Smash Ratings Watch: Someone Dies, Viewers Rise, Karen is Still Karen

Kyle Bishop, we hardly knew ye! In a decidedly dark plot twist, the May 4 episode of Smash claimed the life of Andy Mientus’s budding lyricist, who found himself on the unlucky receiving end of the car crash that concluded the previous week’s episode.

In a noticeable uptick, viewership for the episode “The Phenomenon” scored 2.28 million viewers with a 0.5/2 share in the adults 18-49 demo. That’s a definite improvement from the rock bottom ratings the show received in the prior two weeks (a meager 1.89 million viewers). On the bright side, E! Online’s annual “Save Our Show” competition named Smash the winner, meaning that the fans are still fond of NBC’s musical dramedy.

Nevertheless, “The Phenomenon” packed a powerful punch as the Bombshell and Hit List teams flashed back to their precious memories of the tragically departed Kyle. In an interview with TVLine, Mientus revealed that Kyle’s arc was meant to mirror that of Rent creator Jonathan Larson, who died tragically before his show’s opening night.

Of course, Kyle’s death wasn’t the only major development. Karen did her usual Karen thing and toyed with the hearts of both Derek and poor, damaged Jimmy; meanwhile, despicable producer Jerry announced his intentions to bring Hit List to Broadway just in time for a red-hot Tony race against Bombshell. With just three episodes left in the season, the battle is on—just like the real Tonys!