OK, I was wrong.  At the end of Ugly Betty episode 3.24, The Fall Issue, Wilhelmina is stopped dead in her tracks when someone appears at her door.  I said at the time that the “who” couldn’t have been Wilhelmina’s daughter.  With this news, I’d say it’s all but certain.

I also said that the young, beautiful African American woman being cast over the summer probably wasn’t Nico.  Wrong again.  At the time, the casting call was for “Emily”, but those names are many times place-holders.

As for YaYa DaCosta, she was considered one of Top Model’s most memorable contestants.  She has since become a very successful model.  She’s also had a handful of roles on TV and in film, and most recently on All My Children as Cassandra.  She looks to be a perfect fit for Ugly Betty, and the role of Nico.

It’ll be a little weird, having a new Nico, but it has been a few years since she appeared, and that does make a difference.

I wonder if, after discovering her maternal side with baby William, Wilhelmina will have a new relationship with Nico?

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Paula Abdul

Wow.  I knew that ABC president Stephen McPherson had been in contact with Abdul.  The obvious assumption, encouraged by McPherson, was that Abdul was being sought for a judging or contestant gig on Dancing With The Stars.  That could still happen, of course – Disney/ABC always cross-books the talent amongst its various networks.  But, it looks like Ugly Betty gets her first.

According to Ausiello, Abdul will be playing a new temp at Mode who bonds with Becki Newton’s Amanda.

Excellent!

Becki Newton plays Amanda three ways: the snarky, teasing, cool-wannabe Amanda, the child-like hyperactive, enthusiastic, easily excitable Amanda, and rarely, Amanda the real, vulnerable person. 

The addition of Paula Abdul as friend, I think, means that Newton would play Amanda the second way, which is when she’s the most fun to watch, I think.  (singing “My Milkshake”, for instance).

Abdul is also scheduled to appear in Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva.

The deal isn’t done yet, but I don’t think the info would have been leaked to Ausiello would had been leaked if producers weren’t sure it could get done.

Stay tuned!

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According to Ausiello at EW, Grant Bowler has signed a deal with Ugly Betty producers to bring back his role of Connor Owens, the Aussie who stole Wilhelmina’s heart and all of Mode magazine’s money.  Multiple sources have confirmed this.

I really,really didn’t expect this character to be back.

This could mean some new, juicy plot lines, especially if the writers harden Wilhelmina’s heart toward Connor, as I suspect they will.  If they can resist temptation to bring the romance back, it can be a real cat and mouse game, with Wilhelmina chasing down Connor, maybe catching him.  Then, Wilhelmina can hatch an evil plot to get Mode’s money back before Daniel finds out and tries to get the money himself. 

Done correctly, this could be a lot of fun.

Or, they could bring back Connor and have Wilhelmina become a pile of mush in his presence again.  I don’t think that would be very compelling, unless it was done as a ruse, before Wilhelmina springs her trap.

A small side issue: how will Connor react to Molly’s death?  Was he really over her, and reacting to Daniel the way he did only because he “hates to lose”, as he said?  Or did Connor really, deep down love Molly (as I believe)? 

It’s just another interesting twist to the story.  Welcome back Grant (and Connor!)

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• [DETECTIVE CASTELAR] male, early-mid 30’s, very good looking, masculine, a crime investigator. RECURRING GUEST STAR
• [TRANSLATOR] male or female sptv050769, 30s-50s, Translator at United Nations. Must speak fluent Russian. 1 scene. CO-STAR.
• [BUILDING SUPER] male, 30-50’s, landlord of a New York City apartment building.  CO-STAR.

Each of these are intriguing in their own way.

Adding a recurring detective tells me the show will have either a mystery or a crime element (and how could Ugly Betty not?).  My guess is that it has to do with Hilda and the mobbed up contractor, but, who knows, maybe we’ll have another attempted murder!

The United Nations translator – what the heck could this be about?  Is Betty going to create an international incident?  Being in NY has its privileges, and apparently Ugly Betty is going to be doing at least one UN-based scene.  Cool.

Now, I’m trying not to make too much of the building superintendent.  Part of me thinks that Betty might be getting her own apartment again, but then, she still is technically the lessee on the apartment that Marc and Amanda currently live in (it was Betty’s for much of season 3).  Plus, the super character is not recurring.  So, my guess is he’ll provide information (or withhold it) concerning whatever mystery the detective is chasing down.

