For the love of Betty: Why is ABC bumping "Ugly" to summer?

In shocking breaking news from gay reporter sprite Michael Ausiello, ABC has revealed that the show will go on hiatus after March 26th, and may not be back until summer!

Ugly Betty will be replaced by new episodes of Samantha Who? and the new Megan Mullaly comedy In the Motherhood, but the network insists that Betty will return ... eventually:

"The Thursday night block is a good opportunity to launch these comedies," counters an ABC spokesperson. "That said, Betty is a solid performer and there is no question that it will definitely be back to complete its season, just without repeats."

Ugly Betty has never been a ratings blockbuster, but it's always held its own, and is one of ABC's few sure things when it comes to award nominations. But burning off a show's new episodes after the regular season ends is never a good sign, and when a show goes on hiatus, it usually means goodbye-atus (err, sorry).

So what do you Betty fans think? Does this surprise you, or could you see writing on the wall? Or is this announcement much ado about nothing, and we're just overreacting?