Vanessa Williams and Michael Urie, Ugly Betty
Question: I'm very happy (and surprised) about Ugly Betty's move from Friday to Thursday nights. I'm a huge fan of America Ferrera and the original Spanish series, so I'm throwing my full support into this show. Who knows, maybe I'll even stick around and catch Grey's Anatomy afterwards. Thanks for the great column, Matt!
Answer: You're welcome, but if you really want to thank me for something, stay tuned for Grey's. You won't regret it. And if enough people follow your lead, ABC will feel justified in making this move, which I praised in the Dispatch I filed after learning of the time switch from the dead zone of Fridays at 8 pm/ET to the competitive hotbed of Thursdays at 8. On paper (or, I guess, on computer screen), Ugly Betty looks like a hard sell, but maybe there's something about this premise that will strike a chord in the U.S. audience the way it has in other cultures. We can only hope. If it holds its own and delivers at least some audience to Grey's (which will probably be a
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America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
It's nice to see that ABC wised up and invited Ugly Betty to the Thursday-night ball.
The new show — which will now be paired with Grey's Anatomy this fall — has been getting raves from those who have seen it. Executives from other networks have called it the best pilot they saw from their competition this year. Adapted from a telenovela that's been wildly popular for years in Latin America, Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera as a glamour-challenged woman from an immigrant family trying to make it at a flashy fashion magazine.
Salma Hayek and producer Ben Silverman have been trying to sell a U.S. version of Betty
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America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
Question: What's your opinion of the Friday-night slot awarded to Ugly Betty? I keep hearing glowing reviews from most of the critics who have seen the pilot, so I cannot understand why ABC would try to kill this show before it even takes off. Don't you think Sunday night's slot following Desperate Housewives would be a much better fit? This sounds like a show that would have a similar audience.
Answer: This conversation came up a lot during the critics' press tour, and quite a few of us agree with you, with the caveat that none of us have seen the still-being-revised pilot of ABC's Brothers & Sisters, which will occupy the post-Housewives slot in the fall. The reason Ugly Betty would be such a good fit is because it shares many of the attributes of Housewives at its best: namely, a stylized blend of high comedy and soap-opera intrigue. Because ABC's entertainment chief feels Betty is better suited for an earlier time period, it's airing Fridays at 8 pm/ET, which you rightfully describe
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In Justice's Jason O'Mara has landed the lead in the ABC drama pilot Drift, about a New York detective battling insomnia.... Kevin Alejandro has joined Fox's Faceless as a meth-addict gang member.... Rachel Perry will play a scientist in Fox's Beyond.... Bruno Campos has left ABC's Southern Comfort to fill the lead in Fox's The Wedding Album.... Charlotte Ross has dumped ABC's Ugly Betty and is now in talks to join Alicia Silverstone in ABC's Pink Collar.... Vanessa L. Williams, whom I have always considered a twin for Ross, will replace the NYPD Blue alum on Betty.
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