Megan Hilty and Debra Messing
How far will Smash's Ivy Lynn go to win the part of Marilyn Monroe?
"She's dying to make that next step and she's willing to do just about anything to make it happen," Megan Hilty tells TVGuide.com. "Some people [aka Ivy] go a little farther than others."
read more
Smash
Here's hoping Megan Hilty doesn't have a complex... For months, NBC has been touting Smash as that new show starring American Idol's Katharine McPhee when in fact she is one of two actresses in the series whose characters are vying to play Marilyn Monroe on Broadway.
"...and introducing Katharine McPhee!" "Watch this specially filmed music video of Katharine McPhee singing 'Beautiful'!" And just take a gander at the poster, nicknamed Mount McPhee by one of the Idol alum's co-stars: It does her co-stars like Debra Messing no favors (is she about to fall off?). Anjelica Huston just barely squeezes in.
So is it safe to assume that McPhee's Karen Cartwright gets to play Marilyn?
read more
Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty
Resist the urge to pigeonhole or, worse, dismiss NBC's Smash as a "Glee for grownups." It's more original and exciting than that, bringing a thrilling charge of bold creative energy to network TV's mid-season that the fall largely lacked. Smash (premiering tonight at 10/9c, and maybe you caught wind of it during the Super Bowl?) is a musical show-stopper, a lavish and dishy wallow in the glittery yet ...
read more
Smash, Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty
Thanks to NBC's relentless marketing and PR campaign, much is already known about Smash, a big-risk series about the making of a Marilyn Monroe musical. At the center of the sudsy backstage drama is American Idol's Katharine McPhee, who stars as an ingénue pitted against a more seasoned Broadway chorus girl to play the iconic blonde.
If the premise sounds hopelessly niche for a broadcast network in desperate need of a hit (thespians! show tunes! jazz hands!), both NBC and critics high on the series have been working hard to change your mind. Advanced word on Smash is that it's the anti-Glee (especially if you've tired of that show's pop song-happy chorus of high schoolers), The West Wing but on Broadway (should you miss Aaron Sorkin's defining sense of a workplace), and a game-changer for NBC (if you went bananas for the first episode, which NBC screened in theaters and made available on-demand and online weeks before Monday's official premiere).
Watch Smash right now — then tell us what you think!
Is it all just hyperbole?
read more
Smash
Scene: A massive converted warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, late 2011. The lights come up on the cast of an ambitious network drama about the making of a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe as they screen the series' pilot during a catered lunch break. Once the credits roll, so do the waves of applause...
As anyone who's read the copious critical raves knows, Smash — the most faaabulous show that's not on Bravo — is all that and an orchestra seat. Produced by Steven Spielberg, created by Emmy nominee Theresa Rebeck (NYPD Blue), loaded with tunes by Hairspray Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and boasting a cast so good you'd think it was on cable, this stage-door soap is either gonna be a knock-'em-dead blockbuster or one of TV's splashiest misfits.
It's risky for sure. There's a reason...
read more
Smash
NBC would love for you to start obsessing over its new musical series Smash early.
Check out photos from Smash
So while the show -- a soapy, backstage drama about the making of a Broadway musical -- won't premiere until Monday, Feb. 6, you can watch it right here, right now.
read more
American Idol
As American Idol kicks off its 11th season with auditions Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7c on Fox, can it continue to reign over its rival singing competitions on TV (and all other shows, for that matter)?
Although Simon Cowell's The X Factor crowns its winner in the fall, NBC's The Voice will be nipping at Idol's heels when it premieres its second season on Feb. 5 after the Super Bowl. Charismatic banter among the coaches and those cool, swiveling chairs may bring in some viewers, but the Idol crew isn't sweating it, judging from a...
read more
Smash
As NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt put it, NBC is giving Smash the full-court press.
The network announced Friday that the full first episode will be available as a digital download beginning Jan. 16
read more
Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman has signed on for a five-episode arc on NBC's upcoming musical series Smash, the network announced Thursday.
Smash follows the page-to-stage journey of a Broadway musical based on Marilyn Monroe's life, from the perspectives of the writers, producers, directors and stars involved. The cast includes...
read more
Bernadette Peters
Broadway stalwart Bernadette Peters and Disney Channel standout Nick Jonas will guest-star on NBC's midseason musical drama Smash, the network announced Thursday.
read more