"UGLY BETTY" GETS FULL SEASON

We are now a month well into the new television season and following the first couple of cancellations, the first winners have also emerged. Following the full season pick-ups for NBC's "Heroes" and CBS's "Jericho", ABC's president Steve McPherson announced on Friday the network was picking up the #1 new series of the season "Ugly Betty" (Thursdays at 9/8c) and ordering additional 9 episodes on top of the initial 13.

ABC's new Salma Hayek-produced series "Ugly Betty", a clever spoof on the telenovela genre (it is actually based on the world's most popular telenovela "Yo Soy Betty La Fea") set in the fashion and publishing industry in New York and starring America Ferrera as Betty Suarez, premiered three weeks ago to strong numbers (over 16 million viewers tuned in) despite the absence of a lead-in.

Those figures got somewhat deflated in the second week as it is often the case after some of the viewers who sample the pilot decide not to watch the series. But when the results for Thursday's episode came in, it was clear Betty managed to stabilize its audience (almost 14 million viewers) and in combination with blockbuster "Grey's Anatomy" (9/8c) give ABC ratings dominance on Thursday nights, something the Disney-owned network had not been able to do for years.