Ugly Betty

ABC jilts 'Ugly Betty' "Ugly Betty" has gone out of fashion. ABC has decided not to continue the show beyond its current fourth season. The cast and crew were informed of the news Wednesday morning. The series finale will air in April. With four episodes still left to produce, executive producer Silvio Horta said they will be able to send "Ugly Betty" off in style. The news is hardly shocking: After ratings began to cool during the show's third season, ABC moved "Ugly Betty" to Fridays last fall, where viewership plummeted.

SERIES Human Target: The action drama starring Mark Valley as a professional bodyguard ends its freshman season (8 p.m. Fox). America's Next Top Model: The models try to get on board with their latest challenge, which requires them to strike a pose while traveling on a New York subway car (8 p.m. KTLA). Modern Family: When Luke and Manny's (Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez) hot-tempered basketball coach quits, Jay and Phil (Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell) jockey to fill the position on a new episode of the sitcom (9 p.m. ABC)

At some point during the second season of "Ugly Betty," creator-executive producer Silvio Horta felt the show's operatic shenanigans had gotten out of control. A little too telenovela, if you will. "There was one episode where Betty was talking to a ghost in a fridge, there was this dwarf, and Betty and Daniel were trying to break someone out of rehab," he says. "And I just thought, 'Oh, my God, what are we doing?' " An ugly-duckling story set in the fabulous, fantastical world of fashion journalism, "Ugly Betty" was the surprise success of ABC's 2006-07 fall lineup.

After four seasons of bright and noisy comic melodrama, Betty Suarez is leaving us to our own devices, as "Ugly Betty," which bowed in an explosion of color and fairy-tale tropes in the fall of 2006, rushes toward its end Wednesday night on ABC. Even as a fan of the show, and especially of the people in it — of the actors as inextricable from their characters — I think this is not a bad time, in the fictional and practical life of the series,...

If you haven't said his name in a while, consider talking about: Kanye West. His mouth may have a foot in it occasionally, but it can also unleash lyrics that turn from self-deprecating to, well, boastful. After nearly a year, Kanye West's VH1 "Storytellers" hits stores as a deluxe CD/DVD combo. Originally taped in February, the set is mostly performances from his last album, the emotionally driven, Auto-Tune-laced "808s and Heartbreak." (Tuesday) Out of touch with your kids?

At some point during the second season of "Ugly Betty," creator-executive producer Silvio Horta felt the show's operatic shenanigans had gotten out of control. A little too telenovela, if you will. "There was one episode where Betty was talking to a ghost in a fridge, there was this dwarf, and Betty and Daniel were trying to break someone out of rehab," he says. "And I just thought, 'Oh, my God, what are we doing?'

Will "Ugly Betty's" move from the Friday-night dead zone to Wednesdays be enough to save what was ABC announced Wednesday that the sassy comedy starring America Ferrera will air Wednesdays at 10, replacing the ill-fated "Eastwick," beginning Jan. 6. The network knocked the show from its coveted Thursday-night perch and switched it to Friday nights last season after steady viewership declines. Since the shift to Fridays, its ratings have plummeted -- falling by an additional 46%, according to a new study by Horizon Media.

After four seasons of bright and noisy comic melodrama, Betty Suarez is leaving us to our own devices, as "Ugly Betty," which bowed in an explosion of color and fairy-tale tropes in the fall of 2006, rushes toward its end Wednesday night on ABC. Even as a fan of the show, and especially of the people in it — of the actors as inextricable from their characters — I think this is not a bad time, in the fictional and practical life of the series,...

"Ugly Betty" is learning to speak Chinese. A Chinese television station, Hunan Satellite TV, says it plans to make a Chinese version of the Colombian series about a plain woman trying to fit in at a fashion company. The Colombian telenovela "Betty la fea" or "Ugly Betty" has been dubbed into several languages and has spawned numerous adaptations, including a U.S. version on ABC.

