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''Ugly Betty'' is an Golden Globe and Peabody Award winning American Television Comedy-drama series starring America Ferrera , Vanessa Williams , Rebecca Romijn and Eric Mabius . The series premiered on September 28 , 2006 , on ABC in the United States and on CityTV in Canada and it follows the life of the unsophisticated but good-natured Betty Suarez (Ferrera), and her incongruous job at the ultra-chic New York City fashion magazine ''"Mode"''. Betty's status as a " Fish Out Of Water " drives much of the plot. The series is an adaptation of the (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 (formerly ''Touchstone Television'') to create the hour-long program for US audience. 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. The show is filmed like a traditional network drama (with motion picture film), rather than the ). Already it has won one of its 11 categories, that of best cast ensemble From EMMY.org (September 9, 2007) . SETTING AND STORYLINE As the series began, we were introduced to Betty Suarez, a young Latina who lands a job as a personal assistant to newly-installed editor-in-chief Daniel Meade at MODE magazine. Betty is good-hearted and brave, but sorely lacking in social skills, self-confidence, fashion sense, and aesthetic polish. She 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 aesthetically-centered world of New York City fashion, and she is quickly saddled with the show's eponymous nickname. As Betty and her boss quickly become the success story of the fashion industry, they also must deal with how they got there and how it has affected their working relationship. At work the two find themselves dealing with Creative Director Wilhelmina Slater, who wanted the Editor-In-Chief position, while Betty found herself dealing with Marc St. James, Wilhelmina's assistant/henchman and receptionist Amanda Tanen, 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 acountant Henry Grubstick, to whom Betty is attracted. Their home lives are also a challenge. At home in Queens, Betty must deal with her illegal immigrant father Ignacio's visa troubles, older sister Hilda and Hilda's son Justin. In Daniel's case, the issues in his home and personal life revolve around his demanding father (and boss), Bradford, who gave both Daniel and Betty their current positions; his alcoholic mother Claire; and, after returning from a two-year disappearance, his transexual and competitive sister Alexis (formerly known as Alex), who bears a strong grudge against their father; as well as Daniel's own sex and later drug addictions. SEASON 1 See Also: Ugly Betty (season 1) Throughout the show's first season, most of the serialized storylines revolved around Betty trying to balance her work, home and romantic life (involving first boyfriend Walter after he cheated on her with Gina Gambarro, and later Henry Grubstick, whose ex Charlie is setting him up by claiming that she is pregnant with his child, though she had in fact slept with another man), her sister's attempt to join her in selling door-to-door products (only to be unemployed afterward) and her newfound talent as a beautician and her father's health and immigration problems (not to mention his admission to murdering his employer after fell in love with his wife, who happens to be Betty and Hilda's mother). Other issues that played out included 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, whose murder came at the expense of Claire, who's battling her problems with alcoholism; Alexis' trying to repair her relationship with Daniel but at the expense of Bradford; Wilhelmina's scheming plans to force Daniel out his job with the help of Alexis (who was known early on as the mystery woman, until she revealed to the world that she was alive and now a woman), a plot to marry Bradford so she can take over the company, dealing with her rebellious daughter Nico while winning acceptance from her father; Marc dealing with multi-tasking for his boss, his homosexuality and family acceptance; Amanda's binge eating, being the target of a prank, and learning of her true parentage as Fey's daughter; and Christina being used by Wilhelmina even as she helps Betty. SEASON 2 See Also: Ugly Betty (season 2) The 2nd season of Ugly Betty will air on September 27 , 2007 and is expected to end in May 2008. The season's theme is "Brighter, Bolder, Bettyer," with Mika 's " Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) " being used as the featured song in its promos. This season will introduce viewers to two new full-time characters, who will be played by Freddie Rodriguez and Illeana Douglas, while Lorraine Toussaint will continue in her role as Claire's fellow prison escapee Yoga as a recurring regular. Episodes:
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 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 2006 , 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 )] Since its debut, "Ugly Betty" won two )] 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) BROADCASTS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES 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. ''Variety'' , October 9 2006 As noted by the international broadcast table posted above, 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., 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). DVD RELEASES RATINGS In the United States 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). Based on average total viewers per episode of ''Ugly Betty'' on ABC : Seasonal Weekly In other countries The premiere on Channel 4 on 2007 The figures and shares were very much similar each week, flirting around 2-3 million viewers with 10-15% share. Disappointingly, the finale rated less than the premiere episode, attracting 3.1 million viewers with 15% share. ''The Guardian'' , June 11 2007 Yet still, it managed to perform reasonably well, when pending on Channel 4's standard and expectations with viewing figures. Because of the show's success and the fanbase it has acheived in the UK, Channel 4 has decided to move up the second season schedule launch to Friday October 05 , 2007 , thus allowing viewers to see the series two weeks after its US airings, a rarity in UK television. Its debut episode on the Seven Network pulled in 2.03 million viewers, beating . The season one finale aired August 5 , 2007 and received the lowest rating of the year - 1.051 million, and only in the 13th slot of the night. This was predominantly because it was up against the season premiere of the popular program, Australian Idol . Nevertheless, "Ugly Betty", along with other American TV imports, has boosted Seven's fortunes and ratings in the country's firece TV war. From ebroadcast.com.au (July 3, 2007) 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 , which by the way is a daily serial. Lotte gained an audience of between the 250,000 and 300,000 viewers, while Ugly Betty does better, with an weekly audience of between 400,000 and 600,000 viewers. "Ugly Betty" joined This was the only country where "Ugly Betty" failed to connect with audiences there. Sat1 cancelled the show after two episodes due to low ratings. IN POPULAR CULTURE Ever since the show's debut, the main characters, especially the title character, have quickly become the latest fixures in the lexicon of pop media culture, and already they found their way onto parodies, news media stories and art-imitating-life situations, as well as recognition from the United State Congress itself. Television parodies and references In the '' 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. On ", in which she will play Wilhelmina's mother, Victoria Smith-Slater. The episode will air in October 2007. Even the cast poked fun at their alter egos. On 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) . Overseas success The buildup to "Bettymania" 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 ''. Australia also became smitten with "Bettymania." 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 Johanesburg to hype up its campaign for the show, which included a picture of Betty on the mock cover of ELLE magazine From Bizcommunity.com (August 18, 2007) And New Zealand have also hyped-up ''Ugly Betty'' by promoting Tuesday nights as "True Beauty Tuesday" and also launching competitions for a replica of Betty's Guadalajara poncho. Real-life impact The show's impact on issues and culture has also attracted the attention of the ) In addition to that recognition, on May 8 2007 , star America Ferrera was honored by Time Magazine on their annual list of the 100 most influential people. The event took place at New York's Lincoln Center and the actress was recognized for defying stereotypes with the show {Link without Title} . The success of Ugly Betty and how it deals with body imaging among women in general would inspire a series of reports on Entertainment Tonight , in which reporter Vanessa Minillo went undercover in a fat suit to see if women were discriminated on the basis of how they look. Ugly Betty won the Outstanding Comedy Series award by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in April 2007. {Link without Title} REVIEWS
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