SMASH Recap: The Cost of Art

The beauty of this week’s SMASH was in its simplicity. In one hour of television, the central organizing principle of the show’s fictitious “Marilyn: the Musical” was clearly explained through each character. “The Cost of Art” demonstrated that a successful stage production requires shared sacrifice from every participant. No matter whether those concessions are personal, […]

SMASH Recap: Enter Mr. DiMaggio (with Musical Numbers)

Oh no… Please tell me they were kidding. After two weeks of promising television, building legitimate buzz among mainstream audiences, THIS is the direction that SMASH had to go? “Enter Mr. DiMaggio” was the weakest of SMASH’s first three episodes, and could not have come at a worse time for NBC to maintain momentum behind […]

SMASH Recap: Callbacks (with Musical Number Videos)

NBC exhausted its promotional creativity in order to maximize the reach of last week’s SMASH premiere, and those efforts were rewarded. To build on a debut audience of over 11.4 million viewers, the SMASH pilot was replayed on NBC Universal’s vast cable lineup on Saturday night.  If any converted Gleeks or nostalgic theatre nerds have […]

SMASH: Creator Theresa Rebeck Talks About Her New Show

Have you guys fallen in love with SMASH yet? There’s a brand new episode of the musical drama tonight and it is good. Not only are there some fantastic singing numbers, but there is some significant progress on the quest for the role of Marilyn. I talked with SMASH creator Theresa Rebeck about her new […]

SMASH: Rewatch ‘Let Me Be Your Star,’ ‘National Pastime’ and More Musical Numbers

So, have you fallen for SMASH yet? As much as I tried (and intended) to stay away from rewatching the pilot tonight on NBC, I can admit I tuned in to rewatch the musical numbers. But after seeing them for yourselves, you get it right? And in case you want to watch them again, check […]

SMASH Recap: Season Premiere

When Robert Greenblatt took over as NBC Entertainment Chairman in early 2011, he inherited a tragic kingdom of shrinking viewership and devalued brands. Unable to demonstrate patience in building new programs from the ground up, a luxury of his previous post at Showtime, Greenblatt invested in projects with marquee value and high profile names attached. […]

The TV Talk Podcast: CHUCK Finale, SMASH, DOWNTON ABBEY, GLEE, and More…

It’s a new year but TV Talk Podcast don’t give a shit! Kath and Dan are finally back and this podcast is seriously one of the best of our worst. Seriously the first 9 minutes are not to be missed. Hot. Mess. NSFW-style. (You’ve been warned!) Highlights: We can’t even start this episode without losing […]

Watch the SMASH Series Premiere Now!

SMASH won’t officially have its series premiere until Monday, February 6 on NBC, but if you’re dying to see what all the fuss is about, you can download the pilot on iTunes now or watch it OnDemand. This is one of my favorite pilots of the midseason, so let me know what you think after […]

SMASH at NBC TCA: Our Liveblog

NBC is launching SMASH next month, and it’s a fairly ambitious show. The series follows the conception and production of a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Right now, I’m in Pasadena for the NBC TCA day, and since this is one of my favorite shows of the midseason, I wanted to […]

SMASH Recruits Uma Thurman

NBC has nabbed another big name star for their new musical drama, SMASH: Uma Thurman! The network has confirmed to Give Me My Remote that Thurman will appear in five episodes of the brand new series. While NBC declined to comment on the specifics of her role, EW is reporting that she’ll play “a famous […]

NBC Sets THE VOICE and SMASH Premiere Dates

If you’re like me and you’ve been going through some major THE VOICE withdrawals, there is some relief in sight! At NBC’s TCA executive session Monday morning, Robert Greenblatt announced that the one-hour second season premiere will debut directly after the Super Bowl on February 5th, 2012. THE VOICE will make its timeslot debut with […]

Report: NBC Picks Up SMASH, PRIME SUSPECT and Two New Comedies

According to multiple reports, NBC has made their first series orders for the new television season. As expected, the network has picked up Maria Bello-led PRIME SUSPECT, an adaption of the popular British miniseries. Also scoring a spot on the lineup is SMASH, a musical drama about the makings of a Broadway show, starring Debra […]