Ugly Betty
A Mother of a Problem
TV Flash files “A Mother of a Problem” as hour 59 of 85 in the TV Flash guide — Ugly Betty (2006–2010) on ABC, season 3, episode 18, aired 2009-03-12, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E18: listed hour 59 of 85 in the Ugly Betty guide, hour 18 of 24 in season 3. It aired 2009-03-12 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Sugar Daddy” (S03E17). Next is “The Sex Issue” (S03E19).

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Betty meets Matt's mother, but the meeting turns into a disaster. Meanwhile, Wilhelmina comes up with a way to solve the company's cash problem; Daniel deals with his relationship with Molly; and the Suarez's work together to set Hilda up with Archie.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Mother of a Problem sit in the Ugly Betty guide?
S03E18 is listed hour 59 of 85 — hour 18 of 24 in season 3, season 3 episode 18.
When did Ugly Betty S03E18 air?
A Mother of a Problem aired 2009-03-12 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need Yo soy Betty, la fea first?
No. The ABC series is the U.S. telenovela adaptation: Betty at Mode, Queens family warmth, Wilhelmina as camp villainy.
In the series
Why this series still plays
America Ferrera's Betty Suarez outworks a fashion magazine that treats braces like a character flaw. Ugly Betty is Guadalajara-to-Mode telenovela energy on ABC: Wilhelmina as camp villainy, family warmth in Queens, and a fish-out-of-water comedy that earned the heart instead of renting it.
Betty Suarez walks into Mode and the building flinches. That is the flash: braces as a character flaw, Guadalajara-to-Manhattan as a carpet no publicist staged, America Ferrera outworking every snob in the fluorescent. Silvio Horta's Ugly Betty (2006–2010) is ABC telenovela voltage based on Colombian Yo soy Betty, la fea — Eric Mabius, Vanessa Williams's Wilhelmina, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Ana Ortiz — and it made Ferrera a lead-actress Emmy winner while the fashion closet treated kindness like a dress code…
Filed against
- America Ferrera as Betty Suarez
America Ferrera’s Betty Suarez outworked Ugly Betty’s fashion closet until braces became a protagonist — 2000s catalog telenovela energy on ABC, then Superstore smuggling class teeth into fluorescent NBC farce. TV Flash files her as the…
- Eric Mabius as Daniel Meade
Eric Mabius played Daniel Meade on Ugly Betty — Mode magazine glamour, Guadalajara-to-Queens telenovela energy on ABC, a handsome editor who made America Ferrera's outwork look like a fairy tale with teeth. TV Flash files him as 2000s…
- Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater
Vanessa Williams’s Wilhelmina Slater made Ugly Betty’s Mode a camp-villain runway — America Ferrera’s Betty outworking a fashion magazine that treated braces like a character flaw, Guadalajara-to-Mode telenovela energy on ABC. Family…
- Becki Newton as Amanda Tanen
Becki Newton’s Amanda Tanen glittered through Ugly Betty as Mode’s weaponized blonde — America Ferrera’s Betty outworking a magazine that treats braces like a character flaw, Guadalajara-to-gloss telenovela energy on ABC, Wilhelmina as…
- Michael Urie as Marc St. James
Michael Urie’s Marc St. James camped Ugly Betty’s Mode floor like a telenovela that had learned to type — America Ferrera’s Betty outworking a magazine that treated braces as a character flaw, Wilhelmina as villainy, Queens family warmth.…
- Ana Ortiz as Hilda Suarez
Ana Ortiz’s Hilda Suarez held Ugly Betty’s Queens warmth against Mode’s braces-as-character-flaw cruelty — Guadalajara-to-magazine telenovela energy on ABC, Wilhelmina as camp villainy, family dinners as the actual fashion house. TV Flash…