Ugly Betty Gets (Only) 2 Emmy Nominations!
July 16, 2009 by Tom
The Emmy nominations came out today, and they weren’t too kind to Ugly Betty. I’ll say it right now: this wasn’t totally unexpected.
First, the good news. Vanessa Williams was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She has been nominated in this category for each of Ugly Betty’s 3 seasons. Maybe the third time will be a charm for her.
"I’m thrilled and honored to be nominated again this year," Williams told Insider. "I love my show and my character, Wilhelmina, and this recognition is truly icing on the cake."
Nominated alongside Vanessa in the Supporting actress category are Kristin Chenoweth, Amy Poehler (SNL), Kristin Wiig (SNL),Jane Krakowski, and Elizabeth Perkins. All deserving, I’ll admit. I think Williams has a better than average chance of finally snagging the award, but that could just be me being a homer. Nevertheless, I think this year is her biggest chance.
The other nod for Ugly Betty from the Academy was for costume design, which I know is just going to delight some of you 
. Say what you want about Pat Field’s designs this year: yeah, many times they were weird, most of the time unrealistic, but they stood out, they caught the eye, and you knew when you saw them you weren’t seeing some run-of-the-mill sitcom. Yes, Ugly Betty deserves this one, although Pushing Daisies and Mad Men will give the show a run for its money.
Read about the bad stuff, after the jump.
Now for the elephant in the room. No, America Ferrera was not nominated as Best Actress. I’m mostly in shock, because since the show’s debut, Ferrera has never NOT been nominated for any major comedy acting awards. And, I thought she was just as good, if not better, in season 3 than season 2. However, Sarah Silverman’s nomination effectively knocked Ferrera out.
I had high hopes for Michael Urie, Ana Ortiz, even (as a longshot) Eric Mabius in the supporting categories. Alas.
The snubs that most surprise me the most are…art direction, makeup, cinematography, hair. Ugly Betty is STILL the most beautiful show on television. And they did it all in a new city in season 3. I’m flabbergasted at those snubs.
And the more I think about it – didn’t Bernadette Peters deserve a nomination for Guest Actress on a Comedy Series? Yes, Tina Fey deserves to win this category (she singlehandedly brought SNL back from the dead with her portrayal of Sarah Palin), but Peters was outstanding in Ugly Betty. Had she guested on 30 Rock, I would bet she’d have been nominated 
Is it just me, or do many of the nominations, which you can find here, signal the further decline of broadcast scripted shows? Cable and animation, that’s the future, apparently. Unless you’re 30 Rock, of course. (No sour grapes from me this year, I promise!)
Anyway, congratulations Vanessa Williams, and Pat Field’s costume team!
Image: Bauer-Griffin
well, personally speaking i am dissapointed. however, i think that- and this is just my personal opinion ok so you don’t have to agree with it- but i have a suspicion that the lack of nominations for UB at the emmys is as a result of a mixed reception season 3 has received by both fans and critics that the emmy judges decided this is how it should be. and that those who have criticised the direction of last season, well, they got their wish didn’t they?
being one of the very few fans of season 3, i can understand some of the criticism is justified, but likewise, for me, the things i disliked in season 2 were thankfully, not replicated in season 3, and thus i enjoyed it more.
i am gutted slightly that michael urie didn’t get a nod- although at least the teen choice awards have been much kinder to him than the emmy folk, anyway. judging by his two nominations this year, and thus in total he has three- if you include last year’s best actor in tv comedy-or whatever that was called. which is great. i love his chracter and michael was outstanding in season 3 as marc and moreso than he was in season 2.
as for america ferrera’s snub, well the writers did make a mockery of her character last season, as she regressed a lot. america’s a fantastic actress- such a shame the writers direction for betty- which started well in the beginning of season 3- later descended into a farce. alas, betty moving back home and of her being more naive than she was when the show first started. and so in a way, though i am surprised at her exclusion, when you take into consideration the mess the writers made of her character, then it kind of makes sense really.
Against Kristin Wiig, Amy Poehler, and others? Hate to say it, but I think Williams won’t get it. I think she definitely deserves it, but I bet (and hope) Wiig will get it. She was just crazy good this year.
Maybe UB has a chance for costumes! I can’t think of any other show that requires such elaborate/noticeable costumes. Fingers crossed!
(Oh wait, costuming against Mad Men? Uh oh…)
I’m happy for Vanessa and Patricia/Pat but…
MICHAEL URIE WAS ROBBED.
Congrats to Vanessa and Patricia!!!
