Wednesday, January 25, 2012

ARTICLE: What Can You Tell From a Trailer?

Smash Hit? I think YES! Let's Find Out ...
"Smash" is coming to NBC. As noted in previous posts, NBC has been struggling to find an audience. At least one that doesn't tune in for reality weight loss shows. So this last season, as noted in other previous posts, NBC went out and bought a lot of ... well, Pilots. Also known as "ideas for shows."  One of these was Smash. It will air Monday after the Superbowl.

What I'd like to do is run a bit of an experiment. Will Smash be a smash? Will it give NBC some much needed momentum going into the new year and eventually sweeps? I know I know, this is a movie blog site and we've already talked a lot about TV already. Screw it. It's my site I can do what I want.

Here's what I think:

1) Great cast led by Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing and (singer?) Katherine McPhee. Two huge starlets that can attract an audience.

2) Great premise in starting a Broadway show about Marlin Monroe. It's unique, it's fun it sets the stage for a lot of great drama (ha ha ... pun intended). And you get to claim one of the most iconic figures n pop culture as a theme (that is especially genius I thought). Also as I've worked on Broadway (well not ON Broadway, but I worked in a Broadway theater for some time) I can tell you the characters and people that are attracted to that environment are larger than life and span an array of types. It's a great premise that hopefully will prove to be a lot of fun!

3) Schedule. Monday at 10pm is a fascinating time slot. It will depend a lot on what is airing opposite it too. While a Monday 10pm time slot will never get you HUGE ratings, it still has potential. As always, this is going to be a point of contention though if the series starts out flat.

4) The market for a show like this is growing. Let's be honest, this show will attract a lot of different types that don't have a lot of other options on television right now (gay guys and WASP-y grandmas, I'm looking at you). Glee is by far the closest and that show is (was?) HUGE! This is not merely a Glee knockoff though. It looks kind of like an Aaron Sorkin show meets Glee. Time will tell how well written, directed and produced the show is, but I like its chances.

So this the trailer I saw that got me thinking ...




 I'm curious, let's hear from you ... what do you think will happen with Smash and why? If you're an NBC exec, what are you worried about? What are you excited about?

No comments:

Post a Comment