Ugly Betty is an American
television comedy-drama series starring
America Ferrera in the title role, along with
Eric Mabius,
Vanessa Williams,
Ashley Jensen,
Becki Newton,
Judith Light,
Ana Ortiz,
Tony Plana,
Michael Urie, and
Mark Indelicato. The series premiered on September 28, 2006, on
ABC in the United States and Canada. It follows the life of the unglamorous and good-natured
Betty Suarez (America Ferrera), and her incongruous job at the ultra-chic New York City fashion magazine
Mode.
The series is an adaptation of the
Colombian
telenovela Betty la fea (
"Betty the Ugly"),
["Yo soy Betty, la Fea" (1999)] written by
Fernando Gaitán (also author of
Café, con aroma de mujer). It is adapted into a New York City setting by creator/developer
Silvio Horta and co-producers
Salma Hayek and
Ben Silverman, whose production companies Silent H,
Ventanarosa and
Reveille respectively partnered with
ABC Studios to create the hour-long program for U.S. audience. Hayek has appeared 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 the pilot episode.
On February 16, 2008, ABC picked up
Ugly Betty for the
2008-09 television season.
[ABC Announces Scripted Show Renewals]
Setting and storylines
Ugly Betty is the story of Betty Suárez, a good-hearted girl from
Queens, New York, brave but sorely lacking in social skills, self-confidence, fashion sense, and aesthetic polish. Betty is suddenly thrust into a different world when she is hired as a personal assistant at
Mode, a fashion magazine headquartered in Manhattan and part of the publishing empire of the wealthy
Bradford Meade and his family. Meade hires Betty, despite being a fish out of water, to look after (and keep out of trouble from womanizing) his son, newly-installed
Mode editor-in-chief
Daniel Meade. As time goes by, Betty and Daniel learn to trust one another, and ultimately become friends and allies in a world sometimes beautiful and sometimes maddeningly chaotic.
A cast of characters populates their worlds. Creative Director
Wilhelmina Slater, who wanted the Editor-In-Chief position, is Daniel's nemesis, while Betty finds herself dealing with
Marc St. James, Wilhelmina's assistant/henchman and receptionist
Amanda Sommers (originally Tanen until the end of the first season), who wanted Betty's job in large part, initially, because of her attraction to Daniel. The only friends that Betty trusts at
Mode are seamstress
Christina McKinney and accountant
Henry Grubstick, to whom Betty is attracted; meanwhile, at home she relies on her father
Ignacio Suarez, older sister
Hilda and Hilda's son
Justin. Daniel's family, includes his mother
Claire Meade; and, after returning from a two-year disappearance, his transsexual and competitive sister
Alexis Meade (formerly known as Alex), who has made a successful transition to being female.
[
] genre and the original version of Ugly Betty in Latin America.]]
Betty sports thick-framed eyeglasses and a large and prominent set of dental braces (which have become the most identifiable symbol for both Ferrera's character and the show itself). Her lackluster physical appearance and awkward nature result in her immediately being singled out in the single-minded world of New York City fashion, and she is quickly saddled with the show's eponymous nickname. The show contains a degree of surrealism used to express the inner thoughts of its characters. For example, in "
I See Me, I.C.U.", Betty speaks with an earlier version of herself about how far she has come since her first day.
Season 1
Throughout the show's first season, most of the serialized storylines revolve around Betty trying to balance her work, home and romantic life. Betty's relationship with boyfriend Walter is challenged; initially, Walter resists the changes in Betty's life. Betty must deal with Walter's infidelity with obnoxious neighbor
Gina Gambarro. Betty falls in love with
Mode accountant
Henry Grubstick, whose ex-girlfriend
Charlie claims to be pregnant with his child, despite having cheated with another man. Betty's sister
Hilda fails to sell beauty products door-to-door and becomes unemployed, but discovers her talent as a beautician. Betty's father
Ignacio has health and immigration problems, and he admits to a history of murdering his employer after finding out he abused his wife, Rosa, with whom he had fallen in love. Rosa is Betty and Hilda's late mother.
Other Season One plot lines involve
Daniel's womanizing, his affairs with fellow editor
Sofia Reyes and lawyer Grace Chin, and his sudden drug addiction;
Bradford's affair with Daniel's late predecessor
Fey Sommers; the revelation that
Claire murdered Fey; Claire's battle with alcoholism; and Alexis' attempts to repair her relationship with Daniel at Bradford's expense. Several storylines revolve around
Wilhelmina, including her schemes to use
Alexis to force Daniel out of his job. (Alexis is first introduced as 'the mystery woman', until she reveals to the world that Alex Meade had not died in a skiing accident but was now a woman, Alexis). Wilhelmina also plots to marry Bradford so she can take over the company, and she attempts to deal with her rebellious daughter Nico while winning acceptance from her father.
