The successful series is credited with taking the telenovela genre mainstream for heavily integrating Latin-American culture in the American adaptation.
South Africa is getting its own version of the hit television show Ugly Betty!
According to Variety, the rights to Betty La Fea, the popular Colombian telenovela that inspired the America Ferrera-led ABC series that ran for four seasons, has been optioned by South African production company, Known Associates Entertainment.
Ferrera became the first Latina actress to win a lead actress Emmy Award in 2007 when she portrayed the show’s titular role as an “ugly” assistant, who climbs the ladder at a high fashion magazine.
The successful series is credited with taking the telenovela genre mainstream and for heavily integrating Latin-American culture in the American adaptation.
It looks like Known Associates Entertainment is planning on keeping that same energy when it comes to appealing to South African audiences.
“We intend to make it along much the same lines as the other successful Ugly Bettys: with a local flavor, and in South African languages,” the company’s chairman Joel Phiri said. “It is a great pleasure to be able to bring this evergreen home to South African audiences, and we are looking forward to finding the best broadcaster for the series.”
Ugly Betty broke barriers for Latin-American representation in mainstream media and we can’t wait to watch it do the same for the continent!
