We can now qualify “unqualified success”: NBC has canceled “Smash.”
Long the pet project of NBC president Bob Greenblatt, who brought it with him when he arrived from Showtime, “Smash” was instead a very expensive disappointment in its first season and an embarrassing failure in its second. Its modest season 1 ratings were entirely a creation of airing after “The Voice,” and left to its own devices in season 2, it tanked so quickly that NBC shuffled “Smash” off to Saturdays to die quietly. Because it was beloved by Greenblatt – who called the show “an unqualified success” after season 1 (after creator Theresa Rebeck and a number of actors were replaced) – there was always a slim chance it might return, but NBC announced tonight that the series won’t continue next season.
Amidst all of today’s cancellation news (including the death of “Happy Endings,” which happened while I was putting my kids to sleep), I wanted to write this one up mainly because I’m curious to hear from people who have stuck with the show through the rest of season 2. I stopped four or five episodes in, once it became clear the new creative team had no idea how irritating Jimmy was, and that most of the other problems hadn’t been fixed. For those who’ve stuck with it, how has it been? I have a very vague sense of what’s been happening with “Bombshell” and “Hit List,” but has any of it been good?