***URGENT*** ABC Benches Ugly Betty
January 26, 2009 by Tom
This is sad news indeed. ABC has announced a scheduling “tweak” for Thursday nights, in which it is benching Ugly Betty and replacing it with episodes of Samantha Who? and the new Megan Mullally-Cheryl Hines comedy In the Motherhood, beginning March 26.
According to ABC’s release, “Ugly Betty will return to Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. following the run of In the Motherhood and Samantha Who?“. Our friend Ausiello has done the math and concludes, “…that puts Betty’s return (provided Sam Who/Motherhood don’t tank) sometime around (gulp) June — a.k.a. outside the regular season.”
Huh? This sounds a little too much like “We aren’t breaking up, I just want to see other people.”
I had been quite worried about this. Betty’s numbers have been ever-so-slightly declining steadily since the pilot. Cumulatively, that has added up to quite a drop. Episode 3.12 came in third, losing to a rerun of NCIS. That probably sealed the deal for ABC.
I hope ABC is true to its word, and Ugly Betty comes back to finish out its season. Barring a miracle, that probably makes a season 4 renewal seem much less possible.
What can we Ugly Betty fans do? It’s a little too early to start a letter writing campaign, but certainly it wouldn’t hurt to let ABC know how we feel about this.
Image: Copyright © 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./ PATRICK HARBRON
NO EPISODE NEXT THURSDAY?! i will cry
i will cry
i will definitely
CRY Whyyyyyyyy =/ What the hellz am I going to do with myself on thursdays now? i get so excited…. I make everyone leave me alone for a whole hour so I have no interruptions what-so-ever during my favorite television show.
Did I mention I will cry?
UB, by my calculations, at least the next 2 episodes should still air. (This coming Thursday was scheduled to be a rerun anyway. Why, I have no idea).
Thaaaaaank God.
I hope that they come back. but i also hope that they give the people what they want or if it is to be canceled, have a series finale with our fav people. GIO *coughs*
We just have to hope Sam Who and this new show do poorly. If they tank, Betty will look good.
ugly betty needs to have a fourth season and on. no matter if the ratings arent perfect, canceling this show would be a MAJOR disappointment to tons of people. people dont just look to this as a show its more of a family where they come on line to sites like this.. it would be a major disapointment
I loved the show as much as the next person, but seriously, it’s been prettttttty bad.
If it does go, I hope they have Gio come back and all the people we learned to love… but come on, what’s happening to this show?!
Did you see the post on Perez of America smoking? I’m hoping that’s not a cig, but I’m pretty sure it is. This day isn’t getting any better. That’s probably why she’s losing so much weight… stress…and cigarettes. I’m kind of let-down. Not that you’re a bad person if you smoke… I just always saw her differently I guess. Still love her, wish her the best.
Instead of benching the show, they should have at least done an intervention and give this show what it needs–remove Silvio Horta.
With Selma Hayek taking a back seat on the show, he’s allowed Betty to become a cartoon too difficult to relate to and very difficult to like. The storylines are recycled time and time again (Daniel loving and losing) and characters are kicked to the side for stupid reasons.
This show needs some major overhauling or this is the foreshadowing of their demise.
How come? I just can’t believe it… I wish UB will come back as soon as possible…
people do not turn your tv on thursdays until ugly betty is back. Boycott all abc shows. This type of behavior is unacceptable. Ugly Betty is the only abc show I watch anyways since they cancelled Eli Stone!
OMG! I just read that the show was being canceled on ABC’s Ugly Betty message board and came straight here because I knew you’d have more information. I can’t believe it! I think Ugly Betty is one of the best shows on television and it’s a shame more people can’t see that. I think the show will be canceled. If UB can’t do well in the ratings race now, how can it recover after being off the air for 4 months? Even Lost never recovered with all of the scheduling changes. This is so incredibly sad. I hope the producers at least give the fans a proper good-bye send off. Or even a better idea would be to pay Freddy Rodriguez enough to come back. I bet that would improve ratings. It seems like UB never recovered from Season 2 which wasn’t that great (except for Gio) and the first episode of Season 3 was the worst episode ever, imo.
Okay, surely many people won’t agree with me, but I’ll take the heat. I’ve been a fan of this show from halfway through season one. I chose this show instead of my every faithful Smallville that I watched forever and a half before. I fell in love with season one, and yes I understand. Betty’s growing up ‘in the big city, making grown up choices.’ etc. etc. etc. So, I guess I miss a bit of the innocence and sweet and endearing Betty. Sure we see her naivety about every week it seems. She can’t catch a break, from what I’ve watched this season, that is. I think I’ve watched 10 of the 12 episodes and I can’t really say I’m that impressed. And this is were I think people will think I’m wrong but oh well, I’m expressing my opinion.
While I have loved the new back drops and the new look and feel of Ugly Betty, I honestly think the move to NYC was one of the biggest mistakes, along with dropping more than half of their executive producers, and a slew of the original writers. If I can remember correctly over 300 people were laid off from their positions from this show, and what good has it done?
Sure the move makes it real, and they get to be surrounded by fashion, and live in the city, but what else? Because the production cost was lessened, they had to take a perfectly good show and make it crap. The creativity of storylines has dwindled and seems repetitive. Betty tries, she fails, makes bad choices, repeat. And, I know last season was full of drama and sometimes wishy-washy storylines, and a little bit of caddyness, but it was comical too.
As much as I love Becki Newton and Michael Urie, the dynamic duo, and I mean no disrespect, but they haven’t had much to do this season, especially Becki. I really love Michael’s current storyline though.
