Greg Serrano

**Greg Serrano** Old friend of Josh Chan

## Bio

* Greg Season 4

Portrayed by Santino Fontana

**Greg Serrano** is a native of West Covina who used to be a bartender at Home Base. He hated his job and for years yearned to leave but was unable to since he had to take care of his ailing father. He is best friends with Josh Chan whom he has known since kindergarten. They are part of a close knit crew that grew up together which includes Valencia, Josh Wilson and Hector. When Rebecca Bunch moved to town he was smitten and began a complicated romantic relationship with her. At one time he also dated Rebecca's neighbor Heather Davis until she broke up with him upon realizing he had feelings for Rebecca. After an embarrassing DUI he was forced to admit to his addiction and began working on his alcohol problem. Not long into his sobriety, Greg shared in a financial windfall his father had. Using the money he was given he chose to follow his dream and leave West Covina to finally attend Emory University. Ultimately Greg returned home and reopened his father’s restaurant Serrano's. His first appearance was in the Season One episode "Josh Just Happens to Live Here!". He was portrayed by actor Santino Fontana in Seasons One and Two. He was portrayed by actor Skylar Astin in Season Four.

## Personality

Greg was often called sarcastic and bitter by his friends, traits which were shaped by two particular incidents in his past. The first of these was the divorce between his parents when he was a child. He held a grudge against his mother for what he felt was outright abandonment. She rarely saw him as he grew up as she decided not to fight for shared custody and went on to start a new family. Due to this he has trouble committing to relationships for fear of people he loves leaving him. It also relates to his frequent attraction and pursuit of women who don't reciprocate his feelings. The second major incident in his life was him being unable to go to college due to his father's ailing health. He felt obligated to look after his dad but began to resent his hometown and the job he had to take instead. This indignation continued to fuel his anger and depression. Amongst his close circle of friends he considered himself the smartest of the group and was boastful of the fact that he got accepted to Emory University. However, despite excelling at academia his achievements at the time were often overshadowed by his friend Josh Chan's popularity. This created some underlying tension and rivalry between them which carried over into adulthood. Because of the disappointments in his life he has a fear of failing and has a tendency to use his circumstances as an excuse for not trying. He would often deal with any adversity by taking on a sarcastic facade of apathy and drinking a lot of alcohol. The latter coping mechanism resulted in a number of embarrassing incidents until he hit rock bottom and realized he had become an alcoholic. He decided to make drastic changes in his life to deal with his addiction. This included not pursuing another relationship with Rebecca Bunch and leaving West Covina to finally attend Emory University.

## Character history

### Season One

While working at Home Base, Greg met Rebecca Bunch who had just moved from the east coast and was looking for thier mutual acquaintance Josh Chan. Greg found himself attracted to her even though he suspected she was lying about her motivations for being in West Covina. Although wary of Rebecca he officially asked her out and though it started out well the date ended in disaster. Greg put his focus on finally going to business school, quitting his bartending job and moving out of his dad's place. His plans fell apart due to his father's medical expenses and he was forced to keep bartending. He enrolled in night classes and on Christmas he mended his relationship with his estranged mother and step family. He also started a romantic relationship with Rebecca's neighbor Heather Davis but it ended when she realized he was in love with Rebecca. He was going to confess his feelings to Rebecca until he saw her kissing Josh. He became listless until he regained focus after observing someone making the same mistakes he was. When Rebecca unexpectedly kissed him at Home Base they began a freinds-with-benefits relationship . Despite Rebecca indicating she wanted them to become something serious, Greg let his fears prevent him from telling her he wanted the same thing and the relationship came to an end.

A week later Greg was at the grocery store with Hector and "White" Josh when he bumped into Rebecca. He wanted to talk about what happened at the party but Rebecca was in a rush to leave. They were interrupted by Hector and White Josh whom Greg introduced to Rebecca. An awkward scene ensued when Josh Chan and Valencia showed up too. Surprisingly, Rebecca and Valencia became friends and Greg joined them alongside Josh to a night club. Things went south when Rebecca got drunk, kissed Valencia and revealed she and Josh used to date when they were teens. A furious Valencia forbade Josh from ever seeing Rebecca again and left the club. Greg tried to comfort Rebecca but she rejected him and left ("Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!").
Greg is bartending at Home Base when Rebecca walks in and flaunts her cleavage before inviting him to a housewarming party. Greg refuses pointing out the last few times they were together didn't end well. She asks him to reconsider but her efforts stops when she spots Josh. The night of the party Greg is working at Home Base but it's deserted as his regular gamblers anonymous customers are no shows. He headed over to Rebecca's party found all the gamblers at her place. Nevertheless, he finds Rebecca and congratulates her for throwing a great bash. He later gets drunk on a bottle of Jack Daniels and slow dances with a giant fish. After the party ends, Rebecca allows him to take the bottle and calls a ride sharing service to take him home ("I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!")