It’s really exciting that they’re already working on episode 4.03 – which will be the first episode after the 2 hour premiere.

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• Joan – HR manager of Meade Publications.
• Olivine – and older woman who was a famous jewelry designer from the 60’s or 70’s.
• Unnamed – the school secretary from Queensboro High School.

Of course, we can only speculate what story lines these roles will fall into, It isn’t a lot of info, but that never stopped me!

My first instinct about Joan was that she would be helping interview the prospective assistants for Daniel.  But, wouldn’t that process have started in episode 4.01 (the first hour of the 2-hour season premiere)?  I don’t know.  Quite possibly, though, Daniel will spend a good amount of time mourning and  not worrying about work.  He does have a history of disappearing when life gets too stressful.  It doesn’t get much more stressful than being widowed before your honeymoon.

Another cool possibility is that Joan will help interview Betty’s assistant.  Will she get one?  It just occurred to me – if Betty does get an assistant, wouldn’t it be cool if Amanda got the job?  Remember she really wanted Betty’s job (and had it briefly). 

Olivine sounds interesting, but as far as storylines, I’ve got nothin’.  An interesting thing about this casting is the qualification “PLEASE SUBMIT STAR NAMES ONLY”.  So, I guess they are looking for another Betty White type guest role.  Mary Tyler Moore, maybe?

The secretary fro Queensboro High will most likely be related to a Justin story line.  I’m looking forward to seeing what the writers do with Justin this season.  Something tells me he’s in for some rough times, but hopefully there will be some laughs, too.

All speculation is my own, and I’d love to hear yours.

Michael Urie has been tweeting every now and then about Ugly Betty filming.  It’s so great to have the show shooting again!

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• Natalie, Daniel’s sexy 20-something new assistant (remember, Betty FINALLY got promoted to feature editor, and apparently Amanda, who always wanted the job, is way too valuable at the front desk.  Except for a short time, she was replaced by a clipboard and a flower )  Natalie will meet Daniel at a bereavement support group.  She has a secret – something which might pit her against Betty.   At first I thought this was the young African American woman they were casting, but her name will be Emily.  Unless the writers liked the name Natalie better than Emily.
• Claire Meade’s son through Cal Hartley.  He’ll be another 20-something.  Obviously, if they are casting the role, that blows the Matt-as-Claire’s-son theory.
• A secret new character somehow connected to Wilhelmina.  This must be the one from the earlier casting news (Emily).  They’ve already given Wilhelmina a sister, and daughter.  Could this be another daughter?  I don’t think so.  The writers are going to throw us a curveball, I think.
• “A hot sexy Queens-type man” who will compete with Archie for Hilda’s affections.  This must be the one with mob connections.
• A new love interest for Marc St James.  Hopefully, he’ll be funny and loveable – it’s going to take a lot to get many of us over Cliff!

This doesn’t even include Amber, the new editor who is the queen of backhanded compliments.

Although this looks like a LOT of new characters, it’s really not more than they introduced in the first few episodes of season 3 – I have no doubt they’ll be introduced over time, although the premiere IS two hours.

BTW, NO mention of the Gio-type character.  Do you think they gave up on this idea?

I am most interested in Natalie (if they make her Daniel’s love interest, I’m coming to New York and kicking Silvio Horta’s dog), and the mysterious person in Wilhelmina’s life.  (For comedy, I’m looking forward to this Amber character). 

So, what do you think of these new characters they are casting?

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It was just too perfect, and SoBoo, as they call her, is still quite popular in the states, so this could be one of the better stunt-casting decisions made by the show.

The Sun reports that producers contacted Boyle about a month ago.

A source close to the star said: “Susan has been bombarded with offers of work in America, but this is something she is really keen on and we hope to make happen.

She will definitely play herself.”

I still hope she’s somehow “related” to Ashley Jensen’s Christina. And I’d love to see a speechless moment of recognition between Susan and Betty.

Now, as you may know, Susan was supposed to come to the US to tour after the final of Britain’s Got Talent, but she had what the tabloids term a breakdown.

She has since missed a string of dates on the BGT tour as she conserves her energy to record her debut album. Susan’s spokeswoman said: “Susan has many offers on the table. At the moment she is looking forward to recording her album.”

