It’s inevitable that NBC’s new drama Smash will be incessantly compared to FOX’s mega-hit Glee. That’s understandable, but the two shows really couldn’t be more different. Smash is a much more adult production, dealing with mature themes and a more realistic tone than the often slap-dash Glee. Yes, they are both musical series, but where Glee often fails, Smash succeeds (at least in the pilot episode).
Created by Theresa Rebeck, a New York veteran who wrote for such shows as Law and Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue, Smash follows the story of the production of a Broadway musical from the first inkling of an idea to casting to a fully staged production. The show features a large ensemble cast, including Will and Grace’s Debra Messing and Christian Borle as Julia Houston and Tom Levitt, the writers of the musical in question (a musical take on the life of Marilyn Monroe). When Julia and Tom first come up with the idea to write a Marilyn musical, they enlist the help of Ivy Lynn (in a fantastic turn from Megan Hilty), a Broadway veteran struggling to break out of her middling success, who competes with newcomer Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) for the role of Marilyn. Once the musical catches a buzz due to a leaked video of the song, Julia and Tom get the support of producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston), who is struggling to prove she can still work in the midst of a messy divorce. Eileen, much to the chagrin of Tom, gets the help of director Derek Wills (Jack Davenport) and the musical is on its way.
The crux of the conflict in the pilot of Smash comes in the casting phase of the production. Both Karen and Ivy are well-suited to the part of Marilyn: Ivy for her pedigree and her physical resemblance to Monroe herself, and Karen for her raw talent and hunger for the part. What’s great here is that the writers aren’t favoring one or the other. Each character is given her fair share of screen time and sympathetic characterization. It’s not always as easy as one person being the good guy and the other being the villain.
What Smash needs to portray, and it does for the most part in this pilot episode, is that in show business, things happen not necessarily because someone is talented or source material is great. It’s not always a meritocracy, as Karen’s late night visit to director Derek Wills’ apartment suggests. The behind the scenes goings on of a Broadway musical are very political—pissing off the wrong person means risking losing one’s job–or entire career.
I say this not because the show isn’t addressing it, I say it more so because Smash (or possibly NBC itself with this big publicity push) seems to be emphasizing the casting of Karen or Ivy as the core of the show. Building a season of television around a single decision or event is dangerous. Surely within weeks there will be rabid supporters for both Ivy and Karen, and whatever the show does is bound to piss people off. More importantly, Smash has established a big ensemble cast it has to service and develop, and focusing too much on the casting decision takes away from that. Ivy and Julia stand out from the rest as the two most textured characters the show has to offer. Julia is writing this musical and putting it up while attempting to adopt a child with her husband and tend to her teenage son. Ivy is interesting because she does have some measure of success on stage, but her ambition and drive is too great for her to simply sit idly in a job that isn’t her dream.
NBC is putting a lot of stock in Smash. The network is performing even worse than usual lately; NBC dropped to eighth place in the ratings on January 20th. This is unheard of (cable networks very rarely outperform broadcast networks like NBC). Smash has been given the coveted slot directly after the Super Bowl for its broadcast premiere, though the pilot is available online and on iTunes. Definitely a strong debut for the series, but we’ll have to see where things go in terms of the focus of conflict. Smash would do well to explore all of its characters in the context of the production rather than push the central casting conflict too hard.
Smash premieres February 6 immediately after the Super Bowl on NBC.
