Comedy drama Ugly Betty, starring America Ferrera, has been axed after four years by ABC. The show made a household name out of Ferrera and also starred Ricky Gervais’s Extras co-star, Ashley Jensen.
The show airs in the UK on Channel 4 and will not return after the climax to its fourth series later this year.
Ugly Betty was sold to around 50 countries around the world but ratings fell for its latest run in both the UK and the US. The show is co-produced by Reveille, which is owned by Elisabeth Murdoch’s production company, Shine.
“We’ve mutually come to the difficult decision to make this Ugly Betty’s final season,” said executive producer Silvio Horta and ABC president Steve McPherson in a joint statement. “We are announcing now as we want to allow the show ample time to write a satisfying conclusion.”
Ugly Betty began on Channel 4 with 4.5 million viewers in January 2007. But ratings for the last run fell – not helped by being moved around the schedule – to between 1 million and 2 million.
In the US, ratings fell from an average of 8.1 million to 5.3 million between its third and fourth run.