NewsPHOTO SPECIAL: A Farewell to "Smash" — Looking Back at Season Two"Smash," the NBC musical series about the lives of modern-day Broadway babies, will end its run May 26 with a two-hour finale. We take a look back at some photo highlights from the show's second and last season.
By
Krissie Fullerton
May 24, 2013
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Created by Broadway playwright Theresa Rebeck, and nurtured by producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, "Smash" premiered in February 2012. After a nine-month hiatus, "Smash" returned for its second season in early 2013 without Rebeck and with new creative direction from showrunner and executive producer Joshua Safran.
While it was considered a must-see by theatre insiders, fans, and a steadfast group of admirers and detractors, "Smash" struggled to maintain its audience as ratings fell throughout the second season.
Read Playbill.com's "Smash" Report here. NBC had not revealed any official news about the series cancellation, however, the creative team was characterizing the May 26 episode as the "Series Finale." The series was stripped of its Tuesday night air-time and relegated to Saturday nights mid-season.
From Universal Television in association with DreamWorks Television, "Smash" came from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Spielberg ("ER," "Schindler's List"). The series' executive producers also include Joshua Safran ("Gossip Girl"), who is new to the second season; Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Oscar-winning "Chicago," "Hairspray" and Broadway's recent Promises, Promises and How to Succeed…); Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey ("United States of Tara," "The Borgias"); Tony and Grammy Award winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (songwriters of Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can), who pen the series' original songs; and Theresa Rebeck (Broadway's Mauritius and Seminar, "NYPD Blue").
Returning to the second season are Katharine McPhee ("American Idol") as Karen Cartwright and Megan Hilty (Wicked, 9 to 5) as Ivy Lynn — the two leading ladies in constant competition for the lead role of the Marilyn Monroe-based musical Bombshell — with Oscar winner Anjelica Huston ("Prizzi's Honor") as producer Eileen Rand, Tony Award winner Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher) as composer Tom Levitt, Emmy Award winner Debra Messing ("Will & Grace") as lyricist and book writer Julia Houston and Jack Davenport ("Pirates of the Caribbean") as director-choreographer Derek Wills.
New to the cast for the second season were Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan (Newsies) as bad-boy songwriter Jimmy Collins, Andy Mientus (Off-Broadway's Carrie) as book writer Kyle Bishop and Krysta Rodriguez (The Addams Family) as Karen's new roommate Ana Vargas.
PHOTO SPECIAL: A Farewell to "Smash" — Looking Back at Season Two
PHOTO SPECIAL: A Farewell to "Smash" — Looking Back at Season Two
"Smash," the NBC musical series about the lives of modern-day Broadway babies, will end its run May 26 with a two-hour finale. We take a look back at some photo highlights from the show's second and last season.
85 PHOTOS
Jennifer Hudson ("Veronica Moore") and Katharine McPhee ("Karen Cartwright") in Season 2, Episode 1: "On Broadway"
NBC
Harvey Fierstein (Himself) and Christian Borle ("Tom Levitt") in Season 2, Episode 2: "The Fallout"
NBC
Megan Hilty ("Ivy Lynn") in Season 2, Episode 2: "The Fallout"
NBC
Megan Hilty ("Ivy Lynn") and Leslie Odom Jr. ("Sam Strickland") in Season 2, Episode 2: "The Fallout"
NBC
Debra Messing ("Julia Houston") and Christian Borle ("Tom Levitt") in Season 2, Episode 3: "The Dramaturg"
