Ugly Betty

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Ugly Betty
Image:Ugly bety header.jpg Ugly Betty Intro
Genre	Comedy-Drama
Developer(s)	Silvio Horta
Starring	America Ferrera Eric Mabius Alan Dale Tony Plana Ana Ortiz Ashley Jensen Becki Newton Mark Indelicato Rebecca Romijn Vanessa Williams Michael Urie
Theme music composer	Jeff Beal
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	18 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	60 min (approx. 42 min without commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Picture format	480i (SDTV), 720p (HDTV)
Original run	September 28 2006 – present
Links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Ugly Betty is a Golden Globe Award winning American television dramedy series starring America Ferrera and Eric Mabius. It premiered on 28 September 2006, on ABC in the United States. The story follows life of Betty Suarez (Ferrera) and her boss Daniel Meade (Mabius).

The series is based on the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea ("I am Betty, the ugly)^[1], also simply known as "Betty la fea" (literally "Ugly Betty") written by Fernando Gaitán (also author of Café, con aroma de mujer). It is adapted into an American setting by producer Salma Hayek, whose production company, Ventanarosa, partnered with Touchstone Television on the hour-long program. Hayek appears on the show as Sofia Reyes, in addition to playing a cameo role as an actress on a fictional telenovela watched by the main character's family in early episodes.

Plot

Ugly Betty follows the daily life of Betty Suarez, a promising college graduate from a struggling Latino family in Queens. She was promptly rejected at a "job interview" at Meade Publications in Manhattan based solely on her appearance (thus the series' title). However, company CEO Bradford Meade spots her and has her hired as an executive assistant to his son Daniel Meade, the newly-installed Editor-in-chief at MODE magazine. Primarily because Bradford did not wish for Daniel to continue bedding his assistants, this after catching him having sex in his office with a potential applicant. Betty is not very interested in fashion and is sometimes clueless about the company's motives and organizations, although she has expressed a passion for photography.

Betty finds herself helping Daniel personally and professionally. Daniel at times has been labeled a "himbo" and a "manwhore" (the latter quoted from the fictional Fashion TV). Daniel has always been outshone by his brother Alex Meade. He has no confidence in his own abilities except as a lothario. Receptionist Amanda Tanner was among one of his paramours, until she realized that he would never commit. He is not experienced in the fashion industry and was placed as the Editor-in-chief of MODE solely based on his father's decision. However as the story progresses so does Daniel's potential.

Much of the plot involves the suspicion surrounding the death of Daniel's predecessor, Fey Sommers. Fey's death and her involvement with Bradford Meade was used as the backdrop for a scheme to take over the company by Wilhelmina Slater, a former model currently serving as MODE's Creative Director and a hospital patient swathed in bandages who in the later episodes would be revealed as Daniel's brother Alex, post-gender reassignment. Now Alexis Meade, she was first seen in The Pilot Episode, before that she was credited as "The Mystery Woman" until the episode "In or Out." Before the surgery, Alex staged his death as he feared his own family would not accept his decision to undergo the surgery. She also wanted revenge on her father which she pursued by helping Wilhelmina frame him as Fey's murderer. In the episode "Brothers", however, Claire Meade, Bradford's wife, confessed to Betty that she had murdered Fey as she would no longer stand to see her husband's obvious infidelity. In the episode "Icing on the Cake" Claire turns herself in to the authorities in order to release her husband from jail, this after Betty talked her out of leaving the country.

In order to improve the relationship between the eldest Meade child and her brother and father, Claire names newly terminated Alexis as the magazine's Co-Editor-in-chief. It is revealed that Claire is Mode's actual owner after Bradford started the magazine under her name to evade paying taxes on it. Claire does this while being detoxed at a hospital as she prepares to face murder charges. These circumstances give Wilhelmina a new scheme to drive a deeper wedge into the family by making the Meade sibling rivalry more intense (especially Alexis, who turned on Wilhelmina after sensing that Daniel had changed after all and decided against firing him), and manipulating Claire into signing a Power of Attorney (Claire refused). As a result of this, Wilhelmina decides to romance Bradford by offering him "...a little company".

