The episode received mostly positive reviews . Robert Bianco of '' USA Today '' gave the episode 3 and a half stars , and wrote " There is no new show more likable , but that affection may waver if Betty ca n't give Ferrera the scripts and support she deserves . Even intense charm can curdle if you lean on it exclusively . " Rob Owen from the '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette '' deemed the episode " pretty good " , but he wondered if the " premise may be too slight " to maintain a full series . '' The New York Times '' Virginia Heffernan praised Mabius and Ferrera 's " sparkling rapport " and said " the two have a valet-hero back-and-forth that , if the writers really explore it , might make them a prime-time Wooster and Jeeves . " Heffernan added that the show was " worth watching " for its humor and sweetness . Michael Slezak from '' Entertainment Weekly '' observed that the episode was full of clichés , but thought Ferrera 's performance was good enough to hide the fact they had all been seen before . He added " Despite a pilot episode that does n't contain a single surprising plot point , Betty comes off as remarkably fresh . " Michael Ausiello , writing for '' TV Guide '' , chose the episode as his " most satisfying pilot " , adding " Allow me to be the first to say , ' God bless America Ferrera ! ' " A writer for PopSugar said " We enjoyed the first episode and ca n't wait to see where it 's headed . " They thought that the show 's format would have been ideal for a thirty-minute sitcom instead of being an hour long , but hoped the network 's decision would prove them wrong in the long term . The '' Liverpool Echo 's '' Paddy Shennan praised the episode for having " substance as well as style " and for its " extremely likeable " main character . Shennan quipped " It 's all far-fetched nonsense , but it 's fun , far-fetched nonsense " . Hadley Freeman of '' The Guardian '' also noted the clichés , but thought some of the jokes were funny and enjoyed Ferrera 's performance . Freeman stated that she was " not only appealing with palpable intelligence , she manages to play the outsider without recourse to sneering at the world in which she works . " The episode was nominated for and won several awards following its broadcast . At the 9th ALMA Awards , Horta won the Outstanding Writer for a Television Series , Mini-Series , or TV Movie accolade . While Shepard won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series . Junie Lowry Johnson and Bernard Telsey won the Comedy Pilot Casting award from the Casting Society of America . Lowry Johnson also received a nomination in the Best Comedy Episodic Casting category
9th ALMA Awards
9th ALMA Awards
Pilot (Ugly Betty)