TV's Betty Goes Global : From Telenovela to International Brand

Abstract

Premiering in 2006, Ugly Betty, the award-winning US hit show about unglamorous Betty Suarez is the latest incarnation of a worldwide phenomenon that started life as a Colombian telenovela, Yo soy Betty, la fea, back in 1999. This book asks what the Yo soy Betty, la few/Ugly Betty phenomenon can tell us about the international circulation of locally produced TV fictions as the Latin American telenovela is sold to, and/or re-made - officially and unofficially - for different national contexts. The book features original interviews with buyers and schedulers, writers, story editors and directors, including the creator of Yo soy Betty, la few, Fernando Gaitan.