Ugly Betty Now Alone on ABC Renewal Bubble
March 4, 2009 by Tom
If you’ve followed Ugly Betty News for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of TV industry blog TV By The Numbers, especially their statistics-crunching Renew/Cancel Index. As with any fan of Ugly Betty, I watch the ratings quite carefully . For most of this season, Ugly Betty has been “on the bubble” in the R/C index, meaning renewal or cancellation for next season could go either way.
With the cancellation of Life On Mars, Ugly Betty now stands alone on the bubble for ABC renewal. You could look at this as a bad thing, but I don’t. ABC has already cancelled Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Life On Mars, and According To Jim, Scrubs (maybe), and Boston Legal are all in their final seasons.
That only leaves six scripted shows set to come back next season: Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Brothers and Sisters, Private Practice, and Samantha Who? I think this gives Ugly Betty a fighting chance. I just don’t see them doing a complete network overhaul – they aren’t NBC.
As much as we’d like to believe that Ugly Betty’s renewal is certain, its fate will rest on the success or failure of ABC’s spring pilots. This is a good thing, too, because I really don’t have much faith in In The Motherhood. The promos look like the show might be a little funny, but it also looks like it may be just a little too snarky and annoying to catch on with the Ugly Betty demographic.
I hate to be hoping for shows to fail, but regardless of what we’re being told, I think Betty’s fate comes down to just that. So, Ugly Betty fans – don’t watch any new ABC shows this spring! 
Image: Bauer-Griffin
I wont watch any other ABC show! Ugly Betty has to survive this, it can’t be canceled, I’ve been watching Ugly Betty since 2006, I don’t want it to end!! BTW, I love this website, thanks for all the news!
WHAT,Ugly Betty cant be get cancelled and America Ferrera is excelled,great and brilliant actress on Ugly Betty.I not really watch ABC show alots.DONT NOT CANCELLED MY SHOW PLEASE.LET STAY UGLY BETTY ON ABC PLEASE.
i live in the UK and watch season 3 online, as it still hasn’t aired yet. but i urge every UB fan in the US NOT to watch any of its replacement shows, for as long as until UB returns. i have enjoyed season 3 so far despite news of the decline in figures and numbers of fans tuning in.
this show CANNOT get cancelled.
i’d also add further if UB’s fate hangs in the balance, and its hands rest on the replacement shows, why did michael urie post on his blog a few weeks ago that the show IS NOT getting cancelled? in response to internet reports that it was going to get the axe after season 3? wasn’t there a discrepency in that? or was it just a way to aleviate panic and worry amongst us fans?
Miss waiching liu thats what I thought. He seemed confident that everything was okay(but then he is an actor). I’m in the UK so I can’t help by avoiding other shows but I really hope this doesnt get cancelled.
I’m definitely playing devil’s advocate here, but I for one, am NOT optimistic about Ugly Betty staying on air. It seems to me like they’ve lost the magic and even though they keep trying, they can’t get it back…
Season 1 was wonderful-Betty was a relatively mature, if overly naive, young adult seeking entrance to a cut-throat business. She managed to hang on by the seat of her pants, and even wound up saving the day on a couple of occasions….but she still never really fit in.
Season 2 was still very well written, even if you were not a fan of the romance angles. She found the ‘perfect’ boyfriend, only to find he wasn’t actually so perfect, and faced temptation in the form of another guy, someone closer to her own background. Every episode was interesting and fun to watch because Betty still wasn’t part of the ‘In’ crowd but she was persevering and not giving up. She was growing into her position as an unfashionable person in a rapidly changing fashion-dominant world.
Season 3, by contrast, has been completely inconsistent. They’ve gotten rid of a lot of the characters we all loved and have given unlikely/unappealing storylines to those that remain. In their effort to ‘make Betty grow up’, they’ve turned her color blind, given her girlish crushes (which is more high-school like to me than anything else) and made her more than a little abrupt (i.e., rude) to those who would try to help her sometimes.
It seems to me that the problem is that she’s been more or less accepted into her environment, the antithesis of the premise of the show, and no matter how hideously they dress her, it isn’t enough to bring the show back to the appeal of Season 1 or 2. For the most part, the episodes have been erratic, with a very good one thrown in with 2 or 3 semi-ok or just plain not good ones altogether. I know its not enough to keep my interest piqued anymore and keep me running to my television every Thursday.
