TV's War Against Latinos?

OK, maybe not war. But there has definitely been some bleeding this week, as networks unveiled their fall season, with several veteran shows co-starring Latinos getting canned and one major show being given the equivalent of a death sentence.

The biggest news: ABC will move Ugly Betty to Fridays at 9PM behind Supernanny. That’s right, the network will move its huge hit show to a night in which nobody below age 50 stays home to watch TV, and will place it after a show about annoying kids and the caretakers who curb them. And this comes after ABC made the decision to end the show’s season early to give the sputtering Samantha Who? its time slot and a chance at survival. Not only did people confirm that they didn’t give a crap about Christina Applegate’s show by not watching, but ABC had to reinstate Ugly Betty to save the night. Now comes this. Is ABC trying to kill the show?

ABC’s president Stephen McPherson defended the Friday move by saying, “Sometimes you have to make bold moves,” and said he hoped that the show would have as good a run on Friday as the corny Ghost Whisperer had on CBS. Time to dust off your resume, America Ferrera.

In other news, Roselyn Sanchez and Enrique Murciano are out of a job after CBS cancelled Without a Trace. Nadine Velasquez will also have to find something else to do—NBC gave My Name is Earl the boot. Both shows were decent performers, but that’s not good enough when economy-challenged networks are tightening belts. It’s too bad about Nadine, who has great comic timing on a funny, quirky show. Hopefully she’ll find a home for it somewhere else.

As for Roselyn and Enrique, I can barely type without falling asleep. Buh bye, guys. But I have an idea for a Latino that TV should hire—Clifton Collins Jr., who shone in a tiny role in the Star Trek movie and kicked ass a couple of years ago on the FX mini-series Thief. How about him for your faltering CSI, CBS? Think about it.