This Is What an ‘Ugly Betty’ Reboot Would Look Like, According to Michael Urie and Becki Newton -

The success of the first two seasons of Ugly Betty back in the early aughts created a passionate fan base that still loves the series to this day despite its shortcomings. You can ask any fan of the show, and most of them will tell you that one of the best things about it was the comedic duo formed by Marc (Michael Urie) and Amanda (Becki Newton). During a new interview with Collider’s Michael Zimmerman to promote their rewatch podcast Still Ugly, the two actors talked about their experience in the series and tried to imagine what a reboot would look like today.

We can’t ignore that Ugly Betty was a product of its time. In the context of the series, Marc and Amanda worked in an environment in which bullying was not only allowed but encouraged. However, Urie and Newton found a way to make it funny and more about their characters than the people they bullied. During the interview, Zimmerman asked the duo to imagine their characters today, and Newton stated quite directly that “they would move to L.A., but Marc would have to drive Amanda everywhere.” Urie added:

“I could also see them becoming like publicists or stylists or something and sort of running their own business and not being bad at it but constantly screwing it up. Like if we ever did do a reboot of ‘Ugly Betty,’ Marc and Amanda are still together.”

‘Ugly Betty’ Was a Trailblazer

Urie and Newton also revealed that their real-life friendship ended up bleeding into the Ugly Betty scripts, which is one of the reasons why the pair worked so well together. Urie explained that Season 1, Episode 11 “Swag,” was when showrunner Silvio Horta (P-Valley) and the writing team first noticed the potential of the two characters paired up, and since then, they have become one of the most distinct comic reliefs of the entire series.

Based on a telenovela from Colombia, Ugly Betty was a surprise hit at ABC in 2006, and it championed a Hispanic protagonist in prime-time television at a time when this was extremely rare. The series covered the prejudice that Betty (America Ferrera) faced in the workplace and her fight to survive and make a living in a cutthroat fashion world. The series also featured Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives), Alan Dale (Dynasty), Eric Mabius (Gunslingers), Anna Ortiz (Goosebumps), Mark Indelicato (Hacks), and Tony Plana (Mayans M.C.).