Ausiello: Ugly Betty To Get ‘Henry 2.0′
December 18, 2008 by Tom
EW’’s Michael Ausiello has some pretty big Ugly Betty news. A new man is being cast as a love interest for Betty. Multiple sources confirm that Daniel Eric Gold (Charlie Wilson’s War – he’s the one on the left in the photo) has been cast as Matt, which will be a recurring character.
Ausiello calls the character “Henry-esque”, so I’m assuming he’ll have that whole nerdy but cute thing going on. (BTW Ausiello, you deserve what you get for using a headline that gets the hopes up of Benry fans that Chris Gorham is coming back. Soon you will see what happens when you toy with Betty shippers 
Trust me on this one.)
Apparently, Matt is going to be a major character, as in “regular” as opposed to “recurring”. Very interesting. This probably means Jesse won’t be back, unless they want to let Val Emmich play a neighbor-friend. There is no confirmation one way or another that Emmich is coming back. I’ll see if I can track that down for y’all.
Matt the bookworm will have a “secret”, a secret that could “impact Betty’s life in a significant way.” I’m dying to see what that is.
So, what do you think of this development? I know many of you have your favorite Betty Beau – could you make room for another?
Ugh. For what it’s worth, I’m a diehard Betty/Daniel ’shipper, but bringing on this new dude seems like a bit of slap in the face to the Benry and Getty folks out there. I thought the major reason that they got rid of Henry and Gio was because this season’s focus was going to be Betty concentrating on moving her career forward. Now they’re bringing on some new random character to take up airtime?
I never trust Ausiello, anyway, so I’m not going to get too worked up about it…for now.
Walter, Henry, Gio, Jesse, and now some Matt dude. 3 seasons, 5 love interests. Actually, now that I think of it that’s 2 per season (Henry counts for 1 and 2 lol). Bring back an ex or something, don’t add someone new! Tons of shows can survive an episode or two with out some new crush drama!
wht happened 2 gio?!? he jus disappeared of the face of ugly betty lol but seriosly! i luv gio and want him bak!!!
yeah if betty didnt get bak w/gio then i want her w/daniel i’ve wanted her w/him since i started wathin it but he makes me mad sometimes and seems like a total jerk…but i still luv him!! hehe
but i luv luv luv gio!!!!!! i wish he would come bak and get w/betty or jus come bak is good enuf 4 me
yuck! you have got to be serious! Don’t they know we all just want gio back?! J/K I know there a few that loved Henry but ANOTHER love interest…don’t go Mary Tyler Moore show with us…Horta’s head is in the sand- great way to lose viewers..
I will go back reading fan fic now to see how Gio and Betty celebrate the holidays…scuse me
Are you seriously Chris Gorham (Henry) will come back for Ugly Betty? Not Gio,I wish Gio should come back too.
Another love interest!?! sigh.
In case you doubt this story TVGuide.com also confirmed it in the Today’s News Section.
Here’s the link:
http://www.tvguide.com/News/New-Love-Horizon-1001071.aspx
DAYUM. Betty get’s so much action. Wth is wrong with me?! If Betty can, I can! YES WE CAN. ahaha that was so lame. excuse me. This new guy looks cute. I loved Henry before he went all… y’know. I’m excited
I pretty much said everything in the ausiello comment board. But oh well… what can i say. This season seems to be more about Betty’s love interest than season 2. At least Gio and Henry built a huge fanbase. Now they are just throwing baits to see if old fans fall for the new guys.
Seems like Detties, Benries/Hetties and… of course Getties are not quite pleased about yet ANOTHER love interest.
Honest, if they are going to go love-love in season 3… bring back old flames (Gio?) or just focus in other characters love interest. We got Molly/Daniel Willy/Connor. Why they had to dismiss Cliff, bring someone for Amanda… where is Archie Rodriguez? They took down brotherly love (dismiss of Alexis) they took down fatherly love (dismiss DJ). Then why keep toying with Betty love interests if they already found out that Jesse didn’t got enough attention with the fans.