Back to season two, I know people were really sick of the ever apparent ‘love triangle’ but Silvio could have done some great things with those two characters he sent flying out the window. [This is my moment to vent]. Yes, God forbid, I am/was all for Henry/Betty. I fully believed Christopher Gorham was going to be around for season 3 from interviews I’ve seen and read from last year. And that the move had everything to do with the demise of his character, which just came down crashing and burning. Maybe, I’m naive, or gullible, but to believe someone that was such a huge part of her life for a good year or so gets written out forever because ’she can’t marry him right now’ is undermining to the character and fans. Heck, I even started warming up to the idea of Gio and they sent him off running too.
Both Gio and Henry could have had other storylines that could have fit into this season with ease. However, both CG and FR have found other work to uphold and honestly, I’m glad for them.
I’ll try to continue as best as I can with Ugly Betty, but it’s seriously lacking that ‘heart’ I kept hearing so much about that Silvio said WAS lost. I don’t think they’ve found it yet. Anywhow, end rant.
this is absurd! such a nightmare! well i wish i’m only having a bad dream. This can’t be true. UB will be shelf for how long? 2 or more months? when followers have already gotten off the UB craze? Whats wrong with ABC people? Just based on demographics last season even had lesser audience share the last few months has 3.5 million viewers and it went up to 7 this month that isn’t bad!
This is really unfortunate news. As much as I hate the idea of them pushing back the show, I hope it is just temporary and that they will bring it back. Maybe the time between now and then will help the writers and producers work out what they want to do and will produce more ideas because at the moment they seem to be writing themselves into a corner. I really hope the show comes back
I am too mad to speak properly.
We knew we saw something coming but not this. So this confirms they don’t know what they are doing. This confirms they are just testing and not actually listening to fans and what they want… thus dropping on ratings ending in this stupid “hold on” decision. This is just ANOTHER bad news to add to the inventory… (they’ve been coming non-stop since early summer last year)
I agree with Dani (except that I lean more for the Gio Rossi / Freddy Rodriguez side) but it’s true… they took for granted the characters/actors fans loved, they dismissed all the fun, drama and romance they had been building last season, they re-invented the show but made one too many wrong decisions. But we fans waited and waited in the hope that Horta and his people knew what they were doing. And this is the result? This are Chronicles of a death foretold… and though we suspect the outcome… I am still hating it.
Let’s hope this is just a financial decision and nothing final. But I am expecting the worse.
What can we fans do? Well, I am used to writing letters to UB-ABC from time to time. Don’t know if they read that stuff… But I don’t mind writing a few more. Tom, do you have any special mailing addresses besides the ones on ABC UB site?
Pulling the sleeve of Silvio Horta, or whosoever has the last stand with this, why would you let 7 million faithful viewers be disappointed and wait in vain? If ABC people cares only for the ratings and revenues and i think there’s still a lot of networks around. I don’t think it’ll be a problem to surf channels wouldn’t it?
i was devastated to learn of this news- i get the feeling from ABC that they don’t care about ugly betty anymore. and i for one am loving season 3’s storylines, well most of them. the only one i don’t care for are molly and daniel but c’mon, this show isn’t doing as bad as people make out to be.
frankly, i choose to ignore most of the criticism of season 3 because i love it myself and think it is a massive improvement over season 2, which whilst the viewing figures have been bigger than season 3, i thought it was mainly boring and not as interesting as seasons 3 and 1.
if the worst does happen, then i wouldn’t hestitate for a minute to sign a petition and get it back on air.
PLEASE DONT GET CANCELLED THIS SHOW,PLEASE.
I love watch America Ferrera on Ugly Betty,cuz she is very great and talented actress.I will pray for Ugly Betty stay show on ABC.
I agree with slaterfan, why don’t they just move to a different network. A couple of shows has done that. If ABC doesnt care for us Fans then might as well switch channels! I love Vanessa Williams and I just couldn’t imagine how it’s like without looking forward to Wilhelmina antics, just the thought of it drives me crazy! Oh, I hate you ABC @#$%^&!
yuri-enzo and slater fan- you both the nail on the head. if this is how ABC wants to treat this shows and its fans, then it doesn’t deserve to hold the rights to ugly betty. i think we should stop watching its shows for the time being, apart from ugly betty, and see how that network fares because i am pretty sure that without ugly betty on air, ABC will struggle and lose out even more than it has done this season.
This news is DEVASTING! UB is part of my life now!! It has taught me to be who I am and not care about what other people think of me! And also it has inspired me to write fanfiction!! Please, please bring back Betty ABC! Don’t completely get rid of it!!
Bring back Henry and I’ll start watching again
The show is so dull now.
spark- i don’t think that will happen given that chirs gorham has signed up to star in CBS’s harper’s island on a full-time basis. here’s the link:
http://harpersisland.tv/
I am from Singapore. I am a HUGE Ugly Betty fan. That’s the one thing that I look forward to after a hard week at work. PLEASE!!!! PLEASE!!! DO NOT CANCEL Ugly Betty!! I love the show and so do million others. It may not be the best performing show but I doubt it’s the worst. Come on ABC. Give Betty a chance. Sure it may have falter in its plot lines but so do in any other show. It is not easy to keep up. It has done a great job. It’s fun, funny, topical and has lots of heart. Its pure escapism from the usual hospital-cop-courtroom dramas or worst still the reality shows. C’mon! Betty has alot of potential to grow even better. She connects not just with the United States viewers but the with the rest of the world.