A week later at Home Base, Chris and Josh encouraged Greg to ask Rebecca out when she showed up at the bar declaring she was making healthier life choices *(♫ Settle For Me ♫)*. When she finally got back to him, Greg took her to the local taco festival. After some awkward small talk the two began enjoying themselves until they went to a guacamole contest. They had a brief argument about her commitment to being a vegan which Greg apologized for. She went to the restroom but never retuned and sent him a text saying she was sick. He was furious when went to her apartment that evening and saw a guy leaving her place. He demanded an explanation but all Rebecca could say was that he should see now how messed up she is and that he shouldn't waste time on her. Greg replied that all he could see was how this night could have turned out and left ("I'm Going on a Date with Josh's Friend!")
Several days later, Greg ran into Rebecca at Cup of boba. She was there with Josh and he accused them both of being bad people. To prove him wrong Rebecca got Darryl temporary full custody of his daughter Madison. Greg wasn't impressed with her efforts *(♫ I'm a Good Person ♫)* and rejected her offer to sleep with him to make up for the bad date they had. This only inspired her to do something more crazy to prove she was a good person. When this backfired, Greg observed her settling Darryl's custody dispute with his ex-wife amicably. He talked to Rebecca afterwards and she sincerely apologized for what happened. She had done all this to prove not only to him but to herself that she was a good person. Greg replied that he was still unsure about her but conceded she did a good thing for Darryl ("Josh and I Are Good People!").
After years of saving, Greg finally got enough money to move out of his father's house and attend business school. At Home Base Greg told Rebecca his plans and she invited him out for a celebratory drink later. Greg had prepared a big speech for his boss Kevin before he quit but it was unsatisfyingly anti-climatic when he delivered it. Greg went home to tell his dad he was moving out but before he could his father passed out. Greg had him taken to the hospital and was told he needed several very expensive procedures. He used his savings to pay for the medical bills and stayed a bit with his father. Later he went to Rebecca's place for the drink she offered earlier. Together they watched the Westminster Dog show which was an annual tradition Rebecca and her mother had on Thanksgiving ("My First Thanksgiving With Josh!").
Greg and the rest of the crew were asked by Josh Chan to help him build a dining room table. This was a housewarming gift for Valencia whom he had just moved in with. They were all at Greg's father's house assembling the table since Chan intended this to be a surprise. Both Greg and White Josh were unsure this was a good idea since Valencia usually had to personally approve anything Chan did. As they struggled to accomplish the task Greg and Wilson tried to subtly suggest to Chan that he break up with Valencia. However, Hector derailed the conversation with a monologue about tandem parking. When they finished putting the table together they presented it to Valencia who, as Greg and Wilson predicted, didn't care for it ("I'm So Happy That Josh Is So Happy!").
In December, Greg runs into Heather Davis working at the mall while he was shopping for Christmas presents. He had briefly met her months ago at Rebecca's house warming party. Upon hearing him complain about the bountiful Christmas dinner at his rich step family's house he was forced to go to she convinced him to take her with him. He warns her about how awful they are but when they get there it turns out he's the one with the bad attitude. Although she only came for the food and because she thought Greg was cute she points out the obvious chip he has on his shoulder regarding his mother leaving. Greg realizes she is right and has been holding a grudge for years without considering his mother's side of the story. Afterwards, Greg thanks Heather for helping to fix his relationship with his mother. Heather unexpectedly pulled him into a kiss which he reciprocated in kind ("My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!").
