Any good story is one that can be translated into numerous versions over the decades. It is timeless, transcending the bounds of language and country. Colombia’s telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea is one of those stories. The Colombian novela, which ran from 1999 to 2001, has been resurrected so many times that nearly every country has its own interpretation. And now, Telemundo announced at today’s Upfront presentation they’re planning to make their own version of the popular show, entitled Betty in New York.
Like the previous versions of the series, Betty in New York will follow the same road. Dowdy young woman Beatriz Aurora Rincon Lozano is an “intelligent and skilled…Latina” and can’t seem to find a job due to her appearance, but this time she’s living in the Big Apple. She decides to take an entry level position at top fashion company V&M Fashion and struggles to assert herself in a world of glamorous women.
The network dropped a short promo to announce they’re casting the series. In it, an actress playing Betty walks out of the New York subway into a bustling Times Square. As she asks if, “the big city is ready for me” she’s immediately splashed with coffee, a reminder that this is a woman who will bring all manner of misfortune on herself. The promo hopes you already know the story, and especially the character (who will be retaining her glasses and large bangs as past Bettys have). Interestingly enough, Telemundo’s promo is in English, but a representative for the channel confirmed that the series itself will be in Spanish.
Betty in New York still has a long ways to go before completion. It doesn’t even have an IMDb page yet. How will this series attempt to differentiate itself from the over ten different iterations of the story already in existence? Telemundo faces the challenge of keeping its audience from comparing it to the U.S. version of the series, Ugly Betty which ran on the ABC network from 2006 to 2010 and was also set in New York.
There is currently no release date for the series.
Betty in New York promo video courtesy of Telemundo.