What are they thinking?
(and why am I rambling? This is what news like this do to me… this is SOME Betty focusing in her career…*sarcastic tone*)
I thought Ugly Betty was starting to pick up after S2 but if they keep introducing these characters and then making them magically disappear when they get bored then the show’s going back down the same route as before. If they want this to actually work and have a real relationship without someone else or a baby getting in the way then hopefully people will like this guy more than others
so betty is getting yet another love interest? WTH?
Ugh… Just when I thought UB was starting to get back to season 1 quality, they throw this at us. Once Jesse disappeared, it really started to get better.
i *hate, & hate* shows just bringing in random characters.. we got great chemistry with what we got!!! I remember when I was a Ally McBeal fan, same thing happened, random people, random guests, and we just never see enough of the regulars… and it’s those regulars that we fell in love in the first place!!!! And com’on… Betty gets all the love action?? Don’t the producers get it? we WANT our regulars, guests should me just that, a GUEST, there to *compliment* the main regular characters.
The producers didn’t just dump Henry and Gio because they didn’t like the actors, characters, or story lines. Christopher Gorham and Freddy Rodriguez decided against uprooting their families and moving to New York. It was a personal decision for both actors, so it’s not like the show’s producers can now force them to come back, just because Hettys and Gettys are upset about some other guy coming along. The producers had to move on, the writers had to move on, so, like it or not, Betty and the Hettys/Gettys have to move on too.
SirLizard, it isn’t just about them. If the UB writers had to get rid of FR and CG, couldn’t they let Betty do what she said she would do, focus on her job? I wouldn’t even mind just Jesse being a mild crush for now, but to bring in ANOTHER potential love interest is beyond us wanting Henry and Gio back– it’s insanity! And typical, and annoying, and tiresome, and boring, and frustrating, and just plain stupid.
Im a Betty/Daniel fan all the way, but I honestly dun have a problem with this guy. As long as he doesnt get in the way of her career. And he’s going to be in YETI as well, so thats another plus. Betty can build up watever relationship she has with this guy and still move forward with her career.
I used to like Henry, but he just got dull and his whole baby-mama story bugged the hell outta me. Then Gio came along and I had hope, BUT Freddy is obviously too busy with movie making and such, so like one of the commenters above me said, the producers of UB cant just force him back. So whether u Getty or Hetty fans like it or not, its not ur decision to make. Im loving season 3 so far, the whole thing with Jesse was fun, but we all knew it was never meant to be. Besides, Im hoping this new guy is just another step to Betty/Daniel happening.
SirLizard, remember we have discussed this topic in many places at the IMDB boards, a former post in UBN and even now in the
Freddy Rodriguez wasn’t in need to move to NYC because he has a house in Chicago and it’s easy for him to transport himself into wherever he has to film. In many interviews he declared the decision for not staying was of the studio and he has been eager to continue with the role. Of course right now he is busy. And, he is a professional he leaves his family whenever he has to. He is going to PR for a while, and probably soon to Bulgaria. I still don’t get what’s the deal about changing home and being unavailable for scheduling. That sounds amateurish. So I insist that’s not the excuse.
And about Henry. We have read an interview (was it around the writer’s strike) of S. Horta saying how the whole Baby drama got out of hands. So I think they spent season 2 trying to bring down the Henry/Betty romance and take down Henry as betty’s boyfriend. It wasn’t improvisation. Horta said also where he wanted to go in the finale of season 2 and we all know what happened: they dismissed both Gio and Henry. My opinion: It was deliberate.
Gorham and Rodriguez had not choice but to continue with their other projects because… they are top notch actors. Not that they only live for Ugly Betty or anything. But I believe they never got any offer to stay in season 3 after all (they planned “no more romantic entanglements).
We still don’t know how much of a “love interest” this guy is going to be for Betty. We still haven’t even seen one scene of them together yet. They haven’t even FILMED one scene of them together yet.