Sometime later, Greg joined the crew and Valencia at the movie theater to watch a film. Afterwards, Greg was convinced by the others to join them for a beach trip. Rebecca Bunch also ended up invited to the outing and provided the transportation. Greg annoyed Josh when it turned out he invited his girlfriend Heather and Rebecca herself seemed taken aback that they were dating. The beach trip turned awkward when Rebecca performed a pole dance which led to her admitting she hooked up with Greg not long after she moved to town. This created tension between Greg and Josh and led to another revelation that Rebecca lied about her reason for moving to West Covina. Unable to process yet another excuse she had, Greg and Heather left the bus after it reached it's destination ("I'm Going to the Beach with Josh and His Friends!").
Greg gets spooked when Heather wants them to become serious and he suggests they go on a break. While at work, White Josh and Hector criticize him for his commitment phobia. They all accepted an invitation to watch a PPV fights with Darryl at his place. Hoewever, they got bored with the matches and were about to leave when Darryl suggested he could liven up the festivities. A group of women to show up and one of them turned out to be a former classmate of Greg's named Ashley Pratt. Greg had been in love with her since kindergarten and they wound up hitting it off. Ashley told Greg he was someone she could see herself getting serious about. Greg's commitment fear kicked in and he realized his friends were right. He found Heather the next day to apologize to her and although she made him squirm for a bit she eventually took him back ("I'm Back at Camp with Josh!").
Greg went over to Rebecca's apartment to get a hard drive Heather was borrowing from her neighbor. Greg had been avoiding Rebecca but went anyway which resulted in awkward small talk about her place's new decor and his relationship with Heather. That night Greg was leaving Heather's apartment and walked by Rebecca's place and noticed her glass patio door had been smashed in. Concerned he went inside and found Rebecca depressed and happy to see him. He eagerly offered to help stay and clean up the mess but became angry with himself after learning he was in the aftermath of one of Rebecca's schemes to win Josh. He ignored Rebecca's pleas to stay and left unwilling to to be second choice again ("That Text Was Not Meant for Josh!").
Later, Greg got Heather an interview with his boss Kevin who hired her immediately. Heather tuned the bars television to a local trial in L.A. involving Rebecca and her firm which annoyed Greg. Heather noticed this and his awe when Rebecca gave an emotional closing argument. Realizing her boyfriend was in love with Rebecca, Heather broke up with him *(♫ Don't Settle For Me ♫)*. Greg took Heather's advice to confess his feelings but when he arrived in L.A. he found Rebecca and Josh kissing each other ("Josh and I Go to Los Angeles!"). Days later at Home Base, Chris warned Greg that things between him and Heather might be awkward now. He confronted Heather who admitted she was heartbroken about their break up and promised to give her space ("Josh is Going to Hawaii!").
One day Greg received a text from Darryl who was concerned about Rebecca's whereabouts. He showed up at Rebecca's apartment where he found Josh, Paula and Darryl trying to figure out where she was. Greg pretended not to care and assumed Rebbeca's disappearance was yet another of her whims. However, Greg secretly helped with the search by checking with local hospitals and morgues to find out if someone matching Rebecca's description was there. After some snooping Paula found out Rebbecca had gotten an email from her old firm offering her a job. While the others were in mourning about Rebecca possibly leaving Greg maintained a facade of indifference. This changed when Rebecca returned and Greg was surprised when she sincerely thanked him for caring ("Josh Has No Idea Where I Am!").
Greg is at a bar studying for his business class when Rebecca walks in. He invited her to join him but she declines unwilling to be around him when he is drunk. At school, Greg is angered when his teacher gives him a bad grade on a test and criticizes his lackadaisical efforts *(♫ I Could If I Wanted To ♫)*. He goes to Country Market to buy some coffee and runs into a store clerk named Marty whom he met briefly. After learning Marty is in a love triangle Greg decides to help him out. However, Greg is unsuccessful and it makes him realize he needs to give up on Rebecca. He tells her this the next time he sees her at the bar only for her to abruptly leave and then return. Greg is shocked when she kisses him and declares this time he isn't second choice
("Josh's Sister is Getting Married!").

