Silvio Horta

In his two-hour-fifteen-minute Archive interview, Silvo Horta (1974-2020) talks about his early projects, including writing the pilot The Furies with Ryan Murphy and the series Chronicle. He discusses creating the short-lived series Jake 2.0 and the pilot titled West Side. He recalls becoming involved with Ugly Betty, which was a remake of a Mexican telenovela co-produced by Salma Hayek. Horta recalls many aspects of his Ugly Betty experience, including shooting the pilot and casting Vanessa Williams when another actress proved unsatisfactory. He outlines the social impact of the show, which featured a Latina lead and several homosexual characters. He talks about dealing with the network on Ugly Betty, as well as its star, America Ferrera. Horta also speaks of his writing process and gives advice to aspiring television writers. Nancy Harrington conducted the interview on October 31, 2013 in Los Angeles, CA.