Talks underway with Ugly Betty cast

EXCLUSIVE: There is promising news for fans of Ugly Betty with leading man Eric Mabius revealing talks with cast are progressing in the USA.

Ugly Betty, which starred America Ferrera, ran from 2006 – 2010 topping the ratings, winning awards and critical acclaim for its progressive representation of both Latin-American & LGBTQI characters.

“It’s so rewarding to be part of TV that’s groundbreaking, not leading with that as the intention, but as the byproduct,” Mabius, currently starring in Lost Letter Mysteries, tells TV Tonight.

“I think Ugly Betty was ahead of its time and I think that it would be more timely right now than ever.

“I continue to be proud of that, to be a part of such talent. It was probably the truest work family I’ve ever had. Halfway through our run we moved from the west coast to New York, which sort of injected the show with a whole other kind of life. We had easy access to Broadway actors and the locations were just out of this world.”

He was also reminded of the show’s achievements whilst watching President Biden address the United Nations.

“We shot in the UN. We were one of the first projects to ever be allowed in there. I remember standing at that podium…. touchstones in my life,” he recalls.

“Hopefully with enough groundswell, they may even bring the show back for a little bit.”

Does that mean a revival, reunion, reboot?

“I don’t know. There’s something being discussed, but I’m not at liberty to say,” he teased.

“We had an abrupt ending and I think that we all felt that we didn’t have enough time to finish telling the stories that needed to be told.”

More recently Mabius has been starring in Love Letter Mysteries (US title: Signed, Sealed, Delivered), a US / Canadian series by Hallmark.

Mabius stars as dead letter office boss Oliver O’Toole who has faith in old-fashioned methods and with his colleagues solves the mysteries of undelivered letters, and bringing together unlinked parties.

“I thought it was really smart. It’s not sappy”

“The woman who created the show, Martha Williamson, created Touched by an Angel, which ran for nine seasons and was very popular. I was flying to China at the time, and the script was sent to me just before the doors closed in an airplane, and I managed to download it. I read it on the plane and I thought it was really smart. It’s not sappy, like so many things that they seemed to be doing back in 2013,” he continues.

“We had this fantastic long, rambling, wonderful conversation and we hit it off and I thought, ‘She’s smart enough to pull this off, obviously’ and there’s something very infectious. There’s a wonderful way about Martha and her ability to pluck one’s heartstrings without being sappy about it. So I jumped in and we shot the two hour pilot.”

Lost Letter Mysteries also features Kristin Booth, Crystal Lowe, Geoff Gustafson and guest stars Valerie Bertinelli, Carol Burnett, Valerie Harper and Gregory Harrison.

Since premiering in 2013, the collection of telemovies and episodes has continued across eight years. It is still an ongoing project for Mabius with a new telemovie due in the USA in October, after COVID-related delays.

“Everything is upside down, including the entertainment business. It took a while because the network has been going through some leadership changes over the past few years. They were being rolled out on a pretty consistent basis and there was obviously a very long hiccup with COVID.”

In Australia Seasons 1 & 2, comprising 12 telemovies, is currently available on Acorn TV.

Season 3 with telemovies Lost Without You, Higher Ground, Home Again, Road Less Travelled To the Altar begins on Monday October 4.