor and breakneck pace are pretty hard to resist. The concept reminds me a lot of the book Pledged (which followed several real girls through the pledging process but also featured some gay characters), which lesbian director Angela Robinson has been attached to as a film project (and which is still in development).

If you want to catch last night's episode, it's available on iTunes for free.