ABC is pretty serious about the extreme makeover it’s giving Ugly Betty. According to my sources, the network is going so far as to conduct a round of focus groups this week to get feedback on the heroine’s season 4 metamorphosis.
In particular, execs are showing test audiences two scenes from early in the season, both featuring a newly glamorized Betty working at her new job as Mode’s associate features editor. In one, she’s rocking a Chanel-esque pastel pink suit; in the other, she’s sporting a short-sleeved black dress with a ruffled V-neck. “She looks a lot classier,” says one guinea pig, “but she’s still far from perfect.”
Based on ABC’s questions to the panel, the suits appear most concerned about whether fans of the show will deem Betty’s transformation appropriate, given her four-year journey from flunky to editor, or whether the changes are too drastic and compromise the essence of the Everygal. They’re also asking for opinions about Betty’s new hair, styled eyebrows, and makeup.
Whatever the outcome of the focus groups, this seems like a fine time to remind you that it was in an April interview with me that exec producer Silvio Horta first broke news of Betty’s revamp — which he said would eventually include her braces coming off. “There’s going to be a progression in her look overall,” he said. “It’ll still be Betty, but you’ll see some growth in that direction.”
Maybe they can tackle my eyebrows next.
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It’s about TIME. Nobody wears braces for that longe and nobody stays the same in the course of time. People change their style, get to improve. This is human nature, to change everyday and learn.
Agreed – people naturally change and are shaped by the environment around them. Realistically if someone worked at a fashion mag that long they would realize how ridiculous they look. But I realize that’s not the premise of this show either. GET RID OF THE BRACES!!! No one wears braces that long.
You have obviously never worked at a fashion magazine if you think that being surrounded by stylish people will make a person who has their own style sense (or lack of style sense) change her ways by osmosis. I have seen many people throughout my life who know what looks good on others, yet they always seem to make the wrong style choices for themselves. I personally feel that it is OK for Betty to have picked up some style tips. I think that i would be wrong, though, for her to make a dramatic tasteful change abruptly. I think that it would make more sense for her to change small details here and there, then perhaps someone like Amanda or Hilda could intervene and haul her off for some professional help. By the way, my niece just got her braces off after having them on for six years. Uncommon? Yes. Unheard of? Absolutely not.
Actually, 4 years isn’t *that* long in braces-years. Depending on how bad the teeth are to begin with, one could be in braces for upwards of 6 years.
I was one of those poor saps.
Don’t make stupid generalizations.
Well, Betty’s teeth are perfect by now, this is not a generalization. The show can’t be afraid to change stuff because it might change the premise of the show.
This show jumped the shark when it asked us to believe that Betty (as she looked) could keep getting hot guys to fall for her….and even fight over her, lol. She also, somehow, looking as she does, and having zero fashion sense, got a job as an editor in the fashion industry. I mean, c’mon. She’s not an underdog anymore, she’s the ugly over-achiever.
ALL of this should’ve been gradual. And she shouldn’t have had hot guys fighting over her UNTIL she had a makeover. It’s just not believable, and made it hard to relate to her.
Wow Kim, Shallow are we? And in case you have missed the entire point of the show, beauty is not what one sees on the outside. I give men more credit than you do to see a woman for who she is. And the “hot guys” that fall for her only do so after they have known her for awhile. It is not instant attraction.
Hear. Hear. Well said. Betty’s beauty is inside. Give the guys some credit for seeing her- not her clothes.
Kim, bitter much?
Kim is just stating the truth. You will not find someone as “ugly” as Betty working at Vogue and/or dating modelesque guys, no matter how industrious she is.
It’s a TV show. It’s about escapism. It’s not some reality show on TLC.
I couldn’t agree more. I thought the same thing when I watched the show. The only guys she was with that made any sense were the first boyfriend(can’t remember the name) and Henry because(even though hot) was an outcast himself.
Wow! How superficial are you? So guys can’t be attracted to a young woman who doesn’t look like she just stepped out of a magazine ad? It’s so nice that you are reinforcing the damage that the advertising industry has done to young women’s psyches and self-images. For the record, I have seen many women who most people would probably think are very unattractive paired up with very good looking men. I think that we are generally more accustomed to seeing beautiful women with doughy, physically unappealing men, but those women are often with those men for reasons pertaining to financial stability. When a more attractive man is with a less attractive woman, it almost always seems that the attraction has no such strings attached. The guy seems to really be into the woman. I think that people who are posting here really need to examine their attitudes about physical appearance. That is one of the main themes of “Ugly Betty”, but most people here seem to miss that point. Or perhaps you all were aware of that point at one time, but have somehow forgotten it. Look through these posts… Most of the ones that are the harshest, most superficial, and most critical of Betty’s appearance have been written by women.
i agree with kim to a certain extent. not that i think it is unrealistic that guys would fall for betty or that they would see her inner beauty or anything like that but more that she is constantly having multiple guys fight over her. the issue for betty never seems to be struggling to get a guy’s attention but more trying to decide which boy she wants. i don’t think this is realistic for anyone, never mind someone who’s beauty is just below the surface. i think my problem is less with the idea that betty is “too ugly” to have guys fall for her cause i don’t really think that is true. it is more that it is lazy writing to just introduce love triangle after love triangle and it seems unlikely anyone would find themselves in that position constantly never mind betty.
