Looking to capitalize on the increasing buzz surrounding rookie Ugly Betty, ABC is rescuing the show from Friday night purgatory and placing it in prime real estate Thursday nights at 8.
It will replace new comedies Big Day and Notes From the Underbelly, both of which are expected to join the ABC schedule later in the season, perhaps following the conclusion of Dancing With the Stars.
Replacing Betty Fridays at 8 will be another run of America’s Funniest Home Videos. ABC will hope the venerable franchise will still serve as a decent enough lead in to launch its new Anne Heche vehicle, Men in
Trees.
The Betty pilot has been one of the most talked about of the coming fall season. The show, an American version of a popular Latin American telenovela, stars America Ferrera as a regular-looking young woman who gets a job in the glitz and glamour of the fashion world. Vanessa Williams also stars as an evil magazine editor. Salma Hayek is an executive producer.
ABC is high enough on Betty that it will use the show to launch its effort to get back in business on lucrative Thursday nights. The network this fall shifts prized possession Grey’s Anatomy to 9 that night, followed by Six Degrees, the latest character-driven drama from Lost creator J.J. Abrams.
