In case you haven’t heard, Ugly Betty is now on Netflix! Since it originally premiered back in 2006, the drama-comedy series has become a cult favorite, so it’s no wonder the streaming giant has gotten on board with its rerelease. In it, America Ferrera stars as Betty Suarez—a smart wannabe writer who lands an assistant job at Mode, a fashion magazine where she’s a total fish out of water. The show—which costars Vanessa Williams and Eric Mabius—truly has it all: There’s drama, camp, and fashun galore.
I was totally obsessed with the series when it first came out. (It even played a small part in my wanting to work at a magazine.) But as someone who hasn’t watched it since then, I wanted to relive the series in 2023 and see if it still holds up. I mean, the premise of Betty being ugly—just because she wears glasses and braces?—is quite outdated; will the rest of the show be démodé too? Below, join me as I share my 26 thoughts while rewatching the first episode.
1. Betty is waiting for her job interview at Meade Publications. Some snooty girl in a poncho takes a seat next to her in the lobby. “I like your poncho,” Betty says. The model-like woman beside her sternly replies: “Milan. Dolce & Gabbana. Fall.” A thank-you would have sufficed.
2. I love Betty’s pink plaid suit. And the green ruffled shirt under it? It’s so Moschino! The job recruiter takes one look at her, though, and tells her the job’s suddenly been filled. Rude!
3. Back in Queens, Betty’s family, including her father and sister, is watching a telenovela. Salma Hayek makes a cameo in it. I love a meta moment.
4. Justin, Betty’s little nephew, complains, “I hate telenovelas. I wanna watch Fashion TV.” Am I watching…myself as a kid?
5. We meet Betty’s boyfriend, who is kind of a dweeb but seems sweet. Just kidding: He just broke up with her. He says he’s in love with her neighbor Gina. Harsh.
6. On Fashion TV, we learn that Mode magazine’s fierce editor, Fey Sommers, has recently passed away—and the top editor job has gone to playboy and nepo baby Daniel Meade (Mabius) instead of the magazine’s longtime creative director, Wilhelmina Slater (Williams). Drama!
7. In Daniel’s office, his reputation as a womanizer precedes him: An assistant emerges from underneath his desk. Talk about an HR violation.
8. Betty gets a call from Meade telling her that she has landed a job at Mode as Daniel’s assistant (a ploy from his father so that he doesn’t sleep with his assistant). “Try and dress fashionably,” Justin shades her about her first day. “Do you have anything?”
9. Betty struts into her first day wearing her iconic Guadalajara poncho. “Oh. My. God,” snarks Amanda, the bitchy receptionist. To be honest, I love the poncho—she’s representing her culture and roots through style. Is there anything chicer?
10. “Are you the before? The before-and-after photo shoot?” asks Amanda.
11. The Mode office looks chic as hell. Big windows. A spaceship-like hallway.
12. Betty walks into a glass door in front of the entire editorial staff. Not a great impression. I’d simply just go home after that and hand in my resignation.
13. Daniel is introducing himself to the staff when Wilhelmina walks in. God, she looks fabulous in her white trench coat and huge black sunglasses. There’s clearly tension between the two, though.
14. “Killer poncho,” says Mark, Wilhelmina’s assistant, to Betty. Then he makes a puking motion with his hand behind her back.
15. Wilhelmina is getting Botox in her office. We love a powerful woman on the go. She’s complaining that she hasn’t gotten the job. “Is it because I’m getting old?”
16. Daniel becomes convinced that he has to make Betty quit, simply because she doesn’t fit his “image.” God, I hate fashion people sometimes.
17. Nobody wants to sit with Betty in the cafeteria. It’s giving me Mean Girls vibes. But Christina, who works in the closet at Mode as an in-house seamstress, quickly befriends her. They bond over their shared dislike of the “bitches at Mode.” Love.
18. Daniel is putting Betty through the wringer. He makes her pick cabbage out of his coleslaw; calls her at three in the morning; makes her get his coffee, walk his dog, pick the gum off his shoe. She ends up missing her dad’s birthday. Fashion is demanding, baby.
19. Daniel’s sleeping with Amanda, the receptionist. Shocker.
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20. Betty is asked to bring an outfit from the closet to set. The Mode closet is amazing. It’s two stories, and there’s avant-garde couture everywhere.
21. Daniel is overseeing his first photo shoot, an advertorial for Fabia Cosmetics: It’s a car-wreck scene, with fire and models strung over the hood of cars. This is a little…in bad taste?
22. Daniel has Betty stand in as a model in a vampy latex outfit. The whole set laughs at her. That’s just cruel.
23. Fabia comes to approve the beauty photo shoot, hates it, and storms out. With her long, blonde hair and thick Italian accent, she’s an obvious nod to Donatella Versace.
24. Daniel comes crawling back to Betty, and she conceptualizes a whole new shoot for him—focused on the mother-daughter relationship. It’s clear Betty is the heart of the show.
25. Betty saves the day! Fabia loves the new concept. “Don’t make it too sappy,” she barks as she walks out with her entourage. God, she’s fierce.
26. The episode ends with a cliff-hanger: We realize Fey Sommers is still alive. Dun-dun-dun!