Finally,
Marc deals with multi-tasking for his boss, his homosexuality and family acceptance.
Amanda becomes a binge eater, is the target of a prank, and discovers that her true birth mother was Fey Sommers.
Christina is used by Wilhelmina even as she helps Betty.
Season 2
The 2nd season of Ugly Betty began on September 27, 2007, and ended on May 22, 2008. The season's theme was "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer" with a reworked version of
Mika's "
Hey Betty (You Are Beautiful)" being used as the featured song in its promos.
This season introduced viewers to nine new recurring characters who will be played by
Freddy Rodríguez,
Illeana Douglas,
Alec Mapa,
David Blue,
John Cho,
Gabrielle Union,
Gene Simmons,
Eddie Cibrian and
Juliette Goglia, while
Lorraine Toussaint continued in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee, Yoga, as a recurring regular.
Mo'Nique also appeared in a recurring regular this season as well playing weekend security chief L'Amanda.
In the second season, Betty has to decide if she still wants to be with Henry after he got Charlie pregnant, and despite the fact that he is going to leave for Tucson, AZ, in a few months (so he can be at Charlie's side and help raise the baby). In between these events, a deli shop owner named
Giovanni "Gio" Rossi starts building a platonic relationship with Betty, which has Hilda, Amanda, and Henry suspecting that Gio might be trying to become the new guy in Betty's life.
Daniel recovers from a car accident but Alexis forgets the last few years of her life, including the fact that she was changed into a woman and that her father mistreated her. Bradford decides to use this to his advantage and doesn't remind Alexis of how he mistreated her; instead, he claims that he was always supportive of her. Wilhelmina's scheme to marry Bradford Meade unravels when (1) Betty learns of the affair she's having with her bodyguard (they were even together the night before the wedding) and (2) Bradford has a heart attack at the altar and later dies from it. Wilhelmina would later be fired from the company by the Meade Family.
Amanda tries desperately to find out more about her family, and with Wilhelmina's help, she gets a list of people that could be her dad, leading her to Rock legend
Gene Simmons. Marc finds a partner in
Cliff St. Paul, a photographer who is not as handsome, but Marc accepts him as a boyfriend anyway.
Claire Meade escapes from jail with her "friend" Yoga, and they hide away in the Hamptons. Claire is later recaptured, and thanks to a clever (and ironic) scheme by the late Fey Sommers, Claire is acquitted of her murder (Fey had poisoned Claire's perfume in an attempt to kill her, but instead it made Claire become crazy and violent, and eventually she cut Fey's brakes and killed her). Later, Claire tries her best to get her life on track; however, she fears that she may become a burden on her two children. Therefore, she launches a new magazine known as "Hot Flash", which aims to attract female readers over a certain age who have been neglected by their children and have nothing better to do. At first, Alexis Meade states there is not enough money to finance the magazine; however, using her 'resources' wisely, Claire finds ways to make the magazine work and a success.
Hilda tries to get over Santos and to start her new career as a beautician while Justin, who became an intern at
Mode, tries to be more like his dad and goes into a "bad boy" phase until Hilda intervenes, prompting the two to restore their mother-son relationship.
Braden is surprised to see his ex show up, but when he learns that he has a life threatening illness and in need of money for an operation, he is determined to ignore her. When leroy offers to pay Braden to drag his exes body awaywith Bradford's sperm, which Wilhelmina went to great lengths to remove from his body so she can get control of the Meade empire), Christina agrees to carry the baby, not knowing that this latest plan has more expectant twist and turns when Wilhelmina's troubled sister Renee shows up and starts dating Daniel, resulting in Wilhelmina taking great lengths to conceal her scheme.
Hilda meets Justin's gym teacher and begins a romantic relationship with him. Daniel's son shows up from Paris, and he denies him as his son but tries to bond with him. Gio wants to take Betty to Rome for a romantic date when Henry shows up to ask her hand in marriage.
Production was halted in November 2007 due to the Writers' Strike. It was then announced the season would be cut short to 18 episodes instead of a proposed 23. New episodes did not air on U.S. television until April 24, 2008, starting with
Twenty Four Candles and ending on May 22, 2008, with
"Jump". This was the last episode to be produced in Los Angeles.
Season 3
ABC renewed the series for a third season on February 11, 2008. In addition, production has moved to its home base of New York City from Los Angeles to make the series more realistic and to take advantage of increased tax incentives in New York. The third season premiered on September 25, 2008. This season will add six new recurring regulars, played by
Grant Bowler,
Mark Consuelos,
Heather Tom,
Val Emmich, and
Ralph Macchio.