Michael Urie definitely should have been nominated =(
If anyone is curious, Pat’s nomination was for the “In the Stars” episode. I don’t know what episode Vanessa submitted, but if anyone finds out please let me know! =)
Congrats to Vanessa. She is always amazing as Wilhelmina. I really really really wanted Michael Urie to get a nomination this year. He was OUTSTANDING this season. Man! this is so sad.
It-s a shame they are nominating Patricia fields, though. It means she will still be in charge of the costumes next season. I can’t believe we have to put up with all that new wacky turn on the clothes in this show just because they wanted to be crazy enough to get a nomination. Well… if it helps the ratings somehow.
Yes, there is more Ugly Betty News today:
http://tvguidemagazine.com/kecks-exclusives/bettys-musical-is-back-on-1717.html
Funny I just watched the episode ‘In the Stars” which Pat Fields got nominated for and I have to say she deserved it. Besides the bright colors and stylish designs outfitted on the cast, there were some outstanding costumes featured in the episode such as the ‘black’ model who married off Daniel and Molly and the alien who Wilhelmina pushed to the side in her fury. It was all very well done.
Congrats the Vanessa. I hope she submits the episode where she sells off her clothes to raise money to keep mode afloat. She is vain, funny and you emphasize with her. Another great episode is when Conner stole the money and left. Very emotional and dramatic, but light on the comedy.
I am very annoyed about the over-awarding of 30 rock. The show isn’t that funny and it is very over-rated. I prefer Better Off Ted, which doesn’t take itself too seriously. I hate 30 rock parading of guest stars, Oprah I mean Jennifer Aniston nominated for an emmy for such a lackluster performance!
I fear emmy voters would just be ticking off the names on the ballots they are familiar with and of course expect 30 rock to sweep.
I was thrilled with the nominations being so out of the box this year. I thought it was a signal that we would start getting more realistic nods. Who knows, maybe they’ll finally start nominating good CW shows…when they get Emmy-worthy ones again.
Anyway, I was also kind of glad AF didn’t get a nod either. Her performance has become more and more cartoonish and grating with each new season, especially in S2. I think she’s so focused on what she thinks “Betty” is supposed to be that she has forgotten that the character should still be an average woman.
Furthermore, if this isn’t a wakeup call to the show, I don’t know what is.
I wonder if the people who are mad with the 30 Rock sweep have watched the show or not. I have and I think they deserve it. Maybe not quite as many, but if there was a show that deserved 22 noms, I think it would be 30 Rock (over The Office, Ugly Betty, and other comedies I watch). That being said, it seemed like an “eh” year for all 3 of those shows.
30 Rock is a great show, but Ugly Betty was really overlooked. For example,the fact that 30 Rock got a nomination for cinematography and Ugly Betty didn’t is just ridiculous! Twenty-Two nominations for 30 Rock is overkill. And also a total of 5 nominations out of 12 for guest actors in a Comedy series went to 30 Rock(and Bernadette Peters’ amazing performance was not nominated.)
However, it does go to show how wonderful Vanessa Williams was this sseason. Even though Ugly Betty fell (majorly) under the radar, Vanessa was still shining brightly enough to be recognized. Even though she has some tough competition (I think all of the nonimees are great), I really believe Vanessa will win. Kristen Wiig and Jane Krakowski always give me a good laugh, but to me they are not nearly as brilliant as Vanessa.
I also think it will help that Wilhelmina’s character is very different the others. The other characters are either goofy or somewhat pathetic. The opposite of Wilhelmina. Also Vanessa looks a lot different from the other nominees (not that it really matters). Vanessa is the most beautiful and interestingly the only who is not blonde. (weird huh?)
To Waiching liu
– I am also a very big season 3 fan! =)
to OMG- UB- yes i have watched bits of 30 rock, but it jut wasn’t and isn’t my type of show.
as to wooster182, i still think it is the writers who turned america’s character into a naive, frustrated young woman, but as for saying that this is a wake up call to the writers to step up a gear. horta and co should be making betty more lovable and interesting as she was in season 1, but i doubt that is going to happen.
I still think actors have a saying in how they perform. Reason why Daniel Eric Gold and Val Emmich couldn’t pull their characters off even though they are given plenty of romantic script quotes.
Gorham and Rodriguez are top professional actors and even when they are dorky and annoying they charm the audience.
So yeah, I think America must have been agreeing to be overacting as Betty. All that squealing and jumping and childish movements are provided by the actor. Yes, the dialogues and situations are outlined by Horta and the writers. But scripts details and guided direction can only lead an actor so far. I think America is also to blame for giving us the Betty we saw in season 3.