For their September issue (the one with J.Lo on the cover), the magazine polled their readers about everything from beauty products to fictional characters. A couple of their questions touched on workplace stuff. A majority of readers chose Liz Lemon as the boss they’d like to work for over Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. Miranda “The Nazi” Bailey. Wow – you mean people might want to have a boss who is usually too busy dealing with her own weird personal dramas to care what you do over one who who regularly yells at and berates you in front of colleagues? Color me shocked.
As for “Who Would You Most Like to Share a Cubicle Wall With?,” the results were:
- Pam from The Office: 45 percent
- Betty from Ugly Betty: 42 percent
- Mary from The Mary Tyler Moore Show: 13 percent
I like all three of these ladies, but two of them are on shows that have been cancelled. (To be fair, Ugly Betty was only cancelled last year, so Betty is still pretty zeitgeisty.) Does this mean we need some more examples of strong women in the workplace on TV? The answer to that is pretty much always “yes.”
Published on
June 23, 2010 in
Celebrity Assistant Soapbox and Fictional Assistants.
Tags: anne hathaway, assistants on TV, brandon branch, celebrity assistants, Fictional Assistants, kelly cutrone, paula deen, reality TV, the devil wears prada, TV, ugly betty.
Flavorwire’s list of their favorite assistants from pop culture is pretty good. They have some of the usual suspects in there (Betty Suarez, Smithers, Jessica Zajicek), some up-and-comers (Andrew from Kell on Earth, who I keep meaning to do a post about), and some unconventional picks (until this list came out I thought I was the only person who preferred Emily to Andie in The Devil Wears Prada). But there’s one assistant they single out who I have sadly not ever done an ode to here on STA:
PAULA DEEN’S GAY ASSISTANT BRANDON.
That guy is so awesome. Gay Southerners are among my favorite people ever.
Talk about art imitating life – Ugly Betty star Mark Indelicato, who plays Betty’s fashion-conscious nephew Justin, may be jumping into the fashion world for real. Indelicato, age 15, took a tour of designer Carolina Herrera’s showroom last week. While there, he showed Herrera some sketches he had in mind for a denim line he wants to do. The designer was reportedly so impressed that she offered Indelicato an internship on the spot. Will he be a vanity intern who skips straight to designing, or will he actually get a chance to learn about the workings of the fashion industry?
Let’s just remind Carolina Herrera that, while it was very kind of her to offer this internship, she might want to hold out another year or two. Fifteen-year-olds, as we all learned from the Tallulah Willis at Harper’s Bazaar incident, are not able to be interns. So maybe Indelicato will just have to be a “guest of the designer” while he’s still a minor.
Although Ugly Betty’s new season hasn’t started airing yet, it’s not too soon to congratulate the show’s titular heroine on her recent promotion from assistant to features editor at Mode magazine. STA has been following her journey from the start, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the show changes now that Betty is in a position to have an assistant instead of be one. (As previously reported, former Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler will join the cast as Betty’s replacement working for Daniel.)
And what goes along with Betty’s promotion? A long-awaited makeover, of course. Sources report that focus groups were shown pictures of actress America Ferrera in different outfits, including a Chanel power suit and a black cocktail dress, and asked to say which one they liked the best. I guess it’s good that Betty won’t be so ugly anymore, but I really hope she doesn’t lose her spunk and kind heart. You hear that, show? Don’t let her get promoted to be the boss from hell. Our girl knows better than that.
Last season, Ugly Betty ended with our longsuffering assistant heroine Betty Suarez being promoted to Features Editor at Mode magazine, thus qualifying her as a Former Assistant Done Good.
However, that left a spot open for a new assistant. Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, best known as Meadow from The Sopranos, will join the show next season as Daniel Meade’s new assistant. For now, the role is recurring, but there’s definitely room for growth. Let’s just hope Jamie-Lynn fares better on the show than Lindsay Lohan did (i.e. doesn’t get fired from the show before her storyline is over).
Click here to see assistant Marc (Michael Urie), receptionist Amanda (Becki Newton) and Worst Boss Ever Naomi Campbell (herself) on the set of an upcoming episode of Ugly Betty.
Oh man, this news is almost too good to be true. STA’s favorite fictional assistant and STA’s favorite evil celebrity boss are going to go head to head. ABC announced yesterday that Naomi Campbell will guest star on Ugly Betty’s season finale. I can only hope that Naomi tries to mess with Betty and that Betty kicks major ass. I may have to liveblog this.
That reminds me…Ugly Betty is finally back tonight with its first episode since the writers’ strike ended. The episode is about Betty’s 24th birthday.
We love Michael Urie’s portrayal of Marc, sycophantic and neurotic assistant to fashion magazine editrix Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) on Ugly Betty. We’re also thrilled that the writer’s strike is over and we can get our Marc/Betty fix back. Michael gave a very personal interview to the L.A. Times recently. Among the things we learned? He, like us, is obsessed with Celebrity Rehab and, unlike us, is a giant “Fanilow.” Somebody needs to find a role for Barry Manilow on the show this season!
The interview can be found here.
Careerbuilder does a year-end list with a roundup of the worst bosses on TV. Aside from the expected usual suspects (Wilhelmina from Ugly Betty, Ari from Entourage), there are a couple of very funny–and accurate–choices on the list. We especially liked the inclusion of Dr. Kelso from Scrubs, and Ben from Lost, about whom they said the following: “Evil genius or saint in disguise? While viewers may enjoy trying to figure out which one of these personas is the real Ben Linus, apparent leader of the Others, the guessing game is torture for his underlings. Though Ben claims to be a good guy doing what is best for the island and its inhabitants, it doesn’t help his case that he has homicidal tendencies, a flair for manipulation and takes orders from a mysterious and violently temperamental being named “Jacob,” whom only he can see.”
You may not be able to tell in this picture, but Ben Linus has the Scariest Eyes Ever. For more on him and other evil TV bosses, go here.
Miss Ugly Betty herself, America Ferrera, had this to say in Star magazine (UK edition) when asked if her character was an exaggeration of an assistant:
“If you work in this industry, some of our plot lines aren’t as far-fetched as they seem. A lot of people in the film and television industry treat their assistants even worse than in this show.”
Um, word.
For their September issue (the one with J.Lo on the cover), the magazine polled their readers about everything from beauty products to fictional characters. A couple of their questions touched on workplace stuff. A majority of readers chose Liz Lemon as the boss they’d like to work for over Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. Miranda “The Nazi” Bailey. Wow – you mean people might want to have a boss who is usually too busy dealing with her own weird personal dramas to care what you do over one who who regularly yells at and berates you in front of colleagues? Color me shocked.