Linsday Lohan,
Julian De La Celle,
Derek Riddell and
Eddie Cibrian return from the second season for more appearances, while Romijn, Rodiguez and Gorham will make their final bows during this cycle. "The Show" by Australian singer Lenka is used as the promo theme for the season.
For this season, Betty decides to move on from Henry and Gio, and after a cross-country trip around the United States, decides to move out of Casa Suarez and into an apartment of her own, hoping that this will help her advance in her quest to move up in the publishing business. Betty also attracts the interest of a musician named Jesse who is living in the apartment across from hers. In addition, she buries the hatchet with Kimberly "Kimmie" Keegan, her childhood nemesis and manager of Flushing Burger, where Ignacio works.
In the meantime, Daniel is demoted to Editor-in-Chief of
Player magazine, after Alexis decided to bring back Wilhelmina as Editor-in-Chief. Daniel takes the decision to fight for custody of his son Daniel Jr., and for his Job at
Mode;which he takes back from Wilhelmina.
Wilhelmina's sudden rise to the top, means that she lures Betty into her world - by offering her the job of her assistant- in her attempt to mold her. Of course, this doesn't last and when Betty helps Daniel get his job back, she becomes his assistant again.
Marc's romance with Cliff continues and his jealousy over being passed over by Wilhelmina, when she lured Betty back to
Mode, became a move that prompted Marc to set the downfall in motion for his boss, allowing him to get his job back.
Claire's stepping in to stop Wilhelmina from using the family and also to get
Hot Flash ready.
Hilda is continuing to see Tony, who is still married, but when Ignacio finds out, will the relationship last? Unfortunately, thanks to his wife, Hilda breaks it off after she talk to her after the woman mistook her for the "other woman
[1]." Meanwhile, Justin is getting ready to break into show business in Broadway, in what is said to be a "musical episode".
Amanda continues the quest to find her father and also moves in with Betty when her spending spirals out of control.
Christina is dealing with Stuart's drug problems and her pregnancy with the unborn Meade baby, which in turn would take a turn for the worse after she is pushed down a flight of stairs. Daniel is framed for it and Betty decides to prove he is wrong.
After using some help from Marc and Amanda, they find out Daniel's sister did it. Alexis turns herself in afterwards. While in jail, Alexis reveals to Daniel that a paternity test for Daniel Jr. revealed that Daniel is not the father. Alexis is the father, since she slept with DJ's mother back when she was a man. As a result of the revelation, Daniel Jr's grandparents get custody of the boy.
In the meantime, Wilhelmina puts pressure on Alexis to give up her entire control of the Meade company, in exchange for Wilhelmina's help in getting Alexis' charges dropped. In the end, a compromise is reached, and control of the company is divided equally between Wilhelmina and Daniel. The two become co-owners and co-editors of the publishing empire. This means Wilhelmina only has 50% to go until she controls the whole empire by herself.
Betty and Amanda become roommates after Amanda's credit card bills are too much for her. Together they plan a, "Mode Afterparty", luring people in with, "This List". Betty invites her cute roommate to be the band, and he agrees. At the party, he has a sudden case of stage-fright, which Betty helps him get over. In the meantime, Wilhelmina falls in love with the new associate, Daniel's business partner. Marc is invited to move in with Cliff, but he doesn't know and rejects it.
On
November 4,
2008,
TV Guide reported that
Nikki Blonsky is due to make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode. Blonsky will play an assistant at
Elle, the rival magazine of
Mode.
[Nikki Blonsky to Stir Up Trouble for Ugly Betty" TV Guide. November 4, 2008. Retrieved on November 5 2008.]
Cast
Core regulars
Recurring
Former cast/recurring members
| Character
| Actor/Actress
| Last Appearance
|
Alexis Meade{(({#tag:ref>Was demoted to recurring in season three.[
] | Rebecca Romijn
| Betty Suarez Land
|
Bradford Meade[The season 2 episode I See Me, I.C.U. was the episode where Bradford died, although he appears in the next episode, Giving Up The Ghost as a spirit to Betty, and he is lastly seen in the episode Bananas for Betty in his will that he taped before he died.]
| Alan Dale
| Bananas for Betty
|
Henry Grubstick[Recurring in the first season, became a fulltime regular in the second season, then left the show after the season two finale.]
| Christopher Gorham
| The Manhattan Project
|
Walter[Listed as "Guest Starring" in opening credits, but became a full time regular after episode "Sofia's Choice"; was still listed in credits as a regular but has not been seen since "Brothers" and was dropped from the series altogether.]