ABC executives don't have to cringe anymore when the topic of Thursdays comes up. Thanks to "Grey's Anatomy" and now "Ugly Betty," the network is beginning to unlock CBS' grip on TV's showcase night. "Ugly Betty," an Americanized version of a Colombian soap opera about an unglamorous but resourceful young woman who finds work at a snooty fashion magazine, premiered on Thursday as the most-watched new show of the fall, averaging 16.

If you're a fan of VH1 reality shows, you'll probably be talking about "What Chilli Wants." Looking for love? Forget EHarmony.com. Just get yourself a show on VH1. That's what TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas did. This new reality show follows her on a quest for love -- scrubs need not apply. (Sunday) Do talk about Rufus Wainwright's sixth studio offering, "All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu." Following his last album, "Release the Stars," and the "Prima Donna" opera he composed for last year's Manchester Festival, Wainwright returns with a more personal record: just his voice and piano.

SUNDAY "Masterpiece Classic" marks Holocaust Remembrance Day with a new adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Ellie Kendrick, below, stars as the young Jewish girl who hid with her family in an Amsterdam attic during the dark days of WWII. (KCET, 9 p.m.) MONDAY A very pregnant Dorota (Zuzanna Szadkowski), Miss Blair's (Leighton Meester) long-suffering maid, finally marries her longtime beau, the doorman Vanya (Aaron Schwartz), on a new "Gossip Girl."

"Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera is losing the braces, wrapping up her role on the ABC sitcom and moving on. The actress, who plays a fashion-challenged editor at a style magazine, is relocating to New York for career reasons. She has listed her Hollywood Hills house, with three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms in 3,427 square feet, at $1,599,000. The master bedroom suite — with two walk-in closets, a corner fireplace and a large balcony — and an adjacent loft-style office occupy the entire upper level of the home, built in 1993.

ABC jilts 'Ugly Betty' "Ugly Betty" has gone out of fashion. ABC has decided not to continue the show beyond its current fourth season. The cast and crew were informed of the news Wednesday morning. The series finale will air in April. With four episodes still left to produce, executive producer Silvio Horta said they will be able to send "Ugly Betty" off in style. The news is hardly shocking: After ratings began to cool during the show's third season, ABC moved "Ugly Betty" to Fridays last fall, where viewership plummeted.

If you haven't said his name in a while, consider talking about: Kanye West. His mouth may have a foot in it occasionally, but it can also unleash lyrics that turn from self-deprecating to, well, boastful. After nearly a year, Kanye West's VH1 "Storytellers" hits stores as a deluxe CD/DVD combo. Originally taped in February, the set is mostly performances from his last album, the emotionally driven, Auto-Tune-laced "808s and Heartbreak." (Tuesday) Out of touch with your kids?

For loyal viewers, popular television characters can sometimes seem like a mash-up of Final Draft and Mad Libs. Enter the curly-haired hipster or the back-stabbing blond here, exit the watery-eyed royal waif or the effeminate male assistant there. Send to the show runner and repeat. Of course, recycling in Hollywood did not begin with recent strivings to go green. Characters who dress, sound and talk alike are safe, ratings-friendly choices. "Archetypes are that for a reason -- they've stood the test of time, and have a powerful, iconic status for audiences," said Josh Schwartz, executive producer for fan favorites "Chuck, "Gossip Girl" and "The O.C."

"Ugly Betty" fans will be happy to learn that ABC has decided to bring it back one week earlier than had been planned. The show will return April 30 with Betty (America Ferrera) still having a crush on Matt, and Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) wondering if William is her biological son. The move means that "Samantha Who?" -- which has been struggling in the ratings since the writers strike -- will go off the air indefinitely, along with new comedy "In the Motherhood," which has been plagued with behind-the-scenes problems for months, according to sources.

ABC's "Ugly Betty" is about to get a make-over that has nothing to do with Betty's bushy eyebrows or shiny braces. The production is planning to pack its designer bags and leave Los Angeles for the Big Apple, where the fictional Mode magazine where Betty works as an assistant to an emotionally needy editor is supposed to be based. Cast and crew members learned of the move at a meeting Monday, according to several people who were briefed on the situation.