Along the way, Daniel would tone down his womanizing ways, but at a price. First, starting with Sofia Reyes, who was hired by his father to launch a new magazine, MYW. Sofia would later entice Betty (who was a fan of hers) into working with her. Unfortunately, just as Daniel asked her to marry him, Betty discovers that Sofia was playing the two for fools, with Sofia using Daniel as the subject of a cover story in order to launch the new magazine. The chain of events would result in Daniel blasting Sofia for embarrassing him and Betty quitting MYW afterwards because of Sofia's deception. Daniel would later date lawyer Grace Chin, a old flame he once stood up back in college, after Bradford recommend that she represent him. But thanks to Wilhelmina's scheming and Alexis' hatred for her father, that romance ended quickly as well.

Speaking of Wilhelmina, in-between her scheming and manipulating she also had to deal with winning her father's approval (her father being a United States Senator), her rebellious daughter Nico, who seems to have picked up her mother traits but won't aknowledge it, and watching her relationship with department store mogul Ted LeBeau fall apart after he returned to Texas due to family issues.

As for Alexis, her return has made her a outcast as everyone she knew before her sex-change had abandoned her, and at a bar she was the victim of a prank played on her by a patron after he asked for a phone number (When Wilhelmina saw this, she punched the patron out).

Some of Betty's co-workers, particularly binge eating Amanda and openly gay fellow assistant Marc St. James (Who happens to report to Wilhelmina, in more ways than one) often ridicule her appearance and constantly taunt her. They often easily trick Betty due to her naiveté and trusting nature(she ate gluesticks after being led to believe by Marc that she was eating white chocolate, and showed up to work in a butterfly outfit for Halloween party that was fabricated by the assistant).

Despite their dislike for Betty, Marc and Amanda do find themselves willing to work with her at times. Their personal issues have also been front and center. Marc dealing with working with Wilhelmina, even after learning about her takeover plans which he would take advantage of afterwards and coming out to his mother (who would reject him); Amanda, in addition to her eating habits and her attempts to end Daniel's playboy ways, would find herself the target of a series of pranks made by another Meade employee. Also, Wilhelmina forces Marc to test his close relationship with Amanda, leading him to trying to keep the receptionist onboard at MODE.

Betty did briefly befriend a group of similar outcasts. Her best friend and confidant at MODE is Christina McKinney, the Scottish seamstress. Christina's goal is to be a fashion designer. In pursuing this she finds herself giving in to Wilhelmina's demands. Christina becomes an unwilling minion of Wilhelmina when she is coerced (Wilhelmina gave her a spot at Fashion Week) into turning a package to the police that results in Bradford's false arrest. Fearing that Wilhelmina will manipulate it to look as if she was responsible, Christina goes along with her bidding to protect her friendship with Betty whom upon discovery she fears will turn on her.

A recurring storyline at home involves Betty's father, Ignacio Suarez, an illegal immigrant who had not applied for residency as he murdered the abusive ex-husband of his now deceased wife (mother to his daughters) in his home country of Mexico. Ignacio's residency status, however, depends on romantic tactics being thrust upon him by his caseworker Constance Grady, who he feels stands in the way of him receiving a green card. All this puts the Suarez family in a legal bind as they also deal with Betty's older sister Hilda being unemployed after the health supplement company she represented is placed under investigation by the government. Another semi-controversial storyline revolves around Hilda's pre-teen son Justin over his perceived sexual orientation, even as his father Santos, a gambler who runs into trouble with loan sharks, attempts to understand him as he tries to work his way back into Hilda's life.