| Kevin Sussman
| Brothers
|
Sofia Reyes[Former recurring regulars.]
| Salma Hayek
| Sofia's Choice
|
Anthony Diaz[Recurring in the second season, but left during the third season.]
| Eddie Cibrian
| Betty Suarez Land
|
Giovanni "Gio" Rossi | Freddy Rodriguez
| Betty Suarez Land
|
Steve | Stelio Savante
| In or Out
|
Constance Grady | Octavia Spencer
| Punch Out
|
Santos | Kevin Alejandro
| How Betty Got Her Grieve Back
|
Amelia "Yoga" Bluman | Lorraine Toussaint
| I See Me, I.C.U.
|
Kimmie Keegan[Had a brief uncredited scene in the second season finale and became recurring in the third season for six episodes, but was cut to four due to creative differences.]
| Lindsay Lohan
| Ugly Berry
|
Charlie | Jayma Mays
| Jump
|
Production
The idea to bring
Ugly Betty to American TV screens began in 2001 when NBC was planning to adapt
Betty as a half-hour comedy, which would be produced by
Sony Pictures Television[The Futon Critic] but it never made past the planning stages (It took three writers to come up with a concept based around the character)
[From Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (April 21, 2008)] until ABC and Hayek's company came on board in 2004 and retooled it as an hour-long
comedy-drama.
[The Futon Critic] Two years later, 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 13 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,
[The Futon Critic, July 14, 2006] although the
Ugly Betty title was already being used in promotions prior to this date on Citytv. There was 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 would maintain the integrity of the original. ABC 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 also have run on
ABC Family and
SoapNet, both of which have aired 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
[From ABC medianet, October 13, 2006] due to its premiere ratings. ABC originally announced 22 episodes for the season 1, but increased the number of episodes to 23 by one. The season finale is the episode called "
East Side Story." On March 21, 2007, ABC renewed the series for a second season.
[From The Futon Critic (2007-03-21)]
Although he is joining NBC as their new entertainment head, Ben Silverman will remain co-executive producer on the show, but in a limited role.
[From AHN (June 5, 2007)]
In November 2007 the cast of the series made headlines when they threw their support behind the
2007 Writers' Strike by joining them on the picket line in solidarity. Ferrera commented on the reason why they did this: "The issues coming up with the actors’ contracts are very similar to what the writers are dealing with right now, and we have to stay united and stand strong within the creative community for what we believe is fair."
[From E!Online] On November 25, the cast appeared in a 38-second video for "Speechless Hollywood" in which a black & white camera pulled away from a close up of Ferrera to showing her co-stars sitting next to her as they look directly at the camera without speaking.
[From YouTube (Posted November 25, 2007)]
On February 11, 2008, ABC picked up
Ugly Betty for the 2008-09 television season, along with nine other shows.
[From TV Guide (February 11, 2008)] Unfortunately on the day the renewal was announced, two of the show's executive producers,
Marco Pennette and
James Hayman, were let go. The departures of Pennette and Hayman adds to the constant turnovers on the series off-camera, which has so far seen five writers having exited or fired.
[From Reuters.com (February 12, 2008)] In a Q&A from TV Guide, Michael Ausiello criticized the decision, saying "that someone saw fit to fix what wasn't broken" and praised the two men for writing several of the show's best episodes.
[From TV Guide (February 13, 2008)] These turn of events may have also contributed to Rebecca Romijn's decision to no longer be a full time regular on the series in the third season, citing the move by new writers to make changes in the direction of several characters, especially Romijn's role as Alexis
[From Contact music (April 24, 2008)].
With the strike now over as of February 12, there is now the possibility that they could have seven new episodes completed by April, bringing the number of second season episodes produced to 20,
[From TV Guide (February 11, 2008)] but so far it has been adjusted to 18. As a result of the strike, creator Silvio Horta has delayed plans for a musical episode and having
Lindsay Lohan onboard for a possible storyline until the third season.
[From ew.com (February 20, 2008)] On March 12, 2008, Horta inked a two-year, seven-figure deal with ABC Studios, which guarantees the show's future and gives Horta a chance to produce other projects aside from "Betty".
[From The Futon Critic (March 12, 2008)]
On April 17, 2008, the show's podcast, which is usually presented in audio and hosted by stars Urie and Newton, became available on video for the first time.
[From The Futon Critic (April 18, 2008)]
On May 6, 2008, ABC announced that starting with the third season,
Ugly Betty will return to New York City and start production there. The move was done to save costs and to bring the authenicity of the series' setting back into the show.
