Could NBC's 'Smash' get a ticket to Broadway?

 

Could "Smash" be headed to Broadway? When NBC developed the prime-time TV musical drama about cutthroat competition on Broadway, the network buttoned up the rights for a Broadway version of the TV show.

The series about the making of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe, which NBC recently renewed for a second season, is a long way from getting to the real Broadway. Still, the show has been a passion project for NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt for years, and it boasts a large cast of executive producers with elite pedigrees and credentials in the theater world.

Steven Spielberg brought the idea for a TV show about a Broadway musical to Greenblatt about three years ago, when Greenblatt was head of entertainment at premium cable channel Showtime. But Showtime's tight budget provided little canvas for Greenblatt to paint an ambitious slate of programming.

"Smash" languished until Greenblatt moved to NBC early last year, where the show got an immediate greenlight. Greenblatt and Spielberg, who has invested in other Broadway shows, recruited producers with musical credits, including Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, part of the producing team behind the film versions of the musicals "Chicago" and "Hairspray."

Tony winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman were brought on board to compose the original songs that are performed on "Smash." The duo retains certain rights to that music -- and that ownership presumably would carry over to any Broadway version of the NBC series. (Shaiman and Wittman also wrote songs for Broadway productions of "Hairspray" and "Catch Me if You Can," in addition to the music for numerous feature films, and have won Grammys.)

By the end of the first season of "Smash," there will be at least 15 original songs written for the fictional musical around which much of the series' action revolves. In the TV show, the fake musical is called "Bombshell." 

But does that mean it's Broadway-bound?

"Since our creative team has been writing songs and snippets of 'Bombshell' scenes only to tell the stories of our characters in 'Smash,' there is no fully realized 'Bombshell,'" Greenblatt wrote Thursday in an email to The Times. 

"I'm not saying that it will never happen, but we are all focused at the moment on completing our [Season 1] finale episode and have already started talking about the macro ideas for Season 2," Greenblatt wrote, adding that next season will feature a second musical, as the fictional "Bombshell" heads to the fictional Broadway.

"So no one has thought twice about trying to find the time or energy to develop 'Bombshell' for the stage," Greenblatt wrote. "It takes several years to write and construct a big Broadway musical, and most of the hard work starts at the script stage before the songs are even conceived."

Greenblatt has long been interested in theater. Several years ago, Greenblatt persuaded his mentor Peter Chernin, former president of News Corp., to release the rights to the 1980 Fox movie, "9 to 5," starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

From that, Greenblatt, while working at Showtime, produced the show, "9 to 5: The Musical," which opened in Los Angeles in the fall of 2008 and went on to have a five-month run on Broadway in 2009.  (Megan Hilty, who played the Dolly Parton role of Doralee Rhodes in "9 to 5: The Musical," plays one of the prospective Marilyn Monroes on "Smash.")

Now some wonder whether "Smash" could eventually pave the way for a return engagement by Greenblatt on the Great White Way.

"I am working full time at NBC and it wouldn't make sense for me to be a producer," Greenblatt said -- but he added, "Maybe I could produce 'Bombshell' when I'm long gone from NBC, which would be about the time that [a Broadway project] would come to fruition."

NBC, controlled by cable giant Comcast Corp., has a more riding on "Smash" than a potential Broadway play. The ailing network banked heavily on the program to improve its anemic ratings and serve as a beacon for more sophisticated programming. NBC has spent nearly $70 million making and marketing the first season of "Smash."

The show has delivered only modest ratings. Six million viewers tuned in Monday night, although NBC executives have been encouraged that the audience grows by about 2 million people, who record the show and watch it after it airs on TV. 

NBC announced last month that it would bring "Smash" back for a second season. The network noted that "Smash" draws one of the most upscale audiences in network television, coming in behind another musically themed series, Fox's "Glee."

This summer marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe, which adds attention to efforts to bring her story to life. (DreamWorks Television and series creator playwright Theresa Rebeck also have an ownership interest in the television version of "Smash.")

