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'Ugly Betty's' Eric Mabius: 'The punishment was apparent every week.'
It's been more than a year since "Ugly Betty" ended its four-season run, but Eric Mabius, who played horndog publisher Daniel Meade on the ABC comedy, is still mourning its passing."The end of 'Ugly Betty' was upsetting in many ways to all of us," Mabius tells Zap2it, who blames someone he'll identify only as "an executive who was running the network at the time but is no longer at the company" for jerking the Emmy-winning series from one time slot to another and failing to promote it adequately.
"I don't know why we were thrown on the sacrificial altar so often, with our nights getting changed and the fans getting so upset," he says. "I think there was a little bit too much alternative-lifestyle humor for a certain executive, but despite having no support from certain people, the fans really made a difference. The universality of Erthe topic and the nature of what was portrayed on the show were reflective of how we felt about each other as human beings."
Mabius says the executive in question was uncomfortable with the ongoing story line about Betty's teenage nephew, Justin, and his awakening gay identity, but the same man also was unhappy with Michael Urie's giddily over-the-top work as Marc, Wilhelmina Slater's (Vanessa Williams) flamboyant assistant, despite the fact that the character was a huge fan favorite.
"It wasn't typical T&A," the actor says. "I'm pretty sure that the first teenage romantic kiss between two boys on network television was on our show, but did you hear anything about it? Was it promoted? The punishment was apparent every week. When they would run teasers for the next week's episode of other shows, they didn't even do those for us. That's how little support we had. It's short-sighted and silly. There was an undeniable feeling that the show was over at least a season early."
Mabius says that, under the circumstances, he's happy with how the show left Daniel and Betty (America Ferrera) at the end, parting ways in London, at least for the moment.
"I think some audiences were dying for Daniel and Betty to get together, because that was a quick, easy fix, but real life is much closer to what we ended up with, even though it was a little rushed as far as how we got there," he says. "Leaving it the way we did was really daring and honored a lot of what we had built and was consistent with the characters. Daniel had done a lot of growing up and Betty was assuming the power she had within her and pursuing that.
"I was talking to America just recently and we were sort of giggling sadly that we go from spending all those holidays and birthdays together to none at all, just cast to the four corners of the Earth. It was one of those special, unique lightning bolts that happen only once in a while."
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I miss Ugly Betty!! Wish it was still on! Loved Daniel & Betty together in the end, wish they could have been a couple sometime throughout the show. They had great chemistry!
I find it so disturbing that ABC does this WAY too often neglect their shows and start swtiching them around the schedule wich ultimately leads to their cancelation ugly betty had more than decent ratings and it was one of the most enjoyable shows to just sit chill and watch I miss it a lot!
After how long and he is still whining over this? GET OVER IT...the show sucked the final year and the cast was lucky to have that time.
Is he that bitter that his career hasnt taken off that he has to blame an unknown executive? Or will he man up and take the blame for his part in the show failure? ABC is notorious for moving shows, but if the show was that good, the fans would have found it.
Grow up and move on.
I loved the show, it was campy and wild and fun--and honest. I too wish Betty and Daniel could have been a couple on the show, it would have been great to see them really together; the writers would have made it work, I know. And I miss Betty and Daniel both, and wish it was still on; Mabius isn't whining, he's telling it like it was.
Though I can easily believe somebody at ABC freaked out about the gay content -- ABC has gotten a LOT more timid the past few years, across the board, to its detriment -- he should be a lot more politic for his own sake. Eric Mabius is adorable and talented, but he can't do anything to save Ugly Betty at this late date and shouldn't shoot himself in the foot on its behalf.
Sadly, ABC is just pushing the Disney agenda and they are sadly against gay storylines.
I disagree w/ a previous poster that Eric is whining. It's hard to have a tight-knit, safe family and then be cancelled. It's just friends kibitzing about the sad departure. They're entitled, it was there passion and chemistry that made the show work, in front of the camera as well as behind.
I'll always have fond memories of this show and excited to see where the actors pop up next.
Eric is not whining. There are still lots of fans that really loved this show...and still do. It was unique. There are way to many medical and crime shows on tv...this was different. The cast of this show was very talented...and America and Eric were GREAT.
I have a lot of respect for Eric for speaking up. I hope to see him on tv soon. They really need to do an Ugly Betty movie though.
You know, I've been thinking exactly the same way that Eric says here in this article. It does seem like Ugly Betty was thrown around the ABC schedule like it was an afterthought. Let's get real here -a comedy at 10 PM. For real, when has that ever succeeded. ABC was clearly trying to hide it and to make matters worse -it took 2 episodes away from it's final season. That was a serious slap in the face for the cast and the fans. I'm glad he spoke up because a lot of true fans have been thinking this way for awhile.
I can't believe for this homofobic jerk executives, we can see UB anymore!!! It's so unfair! I miss the show so badly, it is necessary to make an UB movie, and wrap up the story once and for all!
Amen Eric! I miss the show terribly. And Grace, I don't know what you were watching, but the final season was GREAT. And the show ended beautifully though it deserved a fifth season.