[From TV Guide (May 6, 2008)] The production is returning to
Silvercup Studios in Queens, where the original pilot was produced.
[www.queenscourier.com/articles/2008/05/22/news/top_stories/news12.txt] The move resulted in several crewmembers in Los Angeles being let go.
[From TV Guide (May 8, 2008)]
Competition with other "Betty" offshoots
Although Disney-ABC Domestic Television (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.
[Variety, October 9, 2006]
As noted by the international broadcast posted below, several of these broadcasters have not only acquired this version, but the counterparts as well, including those that were produced by the broadcasters themselves. So far the series has been sold to TV networks and broadcasters in over 130 countries, making this version the most successful of the "Betty La Fea" franchise.
[From World Screen.com (2007-05-21)]
In the U.S.,
Univision aired the Mexican counterpart
La fea más bella, which ran weeknights at 8 p.m. (E/P), including Thursdays during the same time
Ugly Betty airs. The star of the Mexican version,
Angelica Vale, was supposed to make a cameo in
the 22nd episode, playing Betty's "counterpart" from the series, Leticia 'Lety' Padilla Solís,
[From "People en Espanol" (April 17, 2007)] but the story turned out to be false. Vale appeared in the
season finale playing Angelica, an orthodontist's assistant who looks exactly like Lety (pre-makeover).
Inspired versions
While the original
Betty la Fea has spawned serialized versions globally, it appears that the weekly American version has also begun to pique interest as well.
A version of
Yo soy Betty, la fea made by Bosnian Federalna Televizija (FTV), Croatian RTL Televizija and Serbian Fox Televizija began airing in October 2007. The title of the show is
Ne daj se, Nina ("Don't give up, Nina"). After a long audition, newcomer Lana Gojak, who resembles
America Ferrera, has been cast in the role of Nina (Betty). Other reported cast members include established actors such as Robert Kurbaša, Edvin Livarić, Bojana Ordinačev, Petar Ćiritović, Andrija Milošević, Kristina Krepela and Sloboda Mićalović. The first season will include 52 episodes and will air once a week. Although the storyline follows that of
Yo soy Betty, la fea, Lana Gojak's appearance as Nina seems to be based more on the heroine of
Ugly Betty than on that of
Yo soy Betty, la fea.
There is even talk of an Arabic version of "Ugly Betty", which would be produced and shot in
Dubai. This would be the first "Betty, la Fea"-inspired series to be adapted from the American version.
[From Brand Republic (September 11, 2007)]
Criticism from Colombia
In November 2007,
Sony Entertainment Television began airing
Ugly Betty in South America, under the Spanish title "Betty, la Fea", with Spanish subtitles. However in Colombia there were criticisms over the American version, calling it a pale imitation and counterfeit copy of their original version.
[Garcia, Maria Antonia (January 24, 2007). "'Ugly Betty's' TV Triumph is Colombia's Shame", El Tiempo. Retrieved on April 27, 2008.] Both series differ greatly, the Colombian version aired as a soap opera with daily cliffhangers, while Ugly Betty airs as a weekly comedy, only sometimes ending with cliffhangers.
[Claustro, Lisa (December 6, 2007). "'Ugly Betty' Not Welcome in Colombia?", BuddyTV. Retrieved on April 27, 2008.] The American version also has a different main plot and explores different themes. While the American version has more than half a dozen core characters, the Colombian version turns only around Betty and her boss's life with its main plot being Betty's
unrequited love for her handsome and
promiscuous boss, whom she marries on the series' last episode. When it comes to the series' themes,
Silvio Horta says that the American version explores economic disparity and race issues while the Colombian version was specifically about appearance.
["MeeVee Interviews Ugly Betty Creator Silvio Horta". Retrieved on April 27, 2008.]
DVD releases
International broadcasts
- Australia
- Its debut episode on the Seven Network 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. Since its debut the series has remained in the top five in the Australian TV ratings.
[Australian Idol.][From ebroadcast.com.au (July 3, 2007)] After holding off on the 2nd season, it was announced in April 2008 that Seven would begin Ugly Betty's second season in a new 7:30 pm Wednesday timeslot, beginning on the 7th of May. The show has lost its large following, only drawing around 900,000 viewers despite strong advertising attempts by Channel Seven. The show was "shelved" after the ninth episode was shown on July 2, and will resume airing the remaining episodes until after the Olympics. It was replaced by 'RSPCA Animal Rescue." [From Tv Tonight (April 23, 2008)] Ugly Betty returned to Seven on August 28th 2008 at a new and later timeslot of 9:30pm Thursdays. The episode aired, "Bananas For Betty" was viewed by only 597,000 viewers and was removed. Seven later announced that Ugly Betty will return twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, starting when Summer begins. It was then moved to only once a week at Thursday 7:30pm. Season 3 may be picked up by Seven and aired after the Australian Open.
