Last night ABC premeired Ugly Betty starring America Ferrera as the fea Betty Suarez. The show, partially produced by la bella Salma Hayek (who makes a guest showing as a gun toting telenovela maid), is a light, fun look at an “ugly” Latina assistant struggling to find her place in the superficial world of a fashion magazine. The show is based on the popular Colombian novela Betty la Fea. This English language version features the fashion capital of the world, New York City, as one of its main characters. Betty is a Queens College graduate and the street on which she lives with her widowed father and single-mother sister looks nearly identical to the Corona, Queens street I spent part of my childhood on (complete with the 7 train passing in the background).

With most people having seen Betty la Fea and the currently playing on Univision La Fea Mas Bella, the plot line is predictable but when was the last time we saw a Latina featured on a network primetime spot? That enough should be reason to tune in. America Ferrera isn’t even that ugly. Certainly her character lacks fashion sense pero she isn’t sporting a bigote like her Spanish channel counterparts.See? Ugly Betty airs Thursday nights at 8 pm (EST)on ABC. For those that missed last night’s debut, you can catch the entire episode online at ABC.com

Images Via / TV Blend, Latino Lingo, and Cine y Tele On Line