And there could be competition if NBC decides to trundle "Smash" to Broadway. Last fall, producer Harvey Weinstein said he was interested in turning his company's Oscar-nominated feature film "My Week With Marilyn" into a Broadway musical featuring Katy Perry. 

It would not be the first time that NBCUniversal dabbled on Broadway. The company has an ownership interest in one of the most successful productions of all time, "Wicked." That musical is produced by former Universal Pictures production executive turned Broadway producer, Marc Platt.

RELATED:

"Smash:" Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman want to make viewers hum

"Smash" will return, but showrunner Theresa Rebeck departs

NBC's Bob Greenblatt:  We had a really bad fall

NBC's "The Voice" is strong; "Smash" not so much

-- Meg James

Top photo: Uma Thurman (center) next week will join the cast of NBC's drama "Smash" for a five-episode story arc. Thurman is pictured with actors Yami Mufdi and Sean Dugan. Credit: Will Hart / NBC  

Bottom photo: NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt in 2009. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

NBC's 'The Voice' is strong but 'Smash' not living up to hype

NBC has found a voice -- but hasn't yet nailed its dance steps.

The broadcast network used its Super Bowl platform to successfully launch "The Voice," a remake of a Dutch singing competition starring Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.

"The Voice" kicked off its second season immediately after the Feb. 5th game before moving to its regular Monday night time slot. This week, the show continued to belt out high notes attracting more than 16 million viewers -- approaching the audience of Fox's aspirational juggernaut "American Idol." 

"The Voice" was so strong that it muffled the ratings of CBS' Monday comedy block, which includes "Two and a Half Men." This month represented the first time in more than four years that NBC beat CBS in key ratings on a Monday night.

But NBC's highly anticipated drama "Smash" is proving less spectacular.

At the end of Comcast Corp.'s earnings call Wednesday, NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke conceded to his colleagues that while "The Voice" should remain strong, "Smash is more problematic." Burke apparently didn't realize that his microphone was still live.

The expensive, highly promoted program attracted 8 million viewers Monday night, a respectable turnout particularly for a network that has struggled this season to launch new shows. A pet project of NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, the critically acclaimed series has produced some of the best ratings for NBC in the time period in nearly three years.

However, NBC made an enormous investment on "Smash" despite concerns that a show about the making of a Broadway musical, and the cut-throat competition of New York's theater world, might lack broad appeal among most Americans. 

The pilot cost more than $7 million and production of subsequent episodes runs about $4 million. The network has spent at least another $10 million to promote the series, which has an all-star producing team, including Steven Spielberg, Theresa Rebeck as well as Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the team behind "Hairspray" and "Chicago."

Late last week, NBCUniversal marshaled its firepower to bolster "Smash," headlined by Katharine McPhee, Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Megan Hilty. 

A number of the company's cable networks, including USA, Bravo and even video game culture channel G4 and the bilingual channel mun2, replayed the pilot of "Smash" in an effort to drum up new viewers. 

The company's so-called cable road block exposed the program to an additional 1 million viewers. But, the ratings for the second episode of "Smash" on NBC Monday night dropped 26% in key audience demographics compared with its Feb. 6 premiere. 

As troubling for NBC and Burke, the show steadily lost viewers throughout its hourlong telecast Monday night.

Comcast Corp. Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis warned Wall Street analysts Wednesday that managing programming costs would be one of the biggest challenges that Comcast faces this year. That is particularly true for Burke, who is charged with deciding how best to allocate the company's considerable programming budget. 

RELATED: 

NBC bets on "Smash" to start a turnaround

NBC's Bob Greenblatt adjusts to a bigger stage

Paul Telegdy finds his voice as a television programmer

-- Meg James   

Photo: The cast of NBC's "Smash." Credit:  NBC

 

 

NBC's Bob Greenblatt adjusts to bigger stage

NBC's Bob Greenblatt says even a modestly successful show on cable TV can be declared a hit and can run for multiple seasons. But not on broadcast TV.  

The network's entertainment chairman several times on Friday reminded the Television Critics Assn. press tour gathering in Pasadena that broadcast television is different.