Also, I don’t think that it’s so unrealistic for a young woman to have people come into and go out of her life. Would it be more realistic for her to find the love of her life the first time the producers cast an actor as a love interest? I’m sure there are people in the world who have been lucky enough to get the relationship thing right on the first try, but I think it’s much more realistic to portray a young woman who meets guys who come into her life and then go out of it because of various reasons. I’m not getting into the whole aspect of whether or not it’s realistic for someone who looks like Betty to be attracting the kinds of guys that she’s been getting. That’s for another discussion…
sirlizard- i think you made an interesting yet valid point because with shows like ugly betty and traditional sitcoms, it seems that with regards to romantic element and the potential coming together of boy and girl- in this case, betty and daniel, i suppose it makes some sense that they experience meeting other people and falling in and then out of love with them, and then eventually falling for each other in the end. i think that is the direction this US version is taking, along with others.
For the record, I’m going to be cautious about this. Maybe Matt will be the reverse of Jesse; maybe he’ll be made up super-geeky, and will have an unrequited crush on Betty.
The thing is, we just don’t know very much right now, and Ausiello is throwing out the “love interest” term without much context.
I think miss waiching liu has a pretty good bead on where Horta is taking Betty’s romantic life ultimately.
Whomever Betty ends up with, she’d better not have to become “beautiful” before she finds true love, or I’m going to be one ticked off fan.
tom- i think we’ll know for sure when this show ends, and that can happen with two things:
a) betty gets a make-over
b) (ultimately) her and daniel do get together in the end.
however, i thought one of the main focuses of season 3 was very much on betty’s worklife and career aspirations during and beyond mode with YETI. and so to throw in another potential love interest for betty after her failed relationships with henry, walter, gio and jesse- although one would argue that betty’s infatuation with him went as far as a crush, is well, something else.
whatever the producers’ reasons ( and i think it’s the producers decision NOt to have gorham/rodriguez)
it’s pretty stupid…i am so mad…used to love the show so much and I never rush to it anymore on Thursdays…I MIGHT get around to it on the net during the week if I have extra time.
It would be interesting to hear Horta’s explanation…or maybe her just doesn’t care and wants to do what he wants to do….oooh I am rambling too much.
Anyone notice how many comment are left after some report about Benry/ Getty?
You’d think Horta would get the message…Hello!
Ugh, he even looks like Henry, so we’re getting another Henry. I did not like Henry at lot. =/
skatermom- sirlizard just stated in one of his earlier posts that it wasn’t the writer’s decision to write off freddy and chris- technically speaking, it was THEY themselves who decided against moving to new york, and so that became a factor in the direction season 3 was going to head.
like pan-chan said, i agree with him/her by saying that i too love season 3. i don’t have too many complaints whatsoever. hopefully, the inclusion of this character, even though many of us personally are not interested in, going by the initial impressions, does not affect ugly betty as a show, because i am just loving it so far.
Well that makes me disappointed, I honestly thought that in later seasons Christopher Gorham could come back. But now there is a “new” Henry? Come on–no one can replace the old one.
And he doesn’t look like Henry, aha. But if they give him slicked back hair and glasses, someone better hold me back.
UB has had a great season so far, but I am still left so angered when it comes to the love interest topic.
SirLizard, I agree. Often, it’s not unusual for people to come and go. It’s one of the realities of life. So, I’m not surprised that Betty is going to find another love interest. After all, Silvio did say in a recent Q&A that introducing new people into Betty’s life (like Jesse) was meant to show that things often happen when you least expect them. And that’s absolutely true. It’s natural that she would meet someone through this YETI program.
That being said, however, I hope the writers continue on that theme of keeping Betty’s lovelife on the backburner while keeping the focus on her more professional endeavors. I mean, she can date someone, but as long as it doesn’t turn into a repeat of last season’s romance debacle taking center stage, then I’m okay with it.
Besides…I’d like to know what his big secret is.
