Faced with struggling ratings and a new time slot (Fridays at 9:00), the show’s creative team is revamping certain aspects of the series, especially with new faces and a new look.
Where Betty Left Off
During the series’ third-season finale, viewers watched as Betty (America Ferrera) earned an editorial position at Mode, leaving Marc (Michael Urie) still serving Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams), and Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) in need of a new assistant.
To thicken the plot, Betty’s latest ex-boyfriend, Matt (Daniel Eric Gold), took a leadership role at Meade Publications, thanks to his father, billionaire Cal Hartley. Due to Meade’s financial crisis, the Hartleys now have a financial stake in the company, which further muddles the strained relations between Betty and Matt.
On the characters' personal fronts, both Betty's father Ignacio (Tony Plana) and Daniel ended season three with heartbreak, as Ignacio's girlfriend, Elena, left for California, and Daniel's new wife, Molly, tragically passed away during the season finale.
New Characters
Mode’s ever-evolving staff will undergo even more changes this season, as personnel shifts leave room for new faces.
In the wake of Betty's promotion, Jamie- Lynn Sigler, in one of her first major roles since The Sopranos wrapped, will become Daniel's new assistant. Sigler's Betty debut will be during the second episode, and a character outline suggests that she'll be just Daniel Meade's type: smart, funny and above all, sexy.
America’s Next Top Model alum YaYa DaCosta will fill the role of Wilhelmina’s daughter, Nico, starting from the series’ premiere. According to episode sketches, Nico will get wrapped up immediately in the season’s newest mystery, though no one knows what that mystery is. After her almost-win on Top Model, DaCosta appeared on the soap opera All My Children, as well as Antonio Banderas’ film Take the Lead.
Ugly Betty made headlines in August, with early announcements that recently unemployed Paula Abdul would guest star. However, within a week of the news, ABC executives nixed the rumor, and as of now, there are no plans for Abdul to drop by Mode.
The New and Improved Betty
One of the most attention-grabbing aspects to Ugly Betty's new season is Betty's new makeover. After several new photos of series star America Ferrera emerged, fans became concerned with the heroine's decidedly sleeker look. In response, ABC developed focus groups, so that viewers could decide whether the new makeover is an organic transition for Betty.
Despite the thinned eyebrows and smoothed hair, producers remain mum on whether Betty's outer changes could reflect an internal character transition. Only the new season can tell whether the show's heroine will retain her optimistic, candid attitude while surviving in a newer, probably tougher, environment.
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