‘Ugly Betty’ lands in pretty impressive slot

IS a comedy-drama about a clumsy young woman who wears braces and fashion-disastrous ponchos destined to become this fall’s breakout TV hit? That’s what ABC is betting.

The network announced Wednesday that “Ugly Betty” -- an Americanized version of the Colombian telenovela “Yo Soy Betty, la Fea” (I Am Betty, the Ugly) -- will, starting Sept. 28, take over the 8 p.m. Thursday slot leading into “Grey’s Anatomy,” one of the most watched shows on television.

In May, ABC initially stuck “Betty” in a relatively low-key Friday slot. The new move virtually guarantees more attention for the series, whose executive producer is Salma Hayek and which stars America Ferrera as a bright but fashion-challenged working-class woman struggling to make it at a trendy magazine a la Vogue.

To make way for “Betty,” ABC is delaying two new comedies, “Big Day” and “Notes From the Underbelly,” until later in the fall.

ABC executives were encouraged to shift “Betty” after a screening of the pilot generated positive reactions from some critics at last month’s Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena.

The network is downplaying the telenovela roots and hoping the plotline, which has some similarities to the hit movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” will interest a broad audience.

“ ‘Ugly Betty’ has an enormous amount of buzz,” Jeff Bader, ABC’s executive vice president in charge of scheduling, said in an interview. “Something about that show is resonating.”

Of course, the move carries some serious risks, not the least of which is the possibility of damaging “Grey’s Anatomy” with a weak lead-in if “Betty” fails to connect with viewers.

But Bader said that “Betty,” like “Grey’s Anatomy,” should do particularly well among young women. The average age of “Grey’s” viewers is 42, which is young by the standards of network TV.

Bader also said he was unconcerned by the stiff competition on Thursdays, where ABC has in past seasons never had much luck finding big audiences. “Betty” will square off against CBS’ reality hit “Survivor,” as well as NBC’s comedy duo of “My Name Is Earl” and “The Office” and the CW’s “Smallville,” plus Fox’s new comedies “ ‘Til Death” and “Happy Hour.”

“They’re all very different shows in that time period,” he said.

Channel Island is a blog about the television industry. For the latest posting, go to latimes.com/channelisland. Contact reporter Scott Collins at channelisland@latimes.com.