Smash - Series Discussion

[beautywickedlover]

The show will be put on hold till mid-season in the 2012-2013 season. I think the reason why NBC is doing this is because they thought that NBC's viewers were tired of music after watching 'The Voice' for two hours straight. Plus 'Hawaii Five O' and 'Castle' out perform it. Still, I am not sure if its a good idea to wait a whole year for a show. People forgot about 'Pushing Daisies' when it was on hold for a year due to the Writer's Strike.




NBC's 2012-13 fall schedule revealed

[JP2]

Not sure how that makes a difference. The Voice will have ANOTHER new season mid-season as well.

[beautywickedlover]

^ In February 2012, Entertainment Weekly did say that airing after 'The Voice' might have hurt its ratings.

"It may also be that, after two hours of high drama and low music from Christina and Adam and the contestants on The Voice, viewers are just plain music-ed out by 10 p.m. on a Monday night: What looked like the ideal lead-in may have proven a case of too much — a three-hour programming block of knock-your-socks-off competitive singing and judging (since the judging and coaching that Julia, Jack, and Jack Davenport’s director Derek do all the time in shaping their show runs parallel to what’s done on The Voice)."


'Smash': Why is it not a smash? Some theories

[EricMontreal22]

I'm not sure if waiting till midseason--ie an 8 or so month wait is really the kiss of death anymore. People seem to accept it no problem with cable shows (Mad Men is even doing better and it was on hold--what, 18 months? Of course it's hardly a blockbuster by network tv ratings standards). What hurts network shows more I think is the distrust audiences have that the network will even air a full season (so why bother investing?), and also when there are prolonged breaks within seasons, or even worse, frustrating scheduling where it's a new episode one week, then a repeat, then a new one, etc. Smash avoided this, and ideally, considering how long it apparently takes to shoot each episode, this midseason order will allow them to avoid it too.

You're right about Pushing Daisies and a number of other shows, but, while Smash is by no means a, err, smash, Pushing Daisies always flew even more under the radar IMHO.

[beautywickedlover]

The biggest problem, however, is that this kills any chance of the show receiving at the 70th Golden Globe Awards. I don't think the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominates shows that only air mid season (January - May). When 'Mad Men' was put on hold to mid season, it of course got zero nominations at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.

[EricMontreal22]

Wasn't that due to Mad Men not airing any episodes for the eligible season though? The Golden Globes, which are kinda a joke anyway, are pretty certain to nominate Smash in best comedy/musical I think and I don't think this mid season run will be a problem.

[beautywickedlover]

^ I thought Golden Globe nominations would be good press for this show. I do agree though that they can be a joke. They especially proved this in the 68th Golden Globe Awards, which aired in January 2011.

[ucjrdude902]

I read an article the other day at work that basically said NBC knew they effed up (for lack of better terms) and were given the option to come back in the fall but SMASH declined to give them time to improve things since they're only going back in July.

[FindingNamo]

^^^ I have read this post three times and I can't for the life of me figure out what it means.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Thank god. I thought it was just me and that I'd sound mean if I said something.

[TheatreDiva90016]

And that stopped you, why?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Because I am IN TECH!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

I think he means this:

"I read an article the other day at work that basically said NBC knew they effed up (for lack of better terms) "and the team members behind SMASH were given" the option to come back in the fall but "the" SMASH "team" declined "in order" to give them time to improve things, "rather than returning" in July.

This is just my guess.

[beautywickedlover]

Here are the reasons why the show will be on hold till midseason:

"Jennifer Salke, president NBC Entertainment, gave EW.com the scoop. “New showrunner Josh Safran is coming in — he’s awesome,” she says. “And we wanted him to get a chance to own [it] and get in there and have an ownership stake in the show — not just put a gun to his head and [tell him], ‘You gotta get going!’ So we wanted him to be able to stand back and have a real creative discussion about what he wants the season to be and be a big part of that.”