- Belgium
- VIJFtv began airing the show on March 13, 2008. The ratings for the first two episodes were 165,000.. Its rival, Sara (the Flemish adaptation of Betty, la fea which aired on VTM), had a weekly audience between 650,000 and 750,000. It aired weekdays at 6
- Brazil
- Sony Entertainment Television and SBT on Wednesdays at 10
- Bulgaria
- Nova Television aired Season 1 from October 19 to November 20, 2007. Season 2 starts on 11 November 2008. Repetitions of Season 1 are aired on Fox Life.
- Canada
- Citytv owns the English-language rights to the series, which airs in the same timeslot as the American broadcast, while Radio-Canada, the French language television arm of the CBC, owns the francophone rights. The television series debuted in the province of Quebec and in the rest of French-speaking Canada on April 7, 2008 at 8
- Chile
- The show premiered on Canal 13 (Chile) on July 4, 2008, at 11
- Croatia
- The show started in October 31, 2007 in HRT, and craotian version was aired on RTL named "Ne daj se, Nina".
- Czech Republic
- TV Prima began airing the show's first season on March 5, 2008.
- Ecuador
- Season One started in October 31, 2007 in Sony Entertainment Television after the reality show America's Next Top Model.
- Estonia
- Ugly Betty's second season now runs on Kanal 2 Mondays at 10
- Finland
- The show's second season runs on Nelonen Mondays at 8 pm as Ruma Betty, which literally means Ugly Betty in Finnish.
- France
- The first two episodes aired on TF1 on January 7, 2008 at late-night time, averaging about 3.8 million viewers (28.4% share) and 3.3 millions viewers (39.4% share). Ugly Betty did really well on key demos 15-24 (First episode
- Germany
- This was the only country where Ugly Betty failed to connect with audiences. Sat.1 cancelled the show after two episodes due to low ratings. Germany has had its own local adaptation of Betty la Fea, Verliebt in Berlin, which also aired on Sat1 and was more popular with viewers than "Betty."
- Greece
- ANT1 waited for the Greek version of "Betty la fea", Maria, i Aschimi, shown on the rival network Mega Channel to end on June 2008, and it started broadcasting the series a week after, on July 1, 2008 at 9.00 pm. The first episode got a 13.1% share.
- Hong Kong
- Season one premiered on March 17, 2007 on TVB Pearl while the second season aired one year later, starting on April 14, 2008, on Monday nights at 10
- Hungary
- Season one premiered in March 2007 on RTL Klub at 7
- India
- Season One premiered in July 2007, on Star World at 9
- Ireland
- The European premiere took place on RTÉ Two on January 1, 2007. Season two again premiered on RTÉ Two on October 4, 2007. Ugly Betty airs Thursdays at 8
Season Three premiered on November 6 2008, at 8:40pm on RTE TWO.
- Israel
- Season premiere aired in Israel in March 2, 2007 on Channel Israel 10. The rights were bought by the Israeli Cable Company Hot Telecom and has started during April 2008 the re-runs of season 1 which will be followed by season 2, broadcasting on Channel 3. The second season is broadcast these days parallelly on the Israeli Satellite television provider yes, channal yes Stars 2 on Wednesdays, 21
- Italy
- The season premiere aired on Italia 1 in May averaging about 3.5 million viewers making it one of the most watched program of the night. The first part of season one (episodes 1-14) aired from May until June averaged 3.2 million viewers, and the second part (episodes 15-23) aired in September averaging 2.5 million viewers. The series did especially well in the 18-49 years old target with an average share of 13%. Second season started airing on July 2, 2008.
- Japan
- Season one started in October 1, 2007 and has been aired on NHK BS2 at 11
- Latvia
- TV3 began showing season one on March 5, 2008.
- Lithuania
- LNK, the same channel that aired Yo Soy Betty, la fea began airing the show on January 7, 2008.
- Malaysia
- 8TV (Malaysia) began airing the show in 2007, and finished airing the second season on June 3, 2008.
- Mexico
- There is a dispute over who owns the rights to Ugly Betty in that country. TV Azteca had acquired the rights in 2006 and was set to debut it in 2007, but Sony Entertainment Television, which is also airs on cable and satellite systems in Mexico, has the Latin American rights, resulting in several delays until the matter is settled. Sony Entertainment Television started airing Ugly Betty in Mexico in May 2008.
