| "Pilot" | |
|---|---|
| Smash episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Michael Mayer |
| Story by | Theresa Rebeck |
| Teleplay by | Theresa Rebeck |
| Featured music | "Over the Rainbow" "Never Give All the Heart"[1] "The National Pastime" "I Wanna Be Loved By You" "Beautiful" "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" "Let Me Be Your Star" |
| Original air date | February 6, 2012 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Pilot" is the debut episode for the television series Smash, which premiered on NBC in the United States on February 6, 2012. The episode was written by series creator Theresa Rebeck and was directed by Michael Mayer. The show revolves around a group of characters who come together to put on a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. The episode featured a mix of original songs and cover songs, the former being written by series composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
In the episode, world-renowned songwriting duo Julia Houston (Debra Messing) and Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) are inspired to create a new Broadway musical on the life of Marilyn Monroe—instantly attracting the attention of tenacious producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) and brilliant yet temperamental director Derek Wills (Jack Davenport). As the four search for their leading lady, veteran actress Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) becomes obsessed with winning them over and native Iowan waitress Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) becomes desperate to make her theatrical dreams a reality.
The series received a large amount of promotion before its premiere and several ads were put into the commercial breaks for Super Bowl XLVI which aired on NBC. The episode was also released online before its original American broadcast. The episode was viewed by an estimated 11.44 million viewers and received a 3.8 rating/10 share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, making it the highest-rated NBC drama series premiere in four years and the third highest new drama debut of the 2011–12 television season. Despite this, viewership between the first and second half-hour dropped, significantly. The episode received positive reviews from critics and was named among the best pilots of the aforesaid television season.