When a scripted series gets moved to Saturdays, it's probably only a matter of time before it's cancelled. So we shouldn't be especially surprised that the Broadway-focused drama is among the series that won't be returning at NBC next season. While the curtain will fall for the musical series, we'll get to see how the second season ends when the finale airs later this month.
Smash saw a couple of drastic changes in its second season. The first was series creator Theresa Rebeck stepping down after Season 1, and Josh Safran taking over. The second was airing a two-hour premiere and then - due to the State of the Union Address - having a two-week gap between the premiere and the next episode. And then there was NBC's decision to move the drama from Tuesday to Saturday in March, to make room for the doomed dating show ,Ready for Love. Granted, the post-Voice timeslot was probably Ready for Love's best shot at some decent ratings, but the show failed anyway and Smash's numbers dipped from the 3 million viewer ballpark to below 2 million viewers for most of the episodes that aired on Saturday nights.
Last Saturday's episode ("The Phenomenon"), which featured the death of a character (and some notable parallels to Rent) managed to perform a bit better. Alas, "better" is a relative term when it comes to ratings, and they were certainly not high enough to save the show.
TVLine confirmed the cancellation tonight, adding that the series will wrap up with a two-hour finale on Sunday, May 26. There's one episode between now and then, which is set to air this weekend (Saturday, May 11). So, Smash fans, whether you're Team Hit List or Team Bombshell, enjoy what's left of the musical drama while it lasts!
