Two major things to be excited about this week:  we’re nearly halfway through February!  Which mean’s it’s almost summer, right?  And, more importantly, “Twisted” returns this week!   The show, which premiered on ABC Family over the summer, is back with all new episodes and the conclusion to it’s freshman season.  While we will watch pretty much anything that airs on The CW or ABC Family, we have to admit that “Twisted” is a notch or two above the rest.

Maybe it’s because it reminds us of The Greatest Show of All Time, AKA “The OC.”  Why you ask?

Danny (aka Beck aka Avan Jogia) is Ryan Atwood.  Like Ryan, Danny has that brooding outsider thing down to a T, and a knack for greeting people with a punch in the jaw instead of a hello.   Maybe a habit they picked up in juvy?  Both were also given nicknames “Chino” (Ryan) and “Socio” (Danny) – just in case they forgot where they came from, and share a similar dry sense of humor.  (“They let you watch Glee in prison?” “It was part of our punishment.”)

Rico (Ashton Moio) is Seth Cohen.  Really, we think that Ashton studied old episodes of “The OC” to prepare for his role as Rico, because he has that witty, sarcastic, fast-talking, cute nerdy thing Adam Brody is famous for perfected.   Rico also has a longtime secret crush, and a tendency to say whatever he is thinking, no matter how awkward things may get.  His gradual bonding with Danny is also pretty adorable to watch, and we’re hoping it grows into a bromance to rival Seth & Ryan’s.

Lacey (Kylie Bunbury) is Marissa Cooper.   Most popular girl in school who seems to have it all, but is actually bored by it all, has a secret about her father, falls for the bad boy, do we see a pattern here?   The only thing she is missing is using a Chanel tote bag as a backpack.

Jo (Maddie Hasson) is a female Seth Cohen.  Unlike the rest of the community, Jo immediately welcomes Danny and the return of his friendship.  She’s willing to stand up for him, no matter what, and doesn’t worry what that might mean for her reputation.  A scene in the pilot, where Danny rescues a drunk Jo from a party, by punching the popular jock in the face, reminds us of the infamous “Welcome to The OC, bitch!” beach party scene.

Karen Desai (Denise Richards) is Julie Cooper-Nichol-Cooper-Atwood-we lost track.   It’s only been a half season, and we’ve already seen that Karen Desai is more than capable of rivaling Julie Cooper’s wheeling and dealing.  The biggest thing they have in common, and are often misunderstood for, is that they’d do anything for their children.  There was also some sort of love triangle going on with Jo’s parents, and Danny’s, that gave us serious flashbacks to the Sandy-Kirsten-Jimmy-Julie romantic rhombus of yore.  (We’ll be honest, we don’t pay much attention to the “parent plot lines” on these shows.  Unless Sandy Cohen is involved.)

Tess Masterson (Kimberley Quinn) is Kirsten Cohen.  She dated Mr. Desai in high school, and Karen has always been jealous of this.  (See above romantic rhombus!)   It’s been a while since we took the SATs, but an analogy would be Tess:Mr. Desai as Kirsten:Jimmy Cooper.

Archie (Grey Damon) is Luke Ward.  Danny’s punching bag of choice, Archie knows just what to say to push Danny’s buttons.  The popular jock is also dating Lacey, until she dumps him for Danny.  Still waiting to see if he’ll pull a Luke-like transition.

Mr. Masterson (Sam Robards) is Nate Archibald’s dad, The Captain!  This has nothing to do with “The OC,” but just sharing in case you were wondering why you recognized him.

Check out the trailer for the rest of the season below.  You can catch up on the first 11 episodes of Twisted on Netflix, or during the all-day marathon on ABC Family February 11th.   Don’t miss the premiere following Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 9pm!

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