- Middle East and North Africa
- Showtime Arabia aired Ugly betty season 2 on ShowSeries in July 2008
- Morocco
- The show is currently being aired on 2M.
- Netherlands
- Net 5 began airing Ugly Betty on August 20, 2007 to excellent ratings. Its rival Tien aired Lotte, the Dutch adaption of Yo Soy Betty, la fea. Lotte gained an audience of between the 250,000 and 300,000 viewers, while Ugly Betty does better with a weekly audience of between 400,000 and 600,000 viewers.
- New Zealand
- Ugly Betty joined Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives as TV2's highest-rated overseas shows. It went on a two-month hiatus after airing the episode "Sofia's Choice," as the audience for sister channel TV1's Dancing with the Stars was deemed too similar. In the meantime, TV2 aired Day Break.
[Philippines]- It is currently being shown on Studio 23 (which also aired Betty La Fea) and Star World. The Philippine version of Ugly Betty debuted on Studio 23's mother network ABS-CBN in September 2008, entitled I ♥ Betty La Fea. It features Bea Alonzo in the titular role as Betty and uses some of the elements from Ugly Betty in this adaptation.
- Poland
- The first season of Ugly Betty premiered in Poland on May 14, 2007 on Fox Life, and on September 3, 2007 on TVP2. Season two premiered on FoxLife on March 23, 2008 and currently airs on TVP2. The Polish version of Yo soy Betty, la fea premiered in October 2008 on TVN (Poland). The title of the show is BrzydUla (which translates into "Ugly Ula"; it is a portmanteau of the word "Brzydula" which is a polish word meaning an Ugly Woman and the name Ula, a popular polish nickname for the name "Ursula").
- Portugal
- It is airing both on national television (SIC) and on cable (FOX Life). The first season premiered on April 7, 2007, while the second aired for the first time on October 21, of the same year. Both seasons were premiered on SIC. The Portuguese version was transmitted in 2001, with the title Tudo Por Amor (All For Love).
- Puerto Rico
- Season one was aired this year 2008 on WAPA-TV at 9
- Romania
- The show is broadcast by Acasă TV, the same channel that aired Yo Soy Betty, la fea.
- Russia
- The show airs one Channel One Russia as Ugly.
- Singapore
- MediaCorp's Channel 5 airs the series' second season on Thursday Nights at 10PM. The first season aired on Sunday nights in 2007.
- Slovakia
- Markíza began airing the show on January 12, 2008.
- Slovenia
- POP TV began airing the first season in September 2007. On September 8, 2008, the second season premiered.
- South America
- Sony Entertainment Television, which airs on cable and satellite, has the Latin American rights and began airing the series in those territories in November 2007.
- South Africa
- The show currently airs on MNet on Monday at 19
- Southeast Asia
- The show currently airs on Star World on Wednesday and Saturdays, especially in countries that also owns the broadcast rights to the show.
- Spain
- Cuatro began airing the show on June 10, 2008. The premiere was delayed several months as competing channel Telecinco was airing the Spanish version of Betty, Yo Soy Bea.
[Kanal 5. The show always airs on Tuesday nights at 8]
- Turkey
- Season One was aired in early 2007, on MyMax at 10
- United Kingdom
- The premiere on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007 attracted 4.5 million viewers.
[The Guardian, June 11, 2007] This could have been due to Channel 4 moving the show half an hour later that evening to accommodate an extended edition of Big Brother.
Due to the show's success and the fanbase it has achieved in the UK, Channel 4 decided to move up the second season premiere to Friday, October 5, 2007, thus allowing viewers to watch episodes one week after their U.S. airing.
The show went on hiatus from Friday December 12 due to the WGA strike, the last shown episode was Bananas for Betty. Season 2 resumed on September 5, 2008 at 9pm with the episode Zero Worship. Airing of season 2 has finished on Channel 4, the last episode being shown on Friday 17th October 2008. While the credits for the last episode were showing, the announcer said "Don't worry, she'll be back next year."
- United States (Insular Territories and Overseas Military locations)
- In Guam, ABC affiliate KTGM airs the series twice a week, with the current original being shown on Fridays at 7
The Armed Forces Network's AFN-Spectrum channel airs the series on Wednesdays. The network will usually start airing the latest episodes a couple of months after the US broadcasts, as opposed to waiting a year after its stateside airing.
- Venezuela
- The show premiered on Sony Entertainment Television and now airs on Venevision on Sundays at 11
- Vietnam
- The show now airs on Ho Chi Minh City Television on every Thursday and Friday.
