Then when it premiered there was this:
This closing number to episode one was glorious. It also established an expectation that this show was actually onto something. The core cast (save for McPhee) seemed primed to take us on a ride through the intricacies that go into getting a show to Broadway. Sadly by episode three the show quickly and horrifically squandered its opportunity (and audience) by never living up to its promise. Some have indicated the subject matter centering on Broadway didn't have an audience. I think the popularity of Glee (a grossly erratic show) says otherwise. So then the question is what happened? Here are my thoughts on where it went wrong.
Side Swiped by Side Plots
Almost immediately the show gave far too much weight and screen time to secondary plots that had no connection to the Marilyn musical they were creating. Julia’s character was the major source including an ill-conceived adoption plot, her troubled marriage and her annoying teenage-son. That along with random scenes with Karen's politico boyfriend and any scene that included Ellis the show’s episodes quickly became disjointed.
I believe those of us who tuned in wanted a show that looked at a process your average theater fan doesn’t know about. How does a musical get written, story-boarded and mapped out in a rehearsal studio? What does the casting process look like? How does the creative team come together and what is the power play that happens between the director, writers and producers? All of those aspects were there, but more often than not felt crowded out by the drama happening outside the studio, which was far less interesting.
Wasted Talent
As a long time Broadway junkie nothing about this show made me happier than the parade of talented stage actors who were a part of this show. Yes Bernadette Peters was a fun touch as Ivy's mother, but it was folks like Christian Borle and Brian D'Arcy James that made me most excited. How disappointing to find James in particular relegated to a peripheral role that didn't tap one of his greatest talents - his singing voice. It was criminal to watch. The same can be said for Raza Jaffrey saddled with the pathetic exercise of being Karen's lame boyfriend who’s most memorable action all season is a drunken one night stand with Ivy - yuck! By the time we hit season 2, we moved from wasted talent to stunt casting. There is a long list of Broadway/Theater vets who are immensely talented, all of whom I’ve had the pleasure to see perform elsewhere. All of them were unceremoniously underused and miscast. If it was a drinking game, I’d still be drunk from Sunday’s finale.
Characters that were a waste of time
Much has been written this season about the misguided plot turns, competing musicals and awful character embodied by Jeremy Jordan and the mishandling of Kyle’s character as a would be Jonathan Larson. While all true, I do not believe this is the reason the show failed. It was merely the final nail in a coffin filled with characters that served no purpose.
Season 1 gave us Will Chase, a waste of time that served only as part of Julia’s infidelity plot. Uma Thurman came in as the ‘star power’ when the show within the show sought out a 'stunt casting', which is not uncommon. It didn't work because SMASH built the first half of its season around the premise that the role of Marilyn was going to come down to the newcomer and perennial chorus girl. Regardless of Thurman’s abilities, it torpedoed everything that came before it and felt like a bait and switch to the audience. And then there was Ellis Boyd. Poor Jaime Cepero, the actor who had the great misfortune to play Ellis a unilaterally and immediately despised character who’s plotting and lurking was both absurd and pointless. That he got his comeuppance from the delectable Angelica Houston was little compensation for an entire season of stolen time from a character that added no value to a show that didn't have minutes to waste.
However the worst offense in casting was thinking that Jennifer Hudson’s brief story arc was a good plan this season. Her character was highly promoted and completely disconnected from all other aspects of the plot and purpose of the show. I understand that somewhere in a studio this must have made sense on paper. But it represented everything that SMASH did wrong – a storyline removed from the primary plot, poor casting and terrible writing. The one thing this arc did prove is how limited Hudson's acting ability is.
Season two also ushered in a second musical, “Hit List” and with it a parade of characters no one cared about. Kyle and Jimmy certainly the most prominent of the bunch. Frankly the second show premise might have worked if it wasn’t written so implausibly and with such a disagreeable character at its core.
Plausibility
Speaking of implausible, that is what I think ultimately killed any hope of SMASH seeing a season 3. I was willing to give SMASH a second season to course correct because the pieces of season one had promise. I thought a new show runner, paring down the cast and resetting the trajectory could have worked. However, instead the show completely derailed when Karen quits Bombshell. The character of Karen was problematic from jump and Katherine McPhee's poor acting did not help her cause. Karen was vulnerable and naïve but also ambitious. The idea that any actor, especially one who has not established a career would leave a lead role on a Broadway show to do a showcase, black box show at Fringe would NEVER HAPPEN. Period. Not in any way shape or form is this choice plausible. It was a preposterous plot shift to get us to dueling musicals. The shame of it is they could have accomplished this plot shift by simply having Karen fired from Bombshell. Having her quit betrayed the audience’s intelligence and it led to a series of ridiculous moments throughout season 2 that made the character of Karen look pious, delusional and ultimately unlikeable.
It makes me sad that SMASH died an early death. Not because it was a good show that didn’t get a shot at success, but because I love Broadway and live theater in general. I adore musicals and I think it is an art form that deserves exposure to a larger audience. At the end of the day this show became its own worst enemy. It had talent and topic that it didn’t know how to translate to a small screen as a continuing series. After sitting through the final two hours of this series on Sunday and given its chosen plot course this season some might call it a mercy killing. I would call it a missed opportunity.
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