Greenblatt, who joined NBCUniversal last January after seven years programming premium cable channel Showtime, tried to minimize comparisons between his stellar track record at Showtime and his more modest results in his first development season at NBC.

Shows on network TV live or die based on the ratings they produce. Greenblatt said he launched more promising shows in three months this fall at NBC than during an entire year at his previous network. And NBC still slogged through a bruising fall, with its ratings plummeting 11%.

Greenblatt bemoaned how the NBC drama "Prime Suspects" was an incredibly strong show creatively, and would have lasted at least five seasons on a cable channel, but couldn't find a big enough audience on the network. Production on the program, a remake of a British television hit, stopped midway through the first season. 

"Maybe I should just blame the hat and move on," Greenblatt said, referring to the distracting fedora that the "Prime Suspects" star, Maria Bello, wore in her role as an intense police detective. 

"There were no great revelations this fall other than [our experience] keeps reinforcing how hard it is to break through," Greenblatt said. 

Read the full story about NBC's "really bad" fall season at our Show Tracker blog.

RELATED:

NBC's Bob Greenblatt: "We had a really bad fall"

TV review: Now "The Firm" is just another legal thriller

NBC unveils midseason schedule, "Community" and "Prime Suspect" on bench

—  Meg James 

Photo: NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt speaks at the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena. Credit: Chris Haston / NBC

NBC's Bob Greenblatt announces Marc Graboff's exit

After news leaked Friday that NBC's West Coast business operations president Marc Graboff would be leaving the network after 11 years, his boss and the chairman of NBC Entertainment, Bob Greenblatt, sent an email to his staff announcing the move.

Graboff's upcoming exit, most likely in December, continues a wholesale makeover of the peacock network's executive ranks since Comcast Corp. took control of NBCUniversal in January. 

The departure of Graboff was not exactly a surprise because his authority had been diminished in recent years, particularly after Comcast assumed control of the company. A few years ago, Graboff was the top business executive in charge the NBC broadcast network. He was the one constant at NBC throughout nearly a decade of management turmoil.

Here is an excerpt from Greenblatt's email to his staff:

"Lest the rumor mill get ahead of us, I wanted to let everyone know that Marc Graboff has decided to leave NBC after a long tenure in order to pursue a new chapter in his career.  While I personally would have loved him to stay with us for this new phase of NBC, I know first-hand that feeling when it’s time to make a change in one’s career. We haven’t quite figured out the time table for his exit nor is there yet a plan to replace him but I wanted you to know that this is on the horizon and imminent."

RELATED:

Key NBC executive Marc Graboff to leave the network

CBS' Moonves: political rancor boosts broadcast TV business

Culture Shock Likely as Comcast takes over NBC

 -- Meg James

Photo of Bob Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment; Credit:  Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

NBC late-night executive shuffle; Paul Telegdy replaces chief

Rick Ludwin, the NBC executive who oversaw two of the biggest seismic shifts in late-night television, is stepping down.

NBC announced Thursday that it had promoted Paul Telegdy -- a former BBC America executive who nurtured NBC's biggest hit of the year, "The Voice" -- to the newly created position of president of alternative and late-night programming. 

The move continues NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt's dramatic management shake-up of the peacock network since joining the company in January.

“Paul is an exemplary executive who has tremendous creative vision in the area of unscripted programming, which makes him perfect for this expanded role,” Greenblatt said in a statement. He credited Telegdy with the continued ratings success of such unscripted programs as "The Voice,"  "America’s Got Talent," "The Biggest Loser"  and "Celebrity Apprentice."

Ludwin, who has been an NBC executive for 31 years, will transition from his current position overseeing late night to becoming a consultant for NBC. 

Ludwin was running the late-night block in 1993 when NBC picked Jay Leno over David Letterman to become host of the storied "The Tonight Show" when Johnny Carson retired. It was a monumental shift that divided the network's executives because many backed Letterman (who defected to CBS).

Ultimately, the move paid off.

