“Ugly Betty” alum Eric Mabius talks about his quick return to TV in BBC America’s “Outcasts”

The last time we saw Eric Mabius on TV screens, his Ugly Betty character of Daniel Meade had moved from New York City to London to start a new life – and to court his former assistant Betty Suarez (America Ferrera).

It turns out that in real life, the actor traveled to South Africa to begin work on his next series: BBC America’s Outcasts.

Eric flew from South Africa to Beverly Hills to appear before journalists on the final day of the TV Critics Association’s Summer Press Tour.

“I jump in with the same kind of passion and outlook,” Eric said when asked to compare working on an American comedy and a British sci-fi series. “This is probably one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever played because he’s not black or white.”

Outcasts is set in 2040 with the future of Earth looking increasingly precarious so the race is on to find an alternative home in the universe. A group of social misfits and criminals who are sent to be the pioneers of a new settlement on a nearby planet and Eric plays the vice president of the evacuation program.

Because the series is shot in South Africa, Eric says viewers “can come with sort of a clean palate to the experience.”

“It’s refreshing to be out of the Hollywood paradigm, sort of free, not being watched, to pursue and put into motion what we think is fulfilling,” he said. “It’s more fun to create in that environment because things are more rugged… There are unimaginable amounts of raw beauty.”