In-between these events, Betty also finds herself dealing with a pair of romantic situations. Her long time boyfriend Walter cheated on her with next door neighbor Gina Gambarro. Betty reluctantly took him back but realized that she had lost her attraction to him and they ultimately parted ways. After the split Betty thought that she had found a soulmate in Henry, an accountant at Meade Publications. However, Henry's on-again/off-again flame Charlie shows up, prompting Betty to hold off on her pursuit of Henry.

Comparisons

The series mostly remains true to the original Betty La Fea and is similar to another ABC dramedy series, Desperate Housewives, in that it combines elements of drama, comedy, mystery, farce, camp, soap opera, and satire, though in a lighter way. The show is filmed like a traditional network drama (with motion picture film), rather than the videotape production of the original series.

Slogans

• Fashion has a new face - Channel 4 (UK)
• Ugly is the new Beautiful - ABC (US)
• Style-challenged girl meets high-fashioned world - Citytv (Canada)
• The new face of Ugly - Seven Network (Australia)

Cast

Core regulars

• America Ferrera -- Betty Suarez
• Eric Mabius -- Daniel Meade
• Alan Dale -- Bradford Meade
• Vanessa L. Williams -- Wilhelmina Slater
• Becki Newton -- Amanda Tanner/Ruthie^#
• Ana Ortiz -- Hilda Suarez
• Ashley Jensen -- Christina McKinney
• Tony Plana -- Ignacio Suarez
• Michael Urie -- Marc St. James
• Mark Indelicato -- Justin Suarez
• Kevin Sussman -- Walter¹
• Rebecca Romijn -- Alexis Meade³
• Christopher Gorham -- Henry¹

Recurring

• Stelio Savante -- Steve
• Ava Gaudet -- Gina Gambarro²
• Salma Hayek -- Sofia Reyes
• Kevin Alejandro -- Santos²
• Judith Light -- Claire Meade¹
• Jowharah Jones -- Nico Slater²
• Octavia Spencer -- Constance Grady²
• Gina Gershon -- Fabia
• Jayma Mays -- Charlie
• Liz Torres -- Evelyn

Other/minor roles

• Bailey Chase -- Beckett 'Becks' Scott
• Cicily Daniels -- Zelda
• Kristen Schaal -- Nancy (in the pilot)
• Corinne Dekker -- Nancy (in second episode)
• Christine Jones -- Fey Sommers (in TV clips)
• Sal Landi -- Mr. Green
• Debi Mazar -- Leah Stillman
• Ninel Conde -- telenovela actress

Guest stars Season One

• Lucy Davis -- Fashion TV host
• Isaac Mizrahi -- Fashion TV host
• William Abadie -- Philippe Michel
• Martha Stewart -- Herself
• Patrick Fabian -- Fashion TV host
• Cleo King -- Anne Fraiser
• Miranda Frigon -- Carol
• Ron Canada -- Senator Slater
• Greg Proops -- Fashion TV host
• Thea Vidale -- Choli
• Teddy Sears -- Hunter
• Kathy Griffin -- Fashion TV host
• Tim Gunn -- Fashion TV host
• Katharine McPhee -- Herself
• Lucy Liu -- Grace Chin
• Patti LuPone -- Ms. Jean Weiner, Marc's Mother

Notes

• ¹ - Listed as "Guest Starring" in opening credits, but became full time regular after episode "Sofia's Choice"
• ² - Became recurring regulars after their second appearance; Both Gorman and Light will become fulltime regulars in the second season.
• ³ - Alexis Meade was initially played by Elizabeth Penn Payne (when she was listed in the credits as "The Mystery Woman"). Rebecca Romijn took over the role in In or Out.
• ^# - Dual role; Newton will also play Ruthie as a recurring character in future shows.^[2]

Production timeline

• NBC was planning to adapt Betty in 2001 as a half-hour comedy,^[3] but it never made past the planning stages until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long dramedy.^[4]

• On May 16 2006, ABC announced that Ugly Betty would be part of the 2006–2007 North American season lineup as a weekly hour-long series; the initial order was for thirteen episodes.

