Ugly Betty

One of the series' co-creators, Fernando Gaitán, is Colombian, and executive producer Salma Hayek is Mexican American. Main character Betty Suarez is also Mexican American, played by multiracial Latina actress America Ferrera (who has Lenca ancestry). Betty is portrayed as intelligent, resourceful, and hard-working, but the show argues that she needs to conform to society's beauty standards, such as thinness and femininity, to earn basic respect at the workplace. She suffers constant fat-shaming, especially in the first couple of seasons. Justin, another member of the Suarez family (played by Italian-Puerto Rican actor Mark Indelicato), is a brave teen who embraces his queer identity. Betty's empathetic best friend, Marc St. James, played by openly gay actor Michael Urie, is multidimensional and fearless. In a minor role, transgender woman Alexis Meade is admirable. She's played by Rebecca Romijn, a cisgender actor. The series' villain/Betty's workplace rival, Wihelmina Slater, is played by multiracial actor Vanessa Williams, who's of Black and Welsh descent. Wihelmina is negatively portrayed as mean, superficial, and scheming.

Back-biting and scheming, but no physical violence (except to a stuffed bunny...). A regular character is portrayed as a womanizer who has no qualms about sleeping with his co-workers and manipulating sexual favors from his female employees. He makes unwelcome advances at the workplace, comments on women's appearances in derogatory ways, and creates an abusive environment that's played for comedy on the show.

Given its setting at a fashion magazine, characters dress in daring ways -- tight clothes and bare midriffs/backs regularly appear. Main characters have romantic arcs: They kiss, make out, and confess love to one another. Sex is implied, such as a character in a rumpled bed or grabbing morning papers in only his underwear outside a co-worker's apartment.

"Bitch," "damn," and "pansy" (used to refer to a gay man). Women are constantly called "fat" throughout the series ("You look like two fat girls hugging each other.").