Smash, New TV Show Set on Broadway, Picked Up by NBC

NBC has picked up the pilot for Smash, the new TV show set around the drama of producing a Broadway musical. The eagerly-anticipated new series will feature Debra Messing, Angelina Huston, Katharine McPhee (American Idol) and Broadway stars including Megan Hilty, Christian Borle and Brian d’Arcy James.

Based on an idea by executive producer Steven Spielberg, Smash tells the trials and tribulations of producing a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Among the characters in the drama are Borle as a Broadway composer, Messing as a lyricist, Huston as a producer, and McPhee and Hilty as dueling divas.

The pilot was directed by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, American Idiot), written by playwright Theresa Rebeck and features original songs by the Tony-winning team of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (Hairspray, Catch Me If You Can), who also serve as producers.

There is no word yet on when Smash will premiere on NBC or if Playboy, the pilot featuring Laura Benanti in the world of the Playboy Clubs of the 1960s, will also make the network’s roster.