• ABC had announced the title of the series would be Betty the Ugly, a change from its developmental title, but changed it back to Ugly Betty on July 14,^[5], although the Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv.

• There were speculation that the show would be a daily serial that would have debuted as a summer 2006 or midseason 2007 entry, but given the buzz and growing interest in the show, the network decided to make it a weekly series instead.

• On August 8 2006, ABC decided at the last minute, a schedule change to move "Ugly Betty" from its previously announced Friday 8 p.m. (ET) time period to Thursday at 8 p.m. replacing sitcoms Notes From the Underbelly and Big Day as a lead-in to top-rated program Grey's Anatomy, due to the growing interest in the show.

• The program's pilot was tested on several cable providers to gauge interest and feedback from viewers, most notably the Hispanic community, including those who are fans of the original Betty, who hoped that ABC will maintain the integrity of the original. ABC has also allowed its affiliates to show free off-air screenings to the public at various events ahead of the show's debut.

• In addition the network screened the debut episode on the web and made the episodes available for download on iTunes after their initial airings on January 5 2007.

• The encore episodes have also run on ABC Family and SoapNet, both of which have been airing marathons of the show.

• On October 13 2006, ABC ordered a full season pick-up for the series, beyond the original 13 ordered at the May Upfronts^[6] due to its premiere ratings.

• America Ferrera won the SAG Award on January 28, 2007 for "Best Actress in a Comedy Series".

• ABC had announced 22 episodes for season 1, but it has now been changed to 23. (The season finale will be the episode called "The Number 23."

• On March 21 2007 ABC renewed the series for a second season.^[7]

• On June 4, 2007 the series will be honored with a Peabody Award for its storylines, which explores clashing concepts of beauty, class, race and footwear with intelligence, warmth and wit.^[8]

