There is a new series on ABC that will soften the hearts of any viewer. Titled “Ugly Betty,” the show is about a young business woman who isn’t exactly the object of every man’s dream. The show takes place in New York City, where Betty was hired as an assistant to the CEO of a very prominent magazine. Grateful for the jump start in her career , Betty devotes herself to being the best assistant anyone could have asked for. There is just one problem: the owner of the magazine, who also happens to be the father of the CEO, only hired Betty so that his son wouldn’t be tempted to sleep with this assistant like he has all the rest.
Daniel, the CEO, spends every waking minute trying to get rid of Betty so he can hire someone else. However, he isn’t the only one who is trying to get Betty to quit.
Wilhelmina, who has worked at the company much longer than Daniel, was passed over for the CEO position. Angry and frustrated, she is determined to do whatever it takes to get Daniel out of there, including sabotaging the magazine. Wilhelmina somehow knows that Betty is trouble; she see a little of herself in Betty and she knows that Betty is smart.
With both Wilhelmina and Daniel on her tail as well as other magazine employees, it seems Betty doesn’t stand a chance. Daniel puts her through terrible, embarrassing ordeals, but Betty remains strong. However, everyone has a breaking point and after a particularly humiliating photo shoot, Betty resigns, in tears.
However, the CEO finds himself in a rough patch with the magazine. He just happens to come across a book of brilliant ideas that he can use to salvage himself in front of his company and his father. In a round-about way, he discovers that the ideas are in fact Betty’s. He goes to her, begging for forgiveness and, after much hesitation, Betty accepts his apology on the condition that things will be different. She even goes the extra mile to tell the owner that the ideas were his son’s.
The show has a truly remarkable and inspiring plot. It goes to show that just because a person isn’t the most fashionable or beautiful, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have smarts to spare. Ugly Betty stars America Ferrera (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and Vanessa Williams. It airs Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. just before “Grey’s Anatomy.