Merchandising
On April 15, 2008, Hyperion Books, a Disney owned publisher, released a companion book to the series, aptly titled "Ugly Betty: The Book", a 175-page softcover about the show in general, which covers the first season and portions of the second, complete with interviews from the cast and crew, tips and quotes from the characters, and mock ads for Fabia Cosmetics and Atlantic Attire. Around the same time, Random House's children's books division will publish a "magazine"-inspired book tied into the series, complete with photos and mock ads as if they were published by Betty herself, targeted for younger readers.[From Write Away (September 14, 2007)]
In addition, a 2008 calendar for "Ugly Betty" was released using stills from the first season, while a series of greeting cards was issued in January 2008. These photos were edited to enhance her facial features. A 2009 calendar is scheduled to be issued in August 2008[From community.livejournal.com/uglybetty (June 21, 2008)]
Even the main character has been immortalized into a doll, as Angelic Dreamz, Inc's Madame Alexander collection introduced two different versions of Betty Suarez that were featured on their website in February 2008[From Community.livejournal.com/uglybetty (February 7, 2008)]
Reception
Seasonal ratings in the United States
Television parodies and references
In the October 7, 2006, episode of "Saturday Night Live," cast member Fred Armisen spoofed the character of Betty by playing a look-alike named Fugly Betsy.[From imdb.com (Ugly Betty)][From imdb.com (Saturday Night Live)] Not to be outdone, a February 17, 2007 episode of MADtv has Ellen DeGeneres (played by Nicole Parker) interviewing an actress on her talk show who plays Ugly Betty with Salma Hayek (played by LisaNova) always pointing out how ugly she is. The Ugly Betty actress (played by Crista Flanagan) claims it is only make up and costume but is ignored. Crista later reprised her Betty role in the poorly reviewed parody film Meet The Spartans.
On April 22, 2007, the 2007 TV Land Awards parodied the series with a spoof aptly titled Ugly Betty White, with White playing Betty Suarez, Charo playing Hilda, Erik Estrada playing Ignacio, Joan Collins playing Wilhelmina, Peter Scolari playing Alexis, and George Hamilton playing Daniel.[From www.towerload.com April 2007] Thanks to her performance in that parody, the producers cast White in a guest role in the second season.[Breaking News - BETTY WHITE TO GUEST STAR ON ABC'S "UGLY BETTY" TheFutonCritic.com]
Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On October 30, 2006, three of the series' cast members, appearing in their characters (Ferrera as Betty, Mabius as Daniel, and Newton as Amanda) gave New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a 'makeover' to make him look more like quarterback Tom Brady in a spoof that was featured on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown.[ The Futon Critic, October 27, 2006]
It was also referenced in other shows, most notably in "Up All Night", the February 8, 2007 installment of the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, in which Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) says "this would've worked on Ugly Betty" when she fails to crawl out a door without being seen. The scene was patterned after the Ugly Betty episode "Swag" in which Betty crawled through a fashion show.[From imdb.com (30 Rock)] Interestingly enough, Hayek will also make a recurring appearance on 30 Rock in the third season ["Hayek Delighted With 30 Rock Role" From imdb.com (October 11, 2008)].
In an episode of the TV sitcom Scrubs, Christopher Turk has a picture taken of "Ugly Betty" with his daughter, only for it to be torn up by best friend and main character John Dorian.
Success abroad
The buildup to "Bettymania" by various broadcasters also began to take shape overseas, especially in the United Kingdom. On December 6, 2006, Channel 4 began to advertise the show. The ad shows seemingly attractive models gathered around a pool, but as the camera angle changes a model comes out of the pool wearing Betty's glasses, then as the models smile, they are all wearing Betty's braces. Another ad parodies Marks and Spencer's successful fashion advertising campaign, as well as Dove and Gap campaigns. A voice over then says, "Fashion has a new face. 'Ugly Betty' Coming Soon To 4." After a week of these teasers, clips from the actual programme were included in the trailers. In mid-January, in the UK, Davina McCall, presenter of Celebrity Big Brother dressed up as Betty live on Channel 4 before the titles of the second eviction show of the evening. Interestingly on February 16, 2007, Ashley Jensen (Christina) also dressed up as Betty during an airing of Channel 4's Friday Night Project, where she was the guest host. The children's channel CBeebies also parodied the title sequence, with one variation mixing faces of regular CBeebies characters until finally settling with Tiny from Little Robots.
In Australia, during the lead up week to the huge Sunday Premiere of Ugly Betty, February 12 to February 17, 2007, Channel Seven devoted a week of Deal or No Deal to the show by having the models dress like Betty, complete with the Guadalajara poncho. Channel Seven also used the series to promote its successful "Beautiful Sundays" schedule.
In South Africa, M-Net teamed up with Ogilve Johannesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of ELLE magazine
