South Africa is getting its own version of the hit television show Ugly Betty and we are stoked!
According to Variety, Betty La Fea, the popular Colombian telenovela that inspired the America Ferrera-led ABC series, Ugly Betty, which ran for four seasons, has been optioned by a South African production company, Known Associates Entertainment.
The successful series is credited with taking the telenovela genre mainstream for heavily integrating Latin-American culture in the American adaptation.
Ugly Betty originally aired on ABC between 2006 and 2010. The sitcom focused on a young woman named Betty Suarez who landed a job at a fashion magazine even though she wasn’t stylish and didn’t know much about fashion. The show was a hit, but its ratings dropped in the third season, leading to its cancelation in 2010. Its star, America Ferrera, went on to become the first Latina to win a lead actress Emmy.
We are curious to see how the South African spin-off of the sitcom will look like and how it will be received. There is currently no premiere date, and Known Associates Entertainment is still in talks with SA TV channels about airing the show.