This makes sense, from a character perspective, though if they go too far, they’ll have to change the title of the show.
BTW, Michael, your eyebrows look just fine from over here.
I dig the change and hope it stands. The show hasn’t jumped the shark, we just neem more Mark and Amanda scenes. Betty’s overall look was never the ‘everyday gal’ all girls can match patterns. But I understand the telenovela angle and staying true to it’s origins. Looking forward to next season now!
I disagree kim, the show is about not fitting into the mold of what ‘beauty’ really is.And what? Ugly people dont get cute guys? what kind of superficial crap is that?
Well, isn’t this supposed to happen? The show is based on a Columbian soap opera and in that story, Betty completely changes her look around halfway. I know this show is a bit different, but if they are trying to stick with the idea of the original story, they should change her look and its about time too.
You’re right, in the original she does get a makeover/ gets hotter. So its bout time they stop trying to make America look busted!
In “Yo soy Betty, la fea”, they don’t change Betty’s appearance until the very end. I don’t think that the producers of “Ugly Betty” have any desire to plan their own end game any time soon. They are probably hoping to stay on the air for at least three of four more seasons.
agree with the sentiment that the changes to her fashion sense should have been gradual.
In real life, we often see “hot” men with women we might label as “ugly” or vice versa. The show did not invent this phenomenon. These type of comments, and this way of thinking is much more telling of us as humans, than it is of a tv show. I wish this show, which has brought me 4 years of laughter and love, continued success. Period.
I agree but i think it is un realistic because the show really hits the fashion industry and how shallow people can be. So the idea that all those gorgeous guys fighting over Betty is a bit much. Matt, Henry, Gio i mean come on. Henry was perfect for Betty because of their personalities and like Betty is gorgeous underneath the glasses.
Kim, her rise to editor makes sense because she’s become a features editor, meaning she won’t be writing about fashion, she’ll be writing about other subjects, like that story she did with Amanda about having a fun night in NYC for free.
It’s great that Betty’s getting some better outfits. Some of her old outfits were starting to hurt my eyes.
I do need to take offense at the comments of Kim, one of the posters.
Betty was already pretty, even without the makeover. Also, I disagree with your (misguided) belief that Betty needed a makeover before she could attract hot guys.
For me, the premise of the show is looking beneath the surface beauty to find the inner beauty. Betty is here to show that you don’t have to be a perfectly dressed, plucked, coiffed, size 0 model to be beautiful.
Easter Cat, thank you for being one of the few voices of reason here. I also feel that Betty’s clothes had become way too clown-like and cartoonish in the third season, but there is no need for her to turn into a fashion plate. That would be too unbelievable to me, and I would think that fans of the show would be dissatisfied with such a change. But, I can only speak for myself.
Well, a revamped Betty is supposed to happen. Anyone who saw the novella should know in Latin America that Betty eventually becomes quite stunning.
Well, a revamped Betty is supposed to happen. Anyone who saw the novella should know in Latin America that Betty eventually becomes quite stunning.
Completely agree with first 2 posters … it was getting mighty ridiculous that all these attractive guys were falling for her (and yes, even fighting for her, sheesh!) and seemingly not noticing her over-the-top kooky fashion “sense”. Would rarely, if ever happen in the real world. If the guys dressed as kooky as her, then understandable. But they were far more clean-cut and hey, that just doesn’t play.
After a while the clearly bizarre outfit matchups were getting too unrealistic and tiresome. No one is saying she has to eventually become yet another cookie-cutter beauty, but a tone-down in her schizo outfits is definitely in order. And the transformation doesn’t need to happen overnight either (that too would be unrealistic, so I hope ABC doesn’t go that route!).
A spiffy new haircut would do wonders to start the gradual transformation, and as a fresh start to her newly promoted position. Actually, a great idea for an episode would be if her replacement in her previous assistant position (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) showed her up in her fashion style/overall appearance and made it look like she was the editor and Betty was still the assistant. Betty then has an epiphany where she realizes the same-old, same-old won’t work and she needs to take her appearance more seriously to mesh with her upgraded editorial position. Then the transformation could begin over a series of episodes …
I think it would be funny to have her try and adopt trendier looks and just not get it quite right
I’m so happy to hear about Betty’s makeover. America Ferrera is a beautiful woman so it will be nice to see her come through. Not that Betty is already “beautiful.” Although we are always attracted to looks, personality always shines through, and Betty has that in spades.
I think it would be a lot more realistic for Betty to upgrade her style…nobody would be working in the fashion industry for that long and still dress like a circus clown (except for Betsey Johnson!).
They are giving the original version: Betty La Fea at Telefutura, and right now she is slowly going through her transformation. I’ve tried watching the American version, but it does not compare. This is why Spanish soaps last 6months to a year, cause the concept can’t continue for 5 seasons. So I am glad the producers here are following the Spanish version to some extent.
