Genre

‘Ugly Betty’ belongs to a hybrid of:

Romance: The conventions of a romance usually tend to be that there is misunderstanding and obstacles in the way; however the couple unites in the end. In the case with Betty, this is shown as when she first meets Henry- he and herself are both in relationships with different people (Walter and Charlie), and the obstacle in the way is Charlie who announces that she is pregnant.
Moreover, Hilda Suarez is engaged and is meant to be marrying Santos. However, in the finale episode (23rd) of series 2, Santos is shot dead and there is a reference made to ‘West Side Story’ (1961). ‘West Side Story’ (adapted from Romeo and Juliet) is a classic love story where the main protagonists Tony and Maria’s relationship ends in tragedy. ‘West Side Story’ is shown directly as Justin is in a play starring as the main character (Tony) yet it is used to reflect Hilda’s and Santos’s relationship. While Justin gets shot in the play, Santo gets shot in real life which creates much dramatic tension for the audience. In a sense, ‘West Side Story’ could also reflect Betty’s relationship with Henry, as it ends in a tragedy (with Henry leaving), hence it could be argued that a part of ‘Ugly Betty’s narrative is a modern and updated version of ‘West Side Story’.

A major convention of romance genre is that the two main characters (the hero and heroine) get together in the end, and although Betty and Henry are supposedly meant to be together, in the finale series and finale episode, it can be predicted that Betty will get a make-over and then will get together with Daniel Meade (her boss).
As for now, ugly Betty’s character does not conform to the genre’s characteristics as in romances, the heroine is always attractive-yet Betty is not.
Despite this, the audience can clearly see that Betty has great qualities and can predict a make-over which would fulfill the audiences generic expectations, giving us a sense of satisfaction, as Betty and Daniel will get together.

Drama-Comedy: meaning ‘Ugly Betty’ has an equal amount of humor and serious content. The convention of comedy is that it usually has stereotypical characters and these are provided in the program. Marc is gay- and gay people are stereotypically viewed as feminine, bitchy, sly etc and Marc is represented as all of these things. Nevertheless, serious issues are attached to Marc as he finds it hard to come out with his sexuality in front of his family (his mother).
Moreover, Amanda provides much humor as she is gullible and naïve, and at the same time she is catty and rude. Her occupation as a receptionist has lower status attached to it and she behaves very childlike and can be viewed as ditzy. Again, she has a serious side too, as she has feelings for Daniel who does not acknowledge her.

To add to this, Betty herself is seen as humorous due to her appearance and because of the first impression she gives (even to the audience). For instance, when she newly starts work at Mode- she walks right into a glass door without realizing it’s actually there.
Overall, the fashion industry is made a joke out of- as there’s fashion news channel in the episodes with reporters sensationalizing some minor story about appearance of celebrities. This just makes them look ridiculous and makes the audience laugh at them.