Two of the more recent late-night switches have proved more treacherous. Conan O'Brien's tenure succeeding Leno as host of "The Tonight Show" lasted just seven months. Leno moved to an ill-fated 10 p.m. variety show that also bombed, and NBC pulled him back to late night to lift the sagging ratings there, prompting O'Brien to leave the network. Leno's contract with NBC extends another two years.

There has been one sunny spot. NBC's late-night host Jimmy Fallon has scored high marks with critics and viewers.

"I couldn't have asked for or imagined a more rewarding job than the one I've had at NBC,” Ludwin said in the NBC statement. “To have been a part of TV history with ‘Seinfeld,’ our late-night franchises, ‘Saturday Night Live’ and with all our producers, writers and talent has been unbelievable. Since I was a kid it was a dream of mine to work at NBC. I got to do it and continue to be grateful."

Before joining NBC, Telegdy, 40, was executive vice president of sales, content and production for BBC Worldwide America. While working at BBC Productions in Los Angeles, he helped develop "Dancing with the Stars," which has become one of television's biggest hits.

He graduated with honors from the University of London with a degree in Korean and Japanese.

-- Meg James

Photo of Paul Telegdy / Credit:  NBC

Comcast to invest additional $300 million for NBCUniversal programming

Comcast Corp. this year plans to spend $300 million more for television programming to revive the ailing NBC broadcast network and keep the company's cable channels humming.

NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke on Wednesday renewed Comcast's long-standing pledge to invest millions of dollars more for television programming than had General Electric Co. Comcast became the majority owner of NBCUniversal in late January, and now GE is the minority partner.

During a conference call with analysts to discuss Comcast's first-quarter earnings, Burke said the company would spend $200 million more this year on prime-time shows to try to give the cellar-dwelling NBC network a lift in the ratings. The Philadelphia-based cable giant also plans to pump in an additional $100 million on programming for the company's profitable cable networks -- including USA, Syfy, E! and Bravo -- to keep the channels at the top of their game. 

Much of the $200 million destined for NBC is to restock the 10 p.m. time slot with scripted shows after the previous regime's debacle of placing Jay Leno in prime time for four months in 2009 and early 2010.  More than a year later, NBC continues to struggle to regain its footing with dramas and comedies at 10 p.m.

"The real key to turning around NBC is not necessarily increasing the investment. The real key is making better shows," Burke said. 

This spring, NBC ordered 21 pilots -- about the same as a year ago, when the network began trying to dig out from the Leno disaster. Burke said he and other company leaders will soon screen NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt's first slate of prime-time programming. NBC plans to unveil its fall schedule in New York on May 16. 

For the quarter ended March 31, NBC broadcast revenue of $1.35 billion was down 35%, primarily due to lower advertising sales. In the first quarter of 2010, NBC's top line was inflated with $782 million in revenue from its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Analysts wanted to know whether a Comcast-run NBCUniversal would spend wildly to retain its sports franchises, including the Olympics. NBCUniversal ended up losing $223 million on its coverage of the Vancouver games, an embarrassment for GE and a financial miscalculation that few want to see repeated.

NBC also loses more than $100 million a year on its NFL "Sunday Night Football" contract.

But Burke refused to reveal that page of his playbook.

"We're in business to make money, and our approach is going to be disciplined," Burke said.  "As it relates to the Olympics or the NFL, we think those are two fantastic properties and would love to have them, but we would like to make money. ... At the end of the day, we are not going to do anything that doesn't have a business plan that pencils out."  

Comcast also separately reported the financial results of its Los Angeles-based Universal Pictures' unit. For the first quarter, the studio brought in $975 million in revenue, an 8% decline from the year-earlier period. The studio's losses were due to increased marketing costs for its upcoming films, lower DVD sales and some duds at the box office.

"We are well aware of the challenges in the film business, and the fact that the DVD business has declined," Burke said.  "But part of it is that we need to make better films -- and that's a real area of focus for us as well."

-- Meg James

Photo: NBCUniversal Chief Executive Steve Burke. Credit Joe Corrigan / Getty Images