International broadcasts

Country	TV Network(s)	Series Premiere	Weekly Schedule	Notes
United States	ABC	September 28 2006	Thursdays 8:00pm ET	In Guam, KTGM airs the show on Fridays at 7:00pm and Sundays at 4:00pm. It is the only ABC affiliate that airs the show twice.
United States Military-Overseas	AFN-Spectrum	February 7 2007	Wednesdays 9:00pm & 3:00am
Canada	Citytv	September 28 2006	Thursdays 8:00pm ET
United Kingdom	Channel 4 (First Run)	5 January 2007[9]	Fridays 9:00pm, Sundays at 3:55pm (Repeat) GMT	The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted an impressive 4.5 million viewers. It is one of only a handful of foreign imports to become a breakout hit in the UK.[10] Two weeks later Ugly Betty hit a new high on Channel 4 with 5 million viewers watching the third episode on January 19, 2007.[11]
	S4C (Wales Only)		Fridays 10 or 11pm (varies)[9]
	E4	10 January 2007	Wednesdays 9pm (Next Episode)[9] GMT
	4oD	5 January 2007
Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden	Kanal 5	7 November, 2006	Tuesdays 8:00pm CET
Image:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji	Fiji One	9 November, 2006	Thursdays 9:05pm
Ireland	RTÉ Two	1 January, 2007 (first two episodes together)	Mondays 7:00pm GMT
		2007-02-01	Thursdays 8:00pm	Moved, and caused two episodes to be shown in the week it moved.
Italy	Italia 1	April, 2007
Image:Flag of Norway.svg Norway	TVNorge	3 January, 2007	Wednesdays 8:45pm
New Zealand	TV2	January 16, 2007	Not airing (previously aired tuesdays 8:30pm)	Announced after episode 12 that it was the final, and that the rest will be shown later in the year.
Image:Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia and Arab World	Showtime Arabia, Tv Land	January 22 2007	Mondays at 8:00 PM	Shown with subtitles
Image:Flag of South Korea (bordered).svg South Korea	KBS	February 3, 2007		(어글리 베티, List of Ugly Betty Korea voice actors)
	CJ Media Channel CGV	Summer 2007		TBA
Image:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia	8TV	February 6, 2007	Tuesdays 9.30pm GMT
	Star World	April 8, 2007
Australia	Channel Seven[12]	February 18, 2007	Sundays 7:30pm	Debut episode pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating Nine's airing of 60 Minutes and Ten's airing of The Biggest Loser in the same time period.[13]. Since its debut the series has remained in the top 5 in the Australian TV ratings.
Israel	Israel 10	March 2, 2007	Fridays and Saturdays 10:15pm
Image:Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary	RTL	March 17 2007	Saturday 7:00pm	Hungarian title is : "Címlapsztori" as: Coverstory. Also airs 'El amor no es como lo pintan' (Másnak tűnő szerelem, Zone Romantica); Yo soy Betty, la fea (Betty, a csúnya lány, TV2); Verliebt in Berlin (Lisa csak egy van, TV2) and La fea más bella (Lety, a csúnya lány, Viasat3)
Image:Flag of Singapore (bordered).svg Singapore	Channel 5	March 4 2007	Sundays 10:30pm/10:00pm	Was originally scheduled to debut in February 2007 and used the promo 'Be Ugly in 2007'
Image:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong	TVB Pearl	March 15, 2007	Thursdays 10:35pm	Chinese title: "「俏」Betty" ("'Beautiful' Betty")
	Star World	April 8, 2007
Image:Flag of Romania.svg Romania	Acasa TV	March 2007		Romanian title: "Betty cea urâtă din New York" ("Betty the Ugly In New York"); Also airs "Betty la fea" with subtitles
Image:Flag of Finland (bordered).svg Finland	Nelonen	April 2007
Image:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark	TV2	May 2007
Poland	FOX Life	May 2007		Also airs Yo soy Betty, la fea (polish title: Brzydula) but on TVN station tv.
France	TF1	Spring 2007		Also airs Le destin de Lisa
Germany	Sat. 1	April 27 2007[14]	Fridays 8:15pm	Also airs Verliebt in Berlin
Mexico	TV Azteca	Spring 2007
Image:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa	M-Net	September 2007[15]
Portugal	SIC	April 7, 2007	Saturdays 3:00 pm	Portuguese title: "Betty Feia" ("Ugly Betty"). Shown with subtitles.
Chile	Canal 13	Summer 2007
Spain	Cuatro TV			Also airs Yo Soy Betty la Fea
Greece	Mega Channel			Also airs Maria i Ashimi (Ugly Mary). Alpha TV airs I ashimi pu egine omorfi (La fea más bella).
Image:Flag of Bahrain (bordered).svg Bahrain	Star World	April 8, 2007
Image:Flag of Indonesia (bordered).svg Indonesia
Image:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait
Image:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives
Image:Flag of Oman (bordered).svg Oman
Image:Flag of Pakistan (bordered).svg Pakistan
Philippines				On Easter Sunday 9:15 p.m.
	Studio 23	Summer 2007		Studio 23 also airs Betty la fea
Image:Flag of Qatar (bordered).svg Qatar	Star World	April 8, 2007
Image:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
Image:Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan
Thailand
Image:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates

Competition with other "Betty" offshoots

Although Buena Vista Television has sold the series to foreign territories, the English-language version is expected to compete with the in-house versions in several of the locations.^[16]

Ugly Betty also has an Indian connection, as the original telenovela was adapted as 'Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin' which was a major hit on Indian prime-time television. Which came years before the show aired.^[17]

In the U.S., Univision currently airs the Mexican counterpart La fea más bella, which airs weeknights at 8PM (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time Ugly Betty airs.

Honors

Ratings

In the following summary, "Rating" is the estimated percentage of all televisions tuned to the show, and "Share" is the percentage of all televisions in use that are tuned in.

"Viewers" is the estimated number of actual people watching, in millions, while "ranking" is the approximate ranking of the show against all prime-time TV shows for the week (Sunday to Saturday).