After getting the ax from NBC, erstwhile Broadway drama Smash has found a new home on the arts-focused cable channel Ovation.
Ovation announced Thursday that it will air the two-season series, which was canceled by NBC, on Fridays at 8 p.m. First season re-runs begin July 19 with second-season episodes starting in November.
The series stars Debra Messing, Megan Hilty, Christian Borle, Anjelica Huston, Katharine McPhee and Jeremy Jordan.
"Smash is exactly the kind of art-centric programming that Ovation’s viewers crave," Robert Weiss, Ovation's chief creative officer, said in a statement. "This high-quality series fits in brilliantly with our efforts to showcase the powerful role that the Arts play in our lives. Ovation is thrilled to satisfy the wishes of diehard Smash fans and followers to keep the series alive, as well as to provide viewers, who are new to the series, an opportunity to experience the incredible talent, music, dancing, drama and excitement."
STORY: NBC Cancels 'Smash' After Two Seasons
One of NBC's much-hyped scripted series, Smash turned out to be both a commercial and critical flop, drawing low ratings and getting bumped to Saturdays: the death knell of time slots. Despite all that, the show managed to build a cult audience of theater fans and viewers who loved to hate its erratic writing and outlandishly soapy plot.
The New York Times' theater critic Charles Isherwood, wrote last month, on the eve of the series finale: "For the long two years it has been appearing, Smash has been a dismaying embarrassment to those hoping a smart, funny, honest show about the machinations involved in making a Broadway musical would add some pop-culture luster to an art form – or at least a business – that most of the coveted under-49 viewers probably regard as a relic of the last century, from a time before they invented the Internets."
Email: erin.carlson@thr.com
Twitter: @ErinLCarlson