When you compare a 20-something weekly episodes season to a 20-hours a month novella(for they usually are an hour daily), the time is pretty much the same. 6 months novella = 6 seasons show but with more time for producers to develop. I am eager to see a gradual change in her looks, but once the braces are off, she’ll probably won’t need anything else to change.
maybe as she gets physically prettier her personality will get uglier, so they wouldn’t have to change the title. and it’s true to life. if you’ve ever know an nice overweight person that suddenly lost a lot of weight, you know what i’m talking about…
Ouch! Personally, I’ve known people that have lost a lot of weight and STILL have awesome personalities. Besides, the refreshing thing about Betty is that, even at her finest, she is not typical Super-model gorgeous. She is a very pretty, curvy person underneath it all (did you see the episode where she was a runway model? She looked great, even with braces and glasses) but not what is commonly, and often shallowly, defined as “beautiful”. I think the title will fit no matter what.
Why does ABC think the “Everygal” will be offended to not look like a mismatched, poncho aficionado?
Good suggestion Melissa. That’d be an interesting thing to see (at least for a while). In Kim’s defense, I do get what she’s saying. While physically unattractive people do end up with hot guys in real life, it doesn’t happen often. When it first happened with Henry, I could buy that. But her being with, what, 3 other guys (?) since, is a little bit of a stretch.
Betty is fine as she is. Guys should love her for who she is, everything including her clothes.
Thank you for this great article. I can’t wait for the return of Ugly Betty! I think it is probably the right time for this progression in the show’s run.
Who cares about Betty? I want more Marc & Amanda! More Wilhelmina! More Claire Meade! Betty is the most boring character on the show. Frankly, I’ll be shocked if this isn’t the last year anyway given the creative and ratings slide and the move to Fridays.
I don’t think the guys that have fallen for Betty are all that hot! Besides, it is clear they were all attracted to her inner beauty (she was still attractive under those braces and wacky outfits). Just imagine how refreshing it is to come across someone with a lack of self-absorption!
I don’t think any of Betty’s guys have been hot. Cute, yes. But none qualify to be models. Thanks for bringing that up!
I am actually on the ABC advisory panel, so I was able to see these clips and provide feedback. The changes aren’t overwhelming – her eyebrows are neater, her clothes are more put together (but not quite as together as everyone else at Mode), and her hair is smoother. Braces are fully intact. Nothing to get too worked up about. I thought it was a pretty natural progession. She’s still just as awkward. They made a point to make sure that she falls down in one of the clips.
That was the beauty of the novela it is based on. In the novela, the cute guy falls for Betty while she is “ugly”, but couldn’t come to terms with it before it’s too late. Then she transforms. The cute guy is impressed by the transformation, but now, he doesn’t really care. He is still crushed because he is in love with Betty, not because he lost the chance to be with “Pretty Betty”.
I have watched Ugly Betty probably three times because is a seasonal program and I have already watched the original version from Colombia “Betty la Fea”. I agree with those who say that the purpose of the TV show is to depict how society makes some people believe that you have to be pretty in order “earn” the love of a gorgeous man (in the case of women). Although Betty goes through some changes related to her appearance, her essence is kept the same, which is why the cute executive falls in love with her way before she changed her appearance, in the Colombian version, she leaves the company and that is when a nice lady helps her project her inner beauty with her look and appearance which helps her confidence. For those of you who want to take a pick to the original version you can watch it in the Spanish channel Univision at 10 pm Monday – Friday. This soap opera has been very successful in different countries, and per your post it looks like it has worked here too. Ugly Betty is smart, funny, and pretty.
To consider that it has been 10 years since its premiere and here in Puerto Rico we are still hooked to the telly every weekend afternoon to rewatch it, it proves how successful it has been.
I guess since it looks like this may be the show’s last season, why not depart from the original overseas premise and doll Betty up…however, it won’t make some of us viewers happy at all. Part of the show’s allure from the beginning was Betty being herself despite being surrounded day in and day out with “fashionable people”. She stood out with her unique attire, normal curves and her innocent, but plucky attitude. This last season was a turn-off with Betty becoming more and more rude, cynical and mean like those around her. This isn’t who the show started with and is hardly a pleasant metamorphosis–to see her become more like Marc and Amanda. Yeah, they have mellowed…a bit…so maybe Betty rubbed off a little on them, but the show doesn’t look it is going to end on a high note for people who originally saw Betty as a heroine for the oddballs out there who refuse to conform to other peoples’ standards…when she ends up conforming anyway.
You got it backwards. If they want to stay true to the overseas version, she has to be “dolled up”, as you put it.
Thank god. She is a complete eye sore. I understand Betty’s unique and not as fashionable, but she can at least learn to match. An 8 year old can do that.
I think it’s good that she’s getting a slight make over. Over the seasons you kinda see Betty gradually change. I like the subtle changes Betty is making as her career progresses. I say don’t make Betty a total babe yet save that for the final season. America Ferrera is a beauty..in and out of her Betty gear.