Judy Greer Finally Has Her Sitcom, but Things Were a Little 'Ugly' Early On

March 18, 2008 — -- Most actresses, stunners today, love to claim that they were dorks in high school. Judy Greer actually provides concrete physical proof thereof.

In her new sitcom, "Miss Guided," Greer is chipper, upbeat guidance counselor Becky Freeley, who returns to her high school to guide another generation. Confronted with students who can't spell, who fear dating and who may have lice, Greer's Becky keeps smiling. "These kids are a delight!" she proclaims.

The show premieres tonight on ABC (10:30 ET/PT) before moving to its regular slot on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT. And in the opening credits, that's actually Greer, 32, in an old school photo sporting a badly misguided hairdo and spectacular specs.

"I was a big loser, and I was super-duper ugly. That's my picture. That's actually me," she says, laughing. "My hair was just crusty. That was my high school experience -- first year, big loser. Second year, big loser. Third year, OK. And fourth year, I didn't care and enjoyed myself."

That's one reason Greer can relate to the teens she deals with on the show.

"The summer between my junior and senior year was the end of my ugly-duckling phase," she says. "I got a boyfriend. I was a hippie and didn't care anymore. That's the key to high school -- to anything, really -- is that as soon as you don't care, then you're the (expletive)."

She pauses, grins. "And by the way, I was never the (expletive)."

Ashton Kutcher, who produces the series and guest-stars on the second episode as a "hot sub," sees shades of Greer in Becky. "Judy is an earnest person with a massive desire to do well, and an ability to see the bright side of everything. That is the essence of Becky," he says via e-mail.

It's what cemented Greer's friendship with Jennifer Garner, who co-starred with Greer in 2004's "13 Going on 30." Garner writes via e-mail that "the minute I met her I felt like I had always known her. She is just super easy to be with, and we clicked right away. She is someone you know immediately that you can trust."