Beatrice B, thanks for that information. I didn’t realize that Freddy Rodriguez was willing to stay with the show, even after the move. I hadn’t read that anywhere, so it’s good for me to know. As much as I loved Henry, the whole baby-mama drama was a very difficult story line for him to emerge from unscathed. I don’t know how many more things the writers could have done to keep the relationship interesting. Personally, I don’t want to see Betty with any steady long-term boyfriends until the final season (whenever that will be).
“sirlizard just stated in one of his earlier posts that it wasn’t the writer’s decision to write off freddy and chris- technically speaking, it was THEY themselves who decided against moving to new york, and so that became a factor in the direction season 3 was going to head. ”
Okay now, Liu. Please, please… don’t make me go against SirLizard (Tony) statement because I always valued his post. And I always thought of him as an unbiased journalist. But can someone please let me know (because I’m tired of the posts that say that Gorham and Rodriguez were the ones that decided to leave the show), please, where are the article, interviews or recordings that say that Horta had to change the whole focus of season 3 because those actors didn’t want to move to New York City? I’m asking because neither of the fans of either actors seem to have them…
Instead of that we have declarations of Horta talking about a “new direction on the show” and saying about a new focus in season 3. If it wasn’t the writer’s decision then it was the producer’s decision. Whatever… blame Horta.
Is it me or I’ve been encountering this same information on ABC, Ausiello files and in, like three other uglybettynews posts? Why aren’t we comunicating?
Oh Sorry Sir. Lizard by the time I posted that info your comment hadn’t been accepted in the boards yet. So, Tom you can pretty much delete the post above this one.
“But can someone please let me know (because I’m tired of the posts that say that Gorham and Rodriguez were the ones that decided to leave the show), please, where are the article, interviews or recordings that say that Horta had to change the whole focus of season 3 because those actors didn’t want to move to New York City? I’m asking because neither of the fans of either actors seem to have them…Is it me or I’ve been encountering this same information on ABC, Ausiello files and in, like three other uglybettynews posts? Why aren’t we comunicating?”
I understand what you’re feeling. Actually, this reminds me of how people keep saying that Eric and America hate, dislike, protest, etc. the idea of Daniel and Betty as a couple…and there’s no conclusive evidence to back that up. Frankly, I’m tired of seeing some people push that rumor as fact, especially since it hasn’t been proven by either of the actors or even the producers/writers. (And no – Michael Ausiello’s word hardly serves as hard evidence.)
Oh thanks for understanding Annie. And , hehe, Nope. No “people”… Actually, that would be ME.
Yep, I am mostly the one who had posted several times about Eric and America saying they don’t want Detty romance based in an old Ausiello gossip. I guess I should learn my lesson, thanks for reminding me. Being at peace, and to be fair I think I’ll stop stating gossip as a fact (after all I musn’t trust only one source of information) and you are right, Michael Ausiello can’t be refereed as evidence.
‘Okay now, Liu. Please, please… don’t make me go against SirLizard (Tony) statement because I always valued his post. And I always thought of him as an unbiased journalist.’
oh beatrice, that’s ok. you are entitled to your opinions. i know it is the holiday season now, but i’ll try to dig up some articles which mention that horta decided to opt for a different direction in season 3, because the actors didn’t want to relocate to new york.
I want Gio back!!!! I won’t be satisfied until Gio and Betty consummate their relationship, LOL.
“I won’t be satisfied until Gio and Betty consummate their relationship, LOL.”
Hmm. In that case, you might want to stick to fan fiction then. XD
BTW, weren’t you the one in the other thread who said that it would be great to have a guest star turn into a recurring character?
This season seems to be more about Betty’s love interest than season 2. At least Gio and Henry built a huge fanbase. Now they are just throwing baits to see if old fans fall for the new guys.
So much word, Salma! Totally agree with you. I don’t know what the writers of Ugly Betty were thinking this season. Seriously.
“Salma Hayek”…LOL. O-kay.
