EW’s Ausiello weighs in on the "Ugly Betty’s in trouble" sweepstakes with this Q&A:
Question: I heard that Ugly Betty is on the verge of being canceled. Can you give me any inside information on that? —Michelle Ausiello: I really don’t think Betty is in any immediate danger of getting pulled off the schedule. I mean, the ratings are bad but they’re not Dollhouse bad. Do I think ABC will renew it for a fifth season? Conventional wisdom says it’s probably a long-shot. For his part, Silvio Horta is preparing for either scenario. …read more

Speculation has begun to run rampant since Chris Gorham posted this on Twitter yesterday:
On the Ugly Betty set . . . visiting. Just visiting. : )
Then today:
Notes from Ugly Betty set – Everyone is well. Ana Ortiz’s daughter is beautiful. Giant hanging props (you’ll see) are hilarious.
Needless to say, Chris Gorham on the Ugly Betty set raised a lot of eyebrows, since many assume that if Ugly Betty gets cancelled and has its season finale THIS season,  characters from seasons past would show up – something that often happens in series finales.
Chris posted a clarification:
And, again, NO, I’m not …read more

There was an interesting take on the Friday at 9 pm network television timeslot in this article in the LA Times.  It makes me think that Ugly Betty wasn’t placed on Fridays to kill the show, after all.
Writer Denise Martin notices that ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox have placed well established shows in the timeslot, and the competition should be a battle royal.
Although Medium (CBS), Southland (NBC), Dollhouse (FOX), and Ugly Betty (ABC) aren’t American Idol-like ratings powerhouses, they aren’t ready-to-be-cancelled ratings slouches, either.  In fact, they are all quality shows.  (My own DVR will be busy – it’s …read more

Ugly Betty season 3 is underway in the UK, and Diet Coke is a major sponsor.  They have launched a new, limited-edition Diet Coke bottle as a promotion, and recently had an exclusive photo shoot in Selfridges.
 

The photo shoot involved five Betty Suarez “look-a-likes”, and the video shows their transformations into Betty (time-shortened, of course).
The collector’s bottle was designed by Ugly Betty costume designer Patricia Field, and even comes with its own accessory collection so you can customize the bottle and put your own unique twist onto it.
Here is a close-up Twitpic of one of the bottles.
I’m having the …read more

I’ve been trying to decide if ABC’s move of Ugly Betty to Friday nights will kill the show, as conventional wisdom says.
In an interview with TV Guide, ABC Entertainment president Steve McPherson tried to reassure Betty fans, expressing confidence in the show.
"I love the show," he said. "I’d love to see it have a great run on Friday night, the way Ghost Whisperer has."  He also added that he hopes that Betty will hold Supernanny’s lead-in.
This is where I wonder how much McPherson is messing with us.  The last new airing of Supernanny, it got a …read more

Here is the Ugly Betty promo I mentioned that ABC has been running the past few days during their most popular shows.

First off, let me say that the old man at the end is NOT me. 
Basically, it’s different shots of people from a “bring back Betty” protest, interspersed with a few scenes from recent episodes.
Here’s what I really like about this promo and its associated campaign: it looks like ABC is going to go all out to create anticipation for the return of Ugly Betty.  The suits at the network know that it was all over the internet …read more

I sometimes forget that we get new readers here all the time, and have been surprised by all the “What happened to Ugly Betty?” emails and comments.  Those who are long-time Ugly Betty News readers know that I’ve been obsessing over ratings and the possibility of renewal or cancellation of Betty for quite a while.
But, in answer to all those questions I’ve been getting: Ugly Betty is on a short, planned hiatus.  Normally, this time of year, shows go into reruns in preparation for May sweeps.  ABC decided to use this normal, cyclical downtime, to try out a new …read more

I’ve been waiting, waiting, WAITING for somebody, anybody in an official capacity at ABC to say these words.  Ugly Betty fans, I give you Stephen McPherson, President of ABC Entertainment Group, in a Q&A with Hollywood Reporter:
THR: What are your plans for "Ugly Betty"? Will it return in the fall, and will it stay on Thursdays? McPherson: "Ugly Betty" will return.
Game, set, match.  Woot.
After last night’s stellar episode (recap is coming, I swear), this news just puts me on cloud nine.
Micheal Urie, I’ll gladly accept every ‘I told you so’ that you …read more

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 …read more