Mark Seliger / NBC
NBC’s much-anticipated Smash premiered tonight, and so far it’s meeting critics’ high expectations. The Los Angeles Times’s Mary McNamara hailed it as a “triumph” and praised creator Theresa Rebeck for successfully adapting musical theater to TV as no one has before. “The creators of Smash honor both genres,” writes McNamara, “and what easily could have lurched across the screen like some dramatic-arts Frankenstein is instead as supple as a showgirl.” McNamara’s analogy is fitting, given that the premiere revolves around two actresses competing for the role of the most supple showgirl of all time. Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty are both convincing as Marilyn Monroe, McNamara says. The general consensus among critics seems to be that you don’t have to like musicals to enjoy Smash. Entertainment Weekly called it “one damn lively show with a lot of promise.”