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5 items from 2012

11 February 2012 2:14 PM, PST | SoundOnSight | See recent SoundOnSight news »

After Glee‘s tremendous success, many may have predicted a wave of musical TV series entering production as various networks tried to capitalize on Fox’s good fortune. None came. This week, Smash premiered on NBC to strong ratings, bringing the tally of network musicals up to two. Given the tremendous potential for gain, both in terms of ratings and music sales, isn’t it unusual for the networks to be so hesitant? After some investigation, it appears not- as much as Americans love a good musical, they rarely commit to those on TV. Below is a brief chronology of musical TV series from the 1960s on.

>1960: CBS and the DuMont network each take a crack at a musical series with original songs in the pop/Broadway style, but neither series, Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet (1949-50) or Once Upon a Tune (1951), takes off.

1960s: The popularization of »

- Kate Kulzick

6 February 2012 5:47 AM, PST | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – After months of hype and expectations that increased with every creative and ratings failure that NBC trotted out this season, the premiere of “Smash” is finally here. Is this the show that saves NBC? Is it the next “Glee” or the next “Cop Rock”? I’m not sure enough people will tune in to turn this into a hit but it absolutely deserves to live up to its title and it will have a loyal fan base that should keep it alive at least for awhile. It’s fantastic television with just the right mix of details about the process of making theatre magic and character-driven drama. And a few spectacular tunes don’t hurt either.

Television Rating: 4.5/5.0

The premiere of “Smash” opens with Katherine McPhee singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” which is more than just a clever nod back to “American Idol” (where she sang the song to »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

1 February 2012 11:08 AM, PST | MTV Splash Page | See recent MTV Splash Page news »

Dear Mr. Nolan,

Sorry to interrupt. I suspect you're cowl-deep in post-production work on the highly anticipated "Dark Knight Rises," which makes this 11th-hour query ill-timed at best. But, I just have to ask: Have you ever considered re-conceiving your grand Bat finale as a movie musical?

Now hear me out. For one, people really like singing superheroes. Secondly, I suspect the Bat Cave has amazing acoustics. And last, but perhaps most importantly, you've assembled one of the most musically inclined casts never to sing "Summer Nights" or "Do-Re-Mi."

To wit, before he was a billionaire tycoon, Bruce Wayne himself, Christian Bale, was just a hard-working paper hawker in the Disney musical "Newsies." Thought he's a bit embarrassed by the role nowadays, what a nice homage it would be to have Bruce's opening number be a review of the day's doings in the Gotham Gazette. Extry! Extry!

Then there's Joseph Gordon-Levitt, »

- Amy Wilkinson

24 January 2012 7:08 AM, PST | Televisionary | See recent Televisionary news »

Fifty years after her death, the mention of Marilyn Monroe conjures up familiar imagery: that whispery voice, the platinum hair, her vulnerability. From Michelle Williams’s recent embodiment to yet another reissue of Monroe’s last photo shoot, she’s still inescapable, and always exerting a gravitational pull on popular imagination. In this week's issue of Newsweek, you can read my latest feature, "Smash's Big Broadway Bet," which looks at NBC's musical-drama Smash, launching February 6th, through the prism of both Marilyn Monroe's cultural impact and the stakes that the show faces ahead. Will this end up being The West Wing with music or Cop Rock? I talk to creator/executive producer Theresa Rebeck, Anjelica Huston, and NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt. On The Daily Beast, the piece gets a companion story in "11 Secrets of Smash," in which I take a look at several questions surrounding the show »

- Jace

6 January 2012 5:24 PM, PST | TVLine.com | See recent TVLine.com news »

When it comes to midseason buzz, NBC’s Smash is playing to a metaphorical full house. Yet amidst the early kudos and great anticipation the musical drama has been met with, questions abound. Here is what the series’ creators and cast had to say during their Television Critics Association press tour panel about this look at the making of a Broadway musical based on Marilyn Monroe.

How Realistic Is The Rapid-ish Progress Of Marilyn: The Musical? | When the pilot opens, the songwriting team played by Debra Messing (Will & Grace) and Christian Borle (Legally Blonde: The Musical) is about to take »

- Matt Webb Mitovich

5 items from 2012