I think this could be done worth a laugh or two, and maybe bring a half a point in the ratings if done right. Plus, I’m dying to see what the writers and producers do with the “idea” of Susan Boyle. Hopefully, she’ll acccept.

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Exclusive – Ugly Betty – Episode 4.01 – Casting Call for Major Recurring Role
[EMILY] 20’s, female, gorgeous, African American, must be a strong actress. MAJOR RECURRING ROLE.

I’ve seen speculation that this is a reworking of Wilhelmina’s daughter, but this makes no sense to me.  Wilhelmina’s daughter was named Nico (speaking of, I DO think it’s time for her to make an appearance again).

Besides, that whole “new Darren” thing always leads to no good.

The name of this character (Emily), also blows a theory I had when I first saw this.  I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be neat if in season 4 Wilhelmina had visions / flashbacks just as Betty did in seasons 1 and 2?  I can see Willy, right after some dastardly deed, having a conversation with “Wanda”, her younger, pre-Wilhelmina self.

The only problem with this is that it would be almost impossible to pull off, because we ALL are very familiar with what young Vanessa Williams looked like (some of us who got our hands on a certain magazine have seen more than others ).

So, this “Emily” is a new character.  Could she be Matt’s new girlfriend?  A new corporate person?  A model with a secret?

The only thing I ask the producers – PLEASE do not make her a love interest for Daniel.  At LEAST give the man till the mid-season break to grieve.

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Betty is casting the recurring role of Richard Hartley, a fiftysomething Ted Turner-type and the father of Betty’s new love, Matt (Daniel Eric Gold).

I’ll get to Ausiello’s specualtion about this in a minute. But first, the more obvious analysis. I think it’s safe to say that Matt is not going to be another drive-by love for Betty (3 or less episodes, like Jesse). They are casting around the Matt character (they also cast Christine Baranski as his mother). So, I’d say knowing the producers, this relationship will be a big focus of the show for the rest of this season.

I am also going to guess that they are setting up some kind of Romeo and Juliet situation, but that’s only a guess. Even though Matt’s a grown man, if he’s threatened with being cut off from The Money, it would make for interesting drama/comedy (That’s a pretty time-tested plot line, don’t you think?).

Anyway, Ausiello used this casting news to speculate about a new love for Claire.

Question: After seeing Ugly Betty last Thursday, it’s about time Ms. Meade (Judith Light) got a man. And I know just the man for the role: Tony Danza. She could even answer the door in her robe. — Sina…Sure, this probably means he’s [Richard Hartley] married to Matt’s mom, Christine Baranski, but, hey, that’s a minor obstacle for someone like Ms. Meade. Either way, Danza should probably put a call into his agent.

I think having Tony Danza on the show in the show would be a hoot. Making the jump to being Claire’s lover? Well, for folks my age who watched “Who’s The Boss” religiously, that just might seem a little too creepy. But, if that’s the road they want to go down, I’m game. I just want to see more Claire!

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According to Ausiello at EW Online, Blue has joined the cast of Sci Fi Channel’s Stargate Universe. This is the third (and edgiest, they say) installment of the series.

Blue, along with headliner Robert Carlyle, plays “Eli Wallace, a total slacker who just happens to be an utter genius with anything he puts his mind to — mathematics, computers, video games. A lack confidence has left him with an acerbic sense of humor”, Ausiello reports.

Wow – it sounds similar to the role David had in Moonlight – perhaps he’s found a niche? The brilliant,loveable slob/slacker? I can relate. It’s funny, some actors are downright compulsive about being typecast; others are simply happy to get a good role. David appears to be as brilliant as the characters he plays – he is making the right decision, IMHO.

It sounds like this character will have a little more edge than Cliff on Ugly Betty, so Blue will definitely be displaying his range.

It’s been fun watching David “blossom”, and his exposure on Ugly Betty was certainly good for him. Along with Ralph Macchio, Blue is probably the most liked of all the guest stars the show has had over the years. That’s some pretty heady company.

We will definitely miss David on Ugly Betty (but let’s face it – it was obvious they were having a hard time figuring out what to do with Cliff), and I’d like to be one of the first to congratulate Blue on what appears to be a great gig!

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