20 Years Ago, This 'Lincoln Lawyer' Star Got Her Big Break on This Game-Changing Sitcom

Many of our favorite shows on television feature new stars who are on their first or second big projects. But others have stars that we haven’t seen in ages, but we sorely missed. Becki Newton is one of those stars. Many grew to love her in the 2000s for her role as Amanda Tanen in Ugly Betty, and now, Newton is back to grace our screens as Lorna Crane on Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer. Of course, the premises of the two series are widely different, but the characters she plays share some similarities.

Becki Newton Plays a Fan-Favorite Character on Netflix's 'The Lincoln Lawyer'

Premiering in 2022, The Lincoln Lawyer is based on books by the American crime writer Michael Connelly, who is also known for being the mind behind the hit series, Bosch. Lincoln Lawyer follows Michael "Mickey" Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), who is a defense attorney in Los Angeles, and is frequently seen working outside the back of his chauffeured Lincoln Navigator. Mickey leads the cases and colors outside the lines of what may be legal and ethical.

Supporting Mickey is his team, made up of Cisco (Angus Sampson), his private investigator; Izzy (Jazz Raycole), his personal driver and office manager; and, last but certainly not least, Lorna (Newton), his second ex-wife, legal aid, and eventual associate. Lorna is a fiercely loyal and passionate person. After a brief marriage to Mickey, they discover they are better as friends, and she remains fiercely protective of the people she loves. She works through the trauma of an assault in law school and becomes a lawyer to help defend more people.

Who Did Becki Newton Play on 'Ugly Betty'?

Based on Fernando Gaitán’s Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, the series was adapted and developed by Silvio Horta for American audiences. The series follows Betty (America Ferrera), an idiosyncratic Mexican American woman who has a questionable haircut, braces, and no fashion sense. The naive and sweet Betty happens to land a role at a high-fashion magazine, Mode.

And, of course, no high-fashion show/movie would be complete without its resident bullies. In the world of Ugly Betty, we have creative director Wilhelmina's (Vanessa Williams) loyal assistant Marc St. James (Michael Urie) and Mode receptionist Amanda (Newton). Amanda and Marc take any opportunity to humiliate and ridicule Betty, and Amanda is especially ruthless for most of the series. Running for four seasons, Newton has plenty of opportunities to shine as Amanda in all her scheming, gossiping, and snarky glory.

A character like Amanda can be easily one-dimensional and quickly grow tired, but thanks to Newton's performance (and, of course, the writing), Amanda becomes a layered character. While at first she seems to blindly bully Betty, we learn that Amanda's own insecurities about being "just a receptionist" only fuel her behavior. But her character is much more than just Betty's bully. For example, not only was she secretly sleeping with editor Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius), but she later discovers she may be the biological child of his father. The comedic timing she brings to situations ranging from uncomfortable to tense is exactly what makes Newton a standout. Thankfully, as we watch Amanda reluctantly become somewhat friends with Betty in later seasons, we see that she is more than just the office bully.

Despite being over ten years apart and completely different shows, the two characters have some similarities. Both are always fashionable and often deliver snarky one-liners. They both share a sharp wit, used in slightly different ways. Amanda is used to protecting her soft interior with a hard exterior, while Lorna typically does so in a loving manner with her loved ones or in a defensive manner toward those perceived as threats. Both characters have a growth arc, albeit Lorna’s story is still developing. While Amanda begins as a straight-out villain, her character develops various shades of color that make fans fall in love with her over the show’s four-season run. On the other hand, Lorna has always been the firm’s fervent protector on The Lincoln Lawyer, and her story has only developed as she evolved.

While Ugly Betty allowed Newton to flex her comedic chops, The Lincoln Lawyer has her push beyond what we are used to. Lorna still has the comedic beats that existed in Amanda, but Newton gets to show vulnerability more often. At times, thanks to Mickey’s hijinks, Lorna finds herself in thriller-like situations. Along with that, Newton gets to play a force to be reckoned with in later seasons as a full-fledged lawyer. We can't wait to see what The Lincoln Lawyer has in store for Newton in the seasons ahead.