The Big Picture
- Netflix is finally adding Ugly Betty to its catalog, with all four seasons available starting August 1.
- Ugly Betty tackled important issues like beauty standards, privilege, and immigration.
- The series was notable for its LGBTQIA+ representation and featured guest appearances from superstars like Naomi Campbell, Adele, Shakira, and Vera Wang.
If you’re fresh out of Barbie and just realized you’re still in dire need of your America Ferrera fix, Netflix has great news for you. The streaming platform announced today that they’ll finally debut Ugly Betty on the catalog. And the best part is: You can separate your killer poncho and get ready to binge because all four seasons are coming at once as early as August 1!
Ugly Betty tells the story of Betty Suarez (Ferrera), a young girl who lands a job as a secretary at the office of one of the most influential fashion magazines in the world – Mode. Betty suffers constant bullying from her colleagues because she hardly fits the model type, but slowly starts to win people over because of her kindness and relentless optimism. The series also starred Broadway legend Vanessa Williams as Mode’s creative director Wilhelmina Slater, Eric Mabius as heir to the Mode empire Daniel Meade, Michael Urie as Wilhelmina’s devoted assistant Marc and Becki Newton as Mode’s zero-Fs-given receptionist Amanda. Anna Ortiz, Tony Plana, and Mark Indelicato played Betty’s family members Hilda, Ignacio, and Justin, respectively.
The series ran for four seasons on ABC and became popular after a spectacular debut season that managed to juggle a critique of impossible beauty standards, privilege, and immigration with telenovela elements and a good dose of The Devil Wears Prada comparisons. The series was also very supportive of LGBTQIA+ characters, with several in the main and supporting cast — which was especially rare back in 2006. It did however feature a somewhat problematic representation of transgender characters as cis woman Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) played a trans woman.
Betty Is One of the Most Popular Characters in the World of Telenovelas
Across its run, Ugly Betty was nominated for several categories in a number of awards including the Emmys with a nomination for legendary costume designer Patricia Field (Sex and the City, Emily in Paris). Due to the series’ theme, the show featured cameos and guest roles from superstars like Naomi Campbell, Adele, Shakira, Vera Wang, Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn Decker, and even Gene Simmons. The series also featured guest actors like Patti LuPone, Octavia Spencer, Kathy Najimi, Kristin Chenoweth, and the late Betty White.
Ugly Betty was developed for American television by the late Silvio Horta, who based it on the wildly successful Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea, which ran for a whopping 335 episodes and was adapted to more than a dozen countries including Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, India, Poland, China, and Brazil.
Netflix debuts all seasons of Ugly Betty on August 1. You can look back at the series’ very first scene below:
