For students at Penn State, the Loop is our daily way of travel around campus and often an interesting experience to complete a night on the town.

The Loop is now a new comedy on FOX at 8:30 p.m. Thursdays, offering a glimpse into the transitional period after college.

While some college graduates live for the love of partying, others find themselves leaping right into the real world. Bret Harrison (Grounded for Life) stars as Sam, a young guy who is the first of his friends to get a real job as an executive at a major airline company. The show focuses on whether he can handle the unyielding demands of his boss along with the vital social demands of his fun-loving roommates.

The concept of the show is easy for college students to relate to, Harrison said.

"I think that's the next step [for] kids in college," he said. "[Sam] graduated off his college thesis and was shoved right away into the office."

The show is set in a downtown Chicago area known as "The Loop," but most of it is shot in Los Angeles, Kim Fitzgerald, manager of publicity for FOX Broadcasting Company, said.

Eric Christian Olsen, Amanda Loncar and Sarah Mason co-star as Sam's roommates. Philip Baker Hall stars as Sam's tough-driving boss, with Mimi Rogers as a sexually predatory colleague and Joy Osmanski as Sam's cynical secretary.

"We shot the pilot in December 2004, but then we did a recasting and added a few more people to the apartment to make it more chaotic," Harrison said. "We started shooting the show August and September of last year."

Harrison said he likes that the show is clever and that Pam Brady and Will Gluck are the executive producers.

"[Brady] was a big writer on South Park, and Will Gluck was a big writer in terms of features and different projects. They had me in mind for this project; I never had a situation like that," he said. "I was blown away, so it was the easiest decision I've ever made, whereas a lot of times you go back and forth."

Matthew Rutherford (junior-economics) caught the premiere of the show March 15.

"It's a good glimpse of what the business world is like after you get out of college, trying to balance work and the life you used to live in college," Rutherford said.

Jon Halem (junior-biology) said he is considering giving The Loop a permanent slot in his TV schedule.

"I think the setup of the show is original," Halem said. "It's all business and a little play, so you can see yourself in that situation 10 years down the road."

The show involves a lot of physical comedy as well.

Harrison said he mostly does his own stunts, which have included being "punched [and] body slammed by a big school mascot chicken coming at me full speed."

"My head was shaved a couple times because we re-shot some stuff," he said. "I never realized how much physical comedy there was until we started getting into the shooting of it. I got a little bummed out when Eric [Christian Olsen] had to punch me."

Like many other young people, Harrison finds similarities between himself and his character, Sam.

"Sam is a very neurotic guy. I love that he's so busy and it is such a fast-paced show," he said. "I do feel that is my life. I've been meditating because I have to teach myself how to slow down and enjoy downtime, but hopefully I'm not as neurotic as Sam."

Harrison said he faces the challenge of balancing work and fun as well. However, he said, acting has given him the opportunity to work with one of his best friends, The O.C. actor Adam Brody. The two are currently working on a film remake of Revenge of the Nerds.

"At least for me, acting has been so much fun, even though it's technically work. If you can find a way you kind of can do both," Harrison said. "If you have something extremely important in the morning you should go to sleep and be good or whatever, but I would go more toward the having fun, but take work very seriously. I think I'm leaning toward more of the fun part."