NBC's Premiere Of 'Smash' Crushes Competition

NBC's stunning new musical ensemble drama Smash—which centers on producing a Broadway show about Marilyn Monroe—scored a resounding ratings victory Monday night, February 6. The series premiere attracted 11.4 million viewers, making it No. 1 in the 10 p.m. time slot against all broadcast and cable competition.

It also brought in the highest 18-49 ratings for a regular 10 p.m. drama on any broadcast network on any night of the week so far in this TV season.

For the net, Smash was NBC's highest-ranked show in the time slot since a Saturday Night Live election special in November 2008 (Tina Fey doing Sarah Palin). And for the current dreary TV season, it was the third-highest debuting drama, behind Once Upon A Time and Touch... uh, two shows I've never even heard of.

Much credit is being given to Smash's time slot behind NBC's reality stinker The Voice, which was a major victor in its two-hour series return from 8-10 p.m. Monday.

Smash stars Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing, Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee. Let's just hope it knows where it's going and not only maintains momentum, but a plausible storyline... more like Revenge and less like Lost. See my review of the series premiere here. *