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‘Ugly Betty’ gets a new look

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‘Ugly Betty’ is about to get a makeover and it has nothing to do with Betty’s bushy eyebrows or shiny braces.

The ABC comedy is moving its set to New York City, where the fictional Mode magazine actually is based and where Betty, Daniel and the gang supposedly roam the streets.

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For the last two seasons, Los Angeles (mostly a Hollywood studio lot) has posed as Manhattan on the Golden Globe-winning show, but creator Silvio Horta and star America Ferrera have always wished the show was filmed in the Big Apple so that it would have more authenticity. The pilot was shot in Manhattan, but ABC decided to base the show in Los Angeles to keep costs down.

But new tax incentives enacted by the New York Legislature are now making it more affordable for the series to be shot in New York, sources close to the series said. Although the move may prove financially sound for ABC, it will leave hundreds of unhappy crew members, stylists and designers out of work.

ABC referred interview requests about the change to ABC Studios, which produces the show. An ABC Studios spokesperson said the studio could not confirm the location switch because the deal was not final.

On Tuesday, however, actors who were working on some of the season’s last scenes found it difficult to concentrate after learning that they would have to move across the country as soon as possible in order to keep their jobs, according to sources close to them.

‘Ugly Betty’ wraps filming for this season on Friday and is scheduled to begin production on next season at either Silvercup Studios in Long Island or Steiner Studios in Brooklyn on June 30.

--Maria Elena Fernandez

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