Another factor, Salke says, is Smash will have fewer schedule disruptions airing after the first of the year.

“If it aired in the fall, it would have so many preemptions with the election and those things, you could never really run more than three or four episodes straight,” she says. “The midseason schedule will allow a clean run, which is important for a show like Smash, that’s very serialized, which has that core audience that gets frustrated if they don’t get to see the story from week to week.”

Another scheduling element that Salke did not mention, but might be an issue, is the show’s lead-in. NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told reporters yesterday he was very happy pairing musicals The Voice and Smash on Mondays. In the fall, NBC will wisely use The Voice — the network’s biggest entertainment program — to launch its most promising new drama, Revolution. You always use your biggest hits to try and launch new shows. But by holding Smash until midseason, NBC might be able to pair Voice and Smash a second time.

Greenblatt told EW.com that fans can expect next season to have improved serialized storytelling now that Safran is on board. “[Safran] has a real passion for this world and he’s a really smart and sophisticated writer,” he said. “He’s going to raise the bar for us. I do think we’re going to do a better job of arcing really interesting and complex serialized stories.” —





Why NBC is holding 'Smash' for midseason

[jacobsnchz14]

Well, tonight's the season finale!

Any word on a DVD/Blu-Ray release date yet? Nothing on Amazon last I checked. New Shaiman/Wittman song "Don't Forget Me" sung by McPhee on tonight's show. Also it is rumored that Ivy will be singing "Rose's Turn", and Bernadette Peters will return.

[WithoutATrace]

No word on the DVD release date yet...I am eagerly anticipating being able to preorder it on amazon. I may force my partner to watch the entire first season with me. (he only saw episode three and hated it)

I cannot stop listening to the Bollywood number!

[Wynbish]

Ivy/Bernadette should do Rose's Turn as a duet! About how she abandons her distraught, drugged daughter to be the star of Bombshell herself!

Bernadette:
Mama's got the stuff.
Mama's gotta move.
Mama's gotta go.

Ivy:
Mama? Mama?

Bernadette:
Mama's gotta let go!

LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU! LET ME BE YOUR STAR!

[ucjrdude902]

I just realized how that last post sounded, my apologies. Basically the article I read said that NBC gave SMASH the option to come back in the fall, but they knew they had some kinks to work out so they decided to come back at the start of 2013.

[EricMontreal22]

Often they don't release the DVD until a month or two before the new season--maybe they're waiting for Christmas too.

Well, while I still would like to know more about this new showrunner (how does he know this world so well? I can't find any stage credits and his only tv credit is Gossip Girl), it's obvious Greenblatt still considers this his baby, and I think all of that reasoning makes a lot of sense. (Other network TV stations would be wise to realized that with serialized shows you can't keep on having interuptions--even ABC with their minor hit Revenge has suffered huge issues with that--odd as they finally realized it's wiser to show episodes back to back with their lst season of Lost).

[JoeKv99]

NBC made a wise choice showing Smash without taking weeks off for this or that- Glee was heavily disrupted this season and I can't help but think to its detriment. If a January start guarantees another 13-uninterrupted-week run I'm for it.

[random person 112]

I would think when they say they have a great passion they mean that, he's a fan of Broadway and someone who wants to be part of making a show like smash that is about Broadway, brilliant. Also as Gossip Girl has been very good about hiring broadway actors...

[E.Davis]

Well looks like we have our Marilyn, and new ending.


"Don't Forget Me!"

[ucjrdude902]

I think it's Hilty (despite that song). They have released to much that points to McPhee so I can see NBC having a "twist". So it looks like its McPhee then BAM it's not.

[E.Davis]

I think us Hilty fans need to get over the fact that it will be Karen. It is most likely Ivy up until a certain point like mentioned earlier in the thread. My guess is that Bernadette Peters comes in and screws it up. Megan Hilty is singing Rose's Turn tonight.

[ucjrdude902]

:)

[SondheimFreak2]

Smash season 1 finale