Uma Thurman Booked for Recurring Role on New Show SMASH

NBC show was first conceived by Stephen Spielberg and focuses on a songwriting duo who want to write one more Broadway hit based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, before they go out.

By Jay D. /

Pulp Fiction, Gattaca, you should know who this is) to their network for a multiple episode arc in their new series Smash. The show was first conceived by Stephen Spielberg, and focuses on a songwriting duo who want to write one more Broadway hit, a show based on the life of Marilyn Monroe, before they go out. Fight and drama ensues among the cast and crew, as each person involved fights to make it to the top. I'll admit, it's not the most interesting idea but it is a potentially useful platform upon which to launch musical performances off of. It is clear that the show will have a major focus on music, as NBC has already signed a deal with Columbia Records to release a soundtrack for each season. The show is already packed with a pretty solid cast. Debra Messing (Will and Grace), Anjelica Huston (The Royal Tennebaums) and Jack Davenport (Pirates of the Caribbean) will all join the cast. The show is being produced by some pretty experienced TV writers, and most importantly, the music will be brought to us by the fellows that adapted Hairspray as a musical, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Uma Thurman is so far the most prolific actor that the show has cast, but it has plenty of recurring roles to fill. Before you even ask, I don't know. The show could be fun and it's not pretending to be anything other then an entertaining collection of music and melodrama for about an hour. There are loads of people into that, and if that's your thing, maybe you want a show that can do that without calling itself a "postmodern musical." Then again, NBC has desperately been trying to fill a major ratings hole lately, and this might be another case of getting big names (Spielberg) and big stars (Thurman) attached to the project to draw people in. We will see. The first episode premieres Monday Feb. 6 at 10/9c. What do you think? Should WhatCulture! take a stab at covering this show, or is it not worth our time?

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