Betty the Ugly

This show has been picked up for the Fall ABC lineup. I wasn't shocked considering the show is pretty decent and ABC's pilot lineup was pretty bad on the whole. So this show is a one hour drama based on the South American soap opera. Basically an unattractive girl gets a job as an assistant to the head of a fashion magazine. She was chosen simply because she is ugly and her boss has a history of sexually harassing his secretaries.

The cast features America Ferrera, Eric Mabius, Becki Newton and a bunch of other unknown actors. Well the cast doesn't look so hot, and that is why I am holding off on this pilot. Ferrera was in the dreadful "Siterhood of the Traveling Pants".

Mabius had a small stint on "The OC" and Ortiz was on "Over There" on the FX channel. Ashley Jensen is also a cast member and was on the HBO Ricky Gervais comedy "Extras". She was decently funny, but certainly not anything noteworthy.

Silvio Horta and Ben Silverman are the executive producers on this one. They have worked on Jake 2.0 and The Office (US version). So nothing particularily special. Also, Selma Hayek, the very beautiful and (not) talented actress is credited on IMDb as an EP as well. I am not sure what this is all about, but I don't like the sound of it. Not one bit.

So what is the bottom line here? What does The Frog think? We think it will blow. Yes you heard it here first. Betty the Ugly will blow. The cast is mediocre and i've read the pilot script. It certainly is not the stuff dreams are made of. Just your typical dramedy drivel.

The pilot script was basically an amalgamation of the most stereotypical character interactions and one liners I have ever read. Keep in mind this script has probably been re-worked from its original condition. Especially considering ABC actually picked it up which was something I was not expecting at all. When I first got wind of this I said "Hmm...Latin imports...not a bad idea". Then I read the pilot. My sentiments quickly turned sour. That being said, ABC must have seen a glimmer in this thing. So perhaps some fresh writers would do the trick. But it looks to be another "Less than Perfect" ABC move. And we here at TV Frog don't see that sparkle. We say this baby gets the hook around January when the new mid-seasons are ushered in. Sorry Betty, maybe if you were cuter.

UPDATE: It looks like ABC has indeed re-worked the script since I wrote up this article. I have actually been hearing decent things about this pilot. Who would have thought? I am trying to get my hands on a copy of the first episode to confirm this with my own two eyes. Stay tuned as I will post more when I get a copy. And if you have a copy, please e-mail the TV Frog staff, and we will be very happy.