With the post you made, Junamrsgrl, it doesn’t sound like a matter of optimism/pessimism. In fact, it sounds as if you’re making arguments as to why the show SHOULD be canceled. -tsk, tsk, tsk-
Junamrsgrl- going by what i’ve read, it sounds as if you are speaking on behalf of all of us when you’re not. if you are unhappy with the show’s direction in season 3, then why are you continuing to watch it and still moaning about it at the same time? plus, i am getting the impression that you want this show to get cancelled.
‘Season 2 was still very well written, even if you were not a fan of the romance angles.’– sorry but if you go on the ugly betty live journal community for example, the general consensus is that they thought that season 2 was a dissapointment.
‘They’ve gotten rid of a lot of the characters we all loved and have given unlikely/unappealing storylines to those that remain.’- here you are implying that everyone who watches UB does so because of the gio/henry storyline. i had no interest in that whatsoever, and still season 2 did nothing for me. in fact, i rarely watch it because it wasn’t as good as, or as funny as the first season.
but like i said- to all those still b*tching and complaining about season 3. you don’t like it then don’t continue watching it. it’s not like anyone is forcing you to do so.
Hey Tom
Now, I have no comment about UB but I wanted to say that Scrubs is not being cancelled. It’s just been moved to ABC so that they can have a proper final season and a finale. It was planned from the start not a cancelling. (but then it comes down to how you define the word
)
As for UB, I’m gonna go on and agree with Junamrsgrl here. The show should be cancelled. I’m not gonna aruge about it. Anyone who doesn’t understand why I think it should be cancelled, go and watch some season 1 and early season 2 episodes. Hell, even post-strike episodes were better than season 3. I really can’t understand how you guys don’t see how bad the quality of the show’s writting is becoming. Only Filling for the enemy, Betty Suarez land and Yetti were good. The rest is barely watchable.
Sorry, but I can’t take any more. I keep hopin that the show will get better but every time i try watching, I rarely make it halfway.
Ok, I realise I started by saying I had no comment on UB then went on and on complaining about it. My bad
‘quote’: tomatish- Anyone who doesn’t understand why I think it should be cancelled, go and watch some season 1 and early season 2 episodes.
1) i have watched a lot of season 1 and it is still awesome
2) i have also watched season 2 but i for one didn’t enjoy it. you are mistaken if you thought that everyone that tuned in did so because of the betty/henry and gio storyline. i watch this show for marc and amanda, as well as the likes of daniel, christina and willie. i didn’t care much for the gio/betty/henry plot and i got sick of the fact that that storyline overshadowed everyone elses, not mention those characters that as a result they got dumbed down and were sidelined because of it.
you are entitled to your opinions but thankfully, there are those like myself who are clearly enjoying season 3 and of whom don’t really care what the likes of those doubters think.
Wait a minute…Tomatish, aren’t you one of those die-hard Gio fans from the ABC board that used to post there before? If you are (and I doubt I’m mistaken about that), then I don’t think I can put too much stock in your opinion/reasoning. It sounds to me as if you’re trying to mask your real reasons for hating Season 3 and UB: You’re still very bitter about Gio not being around…and I really think he’s the only thing you care about when it comes to this show.
Firstly, Deb: I’ve re-read my original post, and I don’t really see how you’re pulling that I *want* or think the show *should be* canceled from it..I was merely expressing my opinion about the quality level I perceive the show to have(had) through its seasons. Besides, the point is moot anyway, since I preemptively posted before reading Tom’s next 2 posts, confirming renewal of the show. My mistake. Probably should have just kept my mouth shut, since everyone here seems to get so automatically touchy about other people’s opinions. The show getting renewed doesn’t automatically make it worth watching in my opinion, and I stand by what I said. I hope that they can pull it together for the rest of the season and for the next. If/when they do, I guarantee UB will have #1 on my Thursday night again. But I’m not holding my breath.
