Ana Ortiz says ‘Ugly Betty’ cast want revival of ‘at least 6 episodes’

Ana Ortiz is ready for more Ugly Betty, but she has some conditions.

“I’m gonna live in the world of yes, because we all wanna do it so badly,” she said on a recent episode of the Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, when asked if some kind of reboot or revival of the beloved ABC comedy-drama is on the table.

That doesn’t mean Ortiz would agree to return to the series in any form, however.

“I honestly think the only way to do it is at least six episodes,” she explained. “I don’t think, because it’s a large cast with so many different moving parts, you couldn’t put it into a movie. It couldn’t just be a two-hour thing, because every character is so epic, right?”

Ortiz played the character of Hilda Suarez, the extravagant yet fiercely loyal older sister of star America Ferrera‘s Betty Suarez, throughout the series run. The actress has gone on to secure lead roles in popular series like Devious Maids, Love, Victor, and most recently the second season of Disney+ and Hulu’s Goosebumps reboot.

But Ugly Betty holds a special place in her heart, and she feels, as many fans concur, that such a character-driven show wouldn’t be served by the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life-style miniseries reboot format.

“I mean, Wilhelmina [Vanessa Williams] and Judith Light‘s character, Claire Meade and then [Michael Urie] and [Becki Newton] who play Marc and Amanda… and then the family,” she began, explaining, “I think it would have to be” a proper series.

Ortiz insisted that these reservations don’t mean that an Ugly Betty reboot or revival is off the table. “I can only say that we are so all of us, from soup to nuts, we all want to do it. I think it’s just a question now of getting the rights, because it was owned by the Colombian production company, blah, blah, blah. So, we’re working on it.”

Ugly Betty was developed by Silvio Horta from Fernando Gaitán’s Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea. That series ran for only three years, but racked up a staggering 350+ episodes, and became the first Spanish-language soap to be remade and broadcast around the world. Rebooting the series means not just negotiating with ABC, Ugly Betty‘s original network, but the creative team and production company behind its source material.

But Ortiz isn’t alone in her optimism. In 2023, Ferrara said she would be “thrilled” to return for a revival. “I think there has been like a deep desire there for a long time, because our Ugly Betty family is so close, and so we love each other so much… I think we’d all come back in a heartbeat,” Ferrara said.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Series alumni like Ferrara, Urie, and Williams have reunited over the years at various awards shows, red carpet events, and personal engagements. In 2022, Ferrara shared a photo of the trio with the caption, “Betty & Marc & Wilhelmina. Some things never change.”

You can listen to the rest of Ortiz’s remarks on Ugly Betty below.