I never get tired of saying this, so let me say this again: Get. Over. It. Gosh, even during the hiatus, some of you are still complaining about Gio and Henry? Lame. I thought some of you people said you were going to stop watching the show or something. Put yourself out of your misery and just quit already, LOL.
Gee, man, Deb. Everytime I hear “you people”… Who are exactly “these people”? Getty people? You are right, some Getty Girls I know, stopped watching some are still watching, some are hopeful. We come from very different places of the world. Some aren’t even Getty Girls/Guys.
I am flattered when someone points at an individual that shows pro-Gio or pro-Henry tendencies as a member of a single homogeneous mass. Cool! but no.
Well, not just because I am still hopeful and part of the gang, but it is somewhat admirable (not exactly “lame”) that there are still people out there wishing for Gio to return. It means that the impact of the character was so strong that still fuels the interest of the fans.
By the way, nice Salma Hayek fan-blog you are keeping there, Salma. Looks cool.
“Gee, man, Deb. Everytime I hear “you people”… Who are exactly “these people”? Getty people?”
LOL, being sensitive, are we? Well, I guess I don’t blame you for getting defensive.
In any case, no – I was referring to overly-critical UB haters, in general, not just “your people”. Although it is true: Frankly, I think a few Getties tend to complain and antagonize a lot. Although honestly, I remember a few Hetties/Benries/whatever who were like that, too. And then there are some who just hate the show in general, so your group isn’t really alone. Not surprisingly, some people are going to bitch/complain no matter what.
You can’t make everyone happy, see?
Anyway, yeah – maybe Gio might return in the future. He could come on in a one-episode guest spot where he bumps into Betty accidentally, and as a friend, tells Betty that he now genuinely understands that she belongs with someone else – like Matt…or maybe Daniel(?). That might be an interesting way to tie him into the current storyline, IMO.
Oh I AM sensitive. Being latina and from a tropical island, it’s like part of my nature, I think…
Oh no, really. One thing is not to make “everyone” happy but to make “majority” unhappy its another thing. Detties/Benries/Getties and other shippers as public in general (Alexis, Cliff, etc).
I, wouldn’t like them to spend money hiring Freddy Rodriguez for a ridiculous chapter and to make him have a love talk with her … no. I would love sparks, war and I would love to see him joking about her carreer or a special asignment, Help her grow, teach viewers a lesson or two about life. Not just doing silly things or being unsupportive, like Matt. I’d rather see him hanging around with Daniel.
Tie him “Current storiline”?…no, gosh, there’s not even any. I don’t even notice there is much Yeti anymore.
“One thing is not to make “everyone” happy but to make “majority” unhappy its another thing.”
Looks to me like the ‘majority’ isn’t unhappy. Just a few ’shipping’ folks like yourself seem unhappy, and even then, it’s not ALL or even most shippers. There are only some vocal ones who are complaining/bitching/moaning. But for the most part, many others have moved on.
“I, wouldn’t like them to spend money hiring Freddy Rodriguez for a ridiculous chapter and to make him have a love talk with her … no.”
Well, you assume that this is all they’d be doing. However, what I meant in my scenario is that he could inadvertently end up spending an episode (or part of an episode) helping her out with something – almost like ‘Betty Suarez Land’ – but then he’d realize something else along the way: He and Betty really are better off as friends, which is something he was too hard-headed to realize before.
Also, considering how the story has moved on since Season 2, it wouldn’t make sense to bring Gio back to ‘help her grow’, especially since he hasn’t been around in the interim. He’s no longer familiar with her or her life, so it would be out of place for him to suddenly pop up and act like a chummy best friend dishing out ‘life’ advice. In fact, at this point, he would be out of place interacting with anyone else in the Mode crew since he hasn’t been around at all.
“Tie him “Current storiline”?…no, gosh, there’s not even any. I don’t even notice there is much Yeti anymore.”
Yeah, there is, but I think you’re choosing to ignore that there is one of any kind. And YETI is hardly gone. The spoilers certainly indicate that the YETI concept is still around.