Secondly, I did not mean to start up a flame war. God help us all if thats what this turns into. I am definitely a die-hard Gio fan, in Tomatish’s defense, but I think I did a pretty good job of keeping my bias about his presence or lack thereof out of my original post, and that is because there were definitely other good things about Season 2. I did not mean to imply that Betty’s relationships were the only things that happened or were worth watching. I feel that its slightly closed minded and a little unfair for others to accuse Tomatish of being bitter and having irrelevant opinions based on some notion that has been picked up from posting on other boards. Both of us are very loyal fans of Gio, and by extension, Freddy Rodriguez, yet he was mentioned only peripherally in my original post and not at all by Tomatish. And people wonder how these shipping wars get started?
Also, Miss liu, I think Tomatish was trying to say that Season 1 was good in comparison to the current season, not put it down.
I only occasionally enjoy the show this year. Based upon the ratings, I would say I am far from alone. I’m glad the show still has devoted fans who will stand by it no matter what, but I am on the verge of giving up watching. If some of you continue to enjoy it and keep it on the air, it gives it a chance to become enjoyable to me again, so I’m not going to fight with you.
Tomatish said: “The show should be cancelled. I’m not gonna aruge about it. Anyone who doesn’t understand why I think it should be cancelled, go and watch some season 1 and early season 2 episodes. Hell, even post-strike episodes were better than season 3. I really can’t understand how you guys don’t see how bad the quality of the show’s writting is becoming. Only Filling for the enemy, Betty Suarez land and Yetti were good.”
Are you kidding me?! Frankly, I feel as if the post-strike episodes of Season 2 were some of the crappier episodes of that season! I know why, though: The writers were trying to find a quick way to wrap up that Henry/Betty/Gio triangle crap before Season 3 came along – and rightfully so. If anything, the pre-strike episodes of Season 2 were much better and more interesting, except for a few here and there (e.g., “A League of Their Own” and “A Thousand Words by Friday” come to mind).
As for Season 3, I think we’ve seen several fine episodes so far. Some of my favorites took place during November Sweeps: “Crush’d”, “Tornado Girl”, “When Betty Met YETI”. I also enjoyed “Filing for the Enemy” and “Crimes of Fashion”, as well. And recently, I added “There’s No Place Like Mode” to my list. (In fact, I have yet to be disappointed by a UB Fashion Week episode. They’ve all been very good.)
By and large, I love Season 3 so far. There are some things I could have done without, of course – like this Daniel/Molly/Connor/Wilhelmina love square. And to be honest, I’m still not big on Daniel moping about over Molly or any of that. But still, this show is great overall. In fact, I still think that it’s one of the better shows that ABC has on nowadays. (No offense, but I can’t see why people would be more hooked on stupid shows like “Private Practice” and “Grey’s Anatomy”, which are definitely more soapy and silly.)
So, all in all, I’m going to be here watching this show until the series finale – which I’m hoping to God won’t happen until at least two more seasons have passed. After all, UB should close with a proper, happy ending. I want everything to fall into place for our main characters somehow (especially Betty), without it being rushed.
As much as you all are devoted to you points of view, you are missing the bigger picture: Ugly Betty has lost MANY viewers – even since the end of season 2, which some of you decry as the worst UB ever. It clearly does not have the appeal it once did. Everyone can fight over which episodes they thought were best but the bottom line is they could produce the best Ugly Betty episode ever and if it gets 3 million viewers, it’s gone. It’s a matter of economics. You can also attack the people who liked Henry and Gio, but that is somewhat pointless and, I believe, the fact that they alienated those loyal viewers is a big part of the decline in ratings. Whether or not you agree with this, you are dealing with it, in the form of low ratings and possible cancellation, if not this year then next year.
Off course you’d turn every thing I said and make it all about Gio eventhough I didn’t even mention him in my comment.
How about this? Right now, I wish Henry would come back and stay of the show for ever if that granted that the show would regain the originality and great quality it used to have is Season 1 (Yes that means I think Season one is the best season of UB, how did you not get that from my previous comment?).
Yes, I was mad about Gio leaving the show, but now I’m grateful he did, cause I wouldn’t want to see him get involved in storyline that just go in circles without any real progress.
And yes, the post-strike episodes were rushed, but that was because of the lack of time. Now, the writer have all the time they need and they still rush the good story lines, prolong the stupid ones and make no time for the crazy UB moments and funny lines. The Wili comeback moment from The kids are alright alone is better than any of the recent episodes.