ABC's new fall show "Ugly Betty" has gotten the kind of lucky break most producers would swap their August rental in the Hamptons for. The big question now is whether its target audience of young women will turn the series into this year's sleeper a la "Desperate Housewives" — or be repelled by a concept that just didn't translate.

Inspired by the Colombian telenovela "Yo Soy Betty, la Fea" ("I Am Betty, the Ugly"), a smash hit in Spanish-language markets, "Ugly Betty" stars America Ferrera as a smart but fashion-challenged young Hispanic — her signature garb is a loud print poncho — who endures regular humiliation in her job at a snooty magazine.

There's no shortage of glamour on either side of the camera; the cast includes the former Miss America-turned-pop-singer Vanessa Williams, who plays a haughty fashion editor, and one of the executive producers is Mexican-born actor Salma Hayek, who also has a cameo in the pilot.

But what really raised the show's profile was ABC's decision to shift the hourlong program from the dead zone of Friday nights to a high-visibility 7 p.m. Thursday berth leading into "Grey's Anatomy," one of the most-watched shows on TV.

ABC needs the help more than one might think. The network battled to No. 2 in the 2005-06 season in the adults 18-to-49 demographic, just a fraction behind market leader Fox, home of "American Idol."

But ABC's new shows performed badly last season; the low-rated "What About Brian" was the only first-year scripted series invited back.

Thursday is shaping up as prime time's top race this fall, and "Betty," a show that just a few weeks ago looked like an alsoran, is suddenly in the thick of it, taking on CBS' durable "Survivor" plus the NBC comedies "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office."

Now Thursdays are especially important to TV executives because that's when car and movie companies spend top dollar to pitch their products to prospective weekend shoppers.

"It's the night where the stakes are clearly the highest," CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl said last week.

Thanks to "Grey's" and "Housewives," ABC has had success courting women ages 18 to 49 lately, and if "Betty" continues the trend, the payoff could be enormous. ABC executives said they were encouraged that at July's TV press tour in Pasadena, the pilot earned positive reactions from some writers.

But "Betty" is already fending off concerns that having characters ridicule an unattractive heroine every week might strike many Americans as antifeminist or politically incorrect. TV blogger Terry Morrow of the Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel wrote: "The title is terrible. ... Why don't they just call it 'The Sexist Show' and be more obvious?"

Hayek said last month that the title is meant sarcastically, and that the show intends to criticize superficial notions of beauty.

"We're making fun of the people that would think that's ugly," she said of the title character. "I think she's beautiful."