The Question, Tuesday 2/5/13: Will NBC Smash the Expectations?

Yes, folks, NBC is back... to where they were a year ago. That's been the harsh reality of almost all of NBC's between-Voice hiatus. 365 days after NBC's 2012 big Super Monday, NBC premieres the same show they launched on that night: the Broadway drama Smash. Hopes are not quite so high this year; despite its surprising Golden Globe nomination, it lost almost all its critical support over the course of season one. And this year, it loses its big lead-in. Will NBC Smash the expectations? That's The Question for Tuesday, February 5, 2013.

Smash Last Season	Lead-in (Betty White's 2nd 90th B-Day)
3.8/2.27/1.8 (premiere/average/finale) 5.13 (average The Voice lead-in) 1.86 (last 5 ep average (3.96 The Voice))	2.7 (Betty White's 90th Birthday, 1/16/12) 1.64 (Off Their Rockers avg this winter)

Smash is probably going to end up with ratings well below what it got last year after The Voice. But I'm thinking it will come near its late-season level... for one week, anyway. Shows like Fringe and Happy Endings have moved to much worse situations and been able to hold up for a week or two before collapsing. And new cast member Jennifer Hudson may be a draw. But I don't expect the Betty White special leading in will do nearly as well as last year. It should be closer to the Off Their Rockers average than to last year's number.

Smash Over/Under: 1.75.

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