Underdog fashion-industry comedy has language, fat-shaming.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Language
some
"Bitch," "damn," and "pansy" (used to refer to a gay man). Women are constantly called "fat" throughout the series ("You look like two fat girls hugging each other.").
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Given its setting at a fashion magazine, characters dress in daring ways: Tight clothes and bare midriffs/backs regularly appear. Main characters have romantic arcs: They kiss, make out, and confess love to one another. Sex is implied, such as a character in a rumpled bed or grabbing morning papers in only his underwear outside a co-worker's apartment.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.
Back-biting and scheming, but no physical violence (except to a stuffed bunny...). A regular character is portrayed as a womanizer who has no qualms about sleeping with his co-workers and manipulating sexual favors from his female employees. He makes unwelcome advances at the workplace, comments on women's appearances in derogatory ways, and creates an abusive environment that's played for comedy on the show.
Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.
El mundo de la revista Mode es muy materialista, pero la mayoría de las marcas y nombres de diseñadores que se mencionan son ficticios.
Positive Messages
some
Messages about having a strong sense of self, having a strong work ethic, and the importance of family. A major theme is integrity. But the show also sends mixed messages about body-shaming and toxic working environments -- sometimes they're called out, but other times the problems are taken too lightly.
Positive Role Models
some
Enthusiastic, dedicated, optimistic Betty is a great role model. She has a warm relationship with her nephew, Justin, who demonstrates great courage as he navigates a challenging adolescence. But Betty's co-workers can be very petty, mean, and sneaky.
Diverse Representations
some
One of the series' co-creators, Fernando Gaitán, is Colombian, and executive producer Salma Hayek is Mexican American. Main character Betty Suarez is also Mexican American, played by multiracial Latina actress America Ferrera (who has Lenca ancestry). Betty is portrayed as intelligent, resourceful, and hard-working, but the show argues that she needs to conform to society's beauty standards, such as thinness and femininity, to earn basic respect at the workplace. She suffers constant fat-shaming, especially in the first couple of seasons. Justin, another member of the Suarez family (played by Italian-Puerto Rican actor Mark Indelicato), is a brave teen who embraces his queer identity. Betty's empathetic best friend, Marc St. James, played by openly gay actor Michael Urie, is multidimensional and fearless. In a minor role, transgender woman Alexis Meade is admirable. She's played by Rebecca Romijn, a cisgender actor. The series' villain/Betty's workplace rival, Wilhelmina Slater, is played by multiracial actor Vanessa Williams, who's of Black and Welsh descent. Wilhelmina is negatively portrayed as mean, superficial, and scheming.
Parents need to know that Ugly Betty is an hour-long comedy adapted from the popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, set in the competitive, materialistic world of a high-fashion magazine called Mode. Several characters -- most of whom are pretty over-the-top -- exhibit iffy behavior (scheming, corporate one-upmanship, petty meanness to those who don't fit in, etc.). By comparison, main character Betty Suarez (America Ferrera) stands out like a cheerful beacon who's proud of her Latino and working-class roots, and demonstrates courage and integrity. There's LGBTQ+ inclusion, with Betty's nephew, Justin Suarez (Mark Indelicato), and best friend Marc St. James (Michael Urie) taking pride in their sexualities. On the other hand, be aware that the series has a lot of fat-shaming, and Betty's boss, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), sexually harasses his female co-workers, which is played for comedy.
This show is entertaining and heartwarming, although Betty is constantly being put down for her looks. Personally, I find Betty pretty attractive, despite the weird glasses. There are lots of sexual references and a bunch of scenes that indicate that there was/will be sex before or after the shot, and there are a few references that completely objectify women. Overall I found Ugly Betty really fun, but maybe talk to your Kida about body shaming beforehand.
Besides being totally inappropriate for young teens bc of the way most women are portrayed it also throws at least 2 underserved populations under the bus, while making a mockery of Betty & her immigrant family. See: psychotic case worker and Ukrainian model’s mom. Rewatching it a decade later with my teen now it’s like it’s a whole different show. There are probably other issues but we’re going to quit watching.
What's the Story?
Executive-produced by Salma Hayek and based on the wildly popular Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, UGLY BETTY stars America Ferrera as optimistic, focused Betty Suarez. Betty -- who wants to be a serious journalist -- accepts a job assisting Mode magazine's playboy editor-in-chief Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius). At first, Daniel does everything he can to make her life miserable, but he quickly realizes that he can't run the magazine without her, and the incongruous pair become a team. Furious about being passed over for the editor-in-chief job, creative director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) will do anything to bring Daniel -- and, by extension, Betty -- down. In her ring are toadying assistant Marc (Michael Urie) and evil receptionist Amanda (Becki Newton), who's sleeping with Daniel and wants Betty's job. Rounding out the cast are Christina (Ashley Jensen), the on-site seamstress who shows Betty the ropes and acts as her confidant and guardian angel; Hilda (Ana Ortiz), Betty's outspoken older sister; and Justin (Mark Indelicato), Betty's hilariously fashion-obsessed nephew.
The show's writing and acting are both top-notch, and there are giggles to be found at every turn. In one scene, for example, Betty admires a model's beautiful Dolce & Gabbana poncho and chummily tells the woman that her father bought her a similar one in Guadalajara ... only to show up the next day proudly wearing a gaudy, blanket-like garment that has "souvenir" written all over it. With similar themes to The Devil Wears Prada, released around the same time, Ugly Betty is wildly fun fare that takes the Prada premise and ups the ante -- unlike Anne Hathaway's Andy, Betty has to overcome more workplace challenges as a woman of color who doesn't fit into the fashion industry's Eurocentric and thin-obsessed beauty standards.
Ugly Betty has enough drama to keep viewers interested throughout, but, unlike other soapy shows, it spends an equal amount of time on "everyday" storylines like Betty's heartwarming relationship with her father, her queer nephew, and her gay best friend. Though the show has a few risqué scenes that might raise some eyebrows, including Daniel's predatory behavior at the office, Ferrera's stellar performance outweighs them. Betty is clearly the most admirable character on the show, and her positive qualities just make the other characters' failings more obvious.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Betty's impressive optimism in Ugly Betty. How does she stay so positive in such a hostile environment? How can you deal with tricky work situations (harassment, nasty co-workers, etc.) in the real world?
What types of messages does Ugly Betty send about body image? Do you think its portrayals of fat-shaming in the fashion industry could have been handled better? If so, what could have been done differently?
What sets Betty apart from most of her Mode co-workers? What gave her such a good work ethic? What role does her family play in her life? What makes her a good role model?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