### Season Two

The day after attending Jayma Chan's wedding with Rebecca, Greg was arrested for driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and began taking steps to get a handle on his addiction. He was both ashamed and embarrassed by his situation and cut off all contact from his friends while he dealt with his problem. Before going into hiding he sent Rebbeca a text message excusing his disappearance by saying he was out of town helping out his mother and his step family. After nearly a month he finally got in touch with his friends and let them know what happened. He also learned about Josh and Rebecca quasi-relationship and after some anguish came to accept it. Greg got an unexpected opportunity when his father sold the house and gave him half the money so he could finally go to Emory University. As he struggled with whether or not to go a chance encounter with Rebecca rekindled thier feelings for one another. He was going to rendezvous with her again but changed his mind at the last minute. Instead he booked a flight to Atlanta and said goodbye to all his friends. Rebecca managed to catch up with him before he left and asked why he was going. Greg answered that he needed to move on and that while he may love Rebecca it wasn't enough to overcome the emotional baggage they had. Greg told her he'd never forget the time they had together before he left for his plane.

At his AA meeting Greg assures his sponsor Guardrail that he's doing fine. At work, Greg welcomes his crew to the bar and tells them he's an alcoholic *(♫ Greg's Drinking Song ♫)*. At Cup of Boba, Greg's chat with Heather is interrupted by a guilty Josh who blurts out that he has been sleeping with Rebecca. Greg pretends to take the news in stride but later punches a wall and misses his AA meeting. That night Greg contemplates his situation at a local duck pond where Rebecca finds him. She apologizes for how he found out about her and Josh. Greg confesses that he got his DUI because he was driving over to tell Rebecca he loved her. He told her he's fine with her and Josh being together as long as she is happy. The next day Greg apologizes to Gaurdrail for skipping the last meeting ("When Will Josh See How Cool I Am?")

### Season Three

In the midst of a downward spiral Rebecca Bunch wandered into a local bar that Greg Serrano used to frequent. She mentioned this to the bartender who remembered Greg used to study at the bar and would mention frequently about how he was accepted to Emory. Rebecca talked to the bartender about how hopeless and confused she was feeling when she got an unexpected phone call from Greg. Rebecca was ecstatic as she related to the bartender how Greg was always there for her when she needed him. She was crushed when it turned out the call was just an accidental butt-dial overhearing Greg in the background ordering a burger. In a coincidence Greg's father Marco is also at the bar and a reluctant Rebecca goes over to say hello. She learns from Marco that Greg is doing well at Emory and is now engaged to a fellow student there. This further depressed Rebecca who tried to pry more information about this woman from Marco. He refused to answer as he didn't want her to get in the way of his sons happiness. He did try to cheer Rebecca up by complimenting her which led to the two of them having sex.

### Season Four

Although Greg left West Covina for Emory he returned several times to visit family and friends but made sure to avoid both Rebecca and Josh. He wouldn’t really see either of them again until he came back for his high school's twelve year anniversary in 2018. Despite his and Rebecca awkward first meeting he ditched the reunion to accept an offer from her to catch up. Greg and Rebecca were getting along well until she admitted she slept with his father. Still reeling from the news Greg decided to stay longer in West Covina to work on his college thesis. Despite everything that happened between them he admitted to Rebecca he still loved her. They started dating again but it ended just as quickly as it began because Rebecca needed to work more on her Borderline personality disorder. As part of his thesis Greg reopened his father's Italian restaurant. He also made peace with his hometown as well as his relationship with Josh Chan. When Josh and Rebecca's other ex-boyfriend Nathaniel decided to pursue Rebecca again Greg joined in as he still had feelings for her. Rebecca explained to all three of them she was still not ready to be in a relationship and needed to follow her musical dreams. Greg told her he understood but couldn’t wait for her which she accepted. A year later Greg was in attendance alongside Rebecca's other friends when she performed on stage for the first time.

## Relationships

### Family

 ***Notable appearances**:*
*Season One:*
"My First Thanksgiving with Josh!", "Paula Needs to Get Over Josh!"
*Season Two:*

### Friends

 ***Notable appearances**:*

### Significant others

 ***Notable appearances**:*

 ***Notable appearances**:*

## Notes

### Recasting

At the Television Critics Association Panel Aline Brosh McKenna spoke about the recasting: *"Rachel and I had always been exploring bringing back that character and where he’d fit in in our show*"
Rachel Bloom elaborated:
"*We are going to be playing a lot with the ideas and themes of perception, how he sees her, how other people see each other.*"

### Audition

 **Special appearances** | Dr.Phil 🎈 Nipsey Hussle 🎈 Dream Ghost #1 🎈 Dream Ghost #2 🎈 J. Castleman 🎈 Tita Myrna 🎈 Anna 🎈 B.J. Novak 🎈 Trina 🎈 Rabbi Shari 🎈 Jeff Channington 🎈 Jarl 🎈 Wendy Legrand 🎈 Xiao Huang 🎈 Fett Regoso