''Esti HaMekho'eret'' ( he, אסתי המכוערת; ''lit.'' The Ugly Esti) is an Israeli

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

series starring

Riki Blich Rivka "Riki" Blich ( he, ריקי בליך; born September 29, 1979) is an Israeli actress and comedian. She was born to parents who immigrated from Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( ru ...

. The series premiered on 3 July 2003 on Channel 2 in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and was created by Shlomo Moshiah. This series is based on the Mexican

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

El amor no es como lo pintan ''El amor no es como lo pintan'' (''Love is not as it looks'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Juan David Burns and Elisa Salinas for TV Azteca. It was broadcast on Azteca Trece from September 4, 2000 to May 4, 2001 for 175 episodes and the f ...

'', despite reports that it is based on the Colombian novela ''

Yo soy Betty, la fea ''Yo soy Betty, la fea'' (English: I am Betty, the Ugly one), often referred to simply as ''Betty, la fea'', is a Colombian telenovela written by Fernando Gaitán which was broadcast from 25 October 1999 to 8 May 2001 by RCN. More than a dozen ...

''. A report to the relevant stockholders of Dori Media shows that the company was threatened with a lawsuit because of their show's similarities to ''Betty la fea''. Because of potential legal action, the show's premise was changed, as was its title, ''"Elvis, Rosenthal, VeHaIsha Hamistorit" ''.

Cast

References

2003 Israeli television series debuts 2006 Israeli television series endings Comedy-drama television series Fashion-themed television series Israeli drama television series Channel 2 (Israeli TV channel) original programming 2000s Israeli television series Yo soy Betty, la fea {{Israel-tv-stub