what ruined the show

I'm fast forwarding thru almost everything having to do with that stupid grunge opera....
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Frankly, Jimmy endeared himself to me from the get-go, although his jerk-ness became annoying.

But he gets props from me for calling Karen out - there she was, blocking his station, not ordering (then she orders tap water). She protests she's "not like that," when he has nailed her specific actions precisely. She IS like that, that's exactly what she's doing!

And Jimmy is practically the only character in the show to ever tell Karen even one home truth, except early, when everyone tells her to "tone it down," and she snottily insists she has every right to upstage the leading lady by "playing to the balcony." And whines when her unprofessional behavior gets her cut from the number. And the show lets her get away with it.

Oh, right. So, she secretly trained a flock of sandflies.

For me, it was what ruins all shows. Especially the quirky premium shows. The initial offering is good, but viewers get tired of it. (for this show, it was the story lines. The music was great!). So the producers have to make it more dramatic and messy, which does the opposite of what they expect. Soon, the network has to pull the plug. And for us fans, who don't watch 'reality', or cop/doctor shows, we lose.
Nashville was a victim of this. The final 3 months was almost unwatchable! And so many other attempts, mostly forgotten. Pan Am? Astronaut's Wives? Even Castle. Such a light, easy show to watch. But they just HAD to spend big chunks of time on Beckett's mom. Or Beckett's stalker. Or the who-cares mystery of Castle's disappearance. Then they break them apart for a season, and try to make Castle a PI. Again, unwatchable.
If they would have stuck with the songs, the initial scope of the show, Smash might have lasted longer. But this was never going to be a money maker.
(I'm also in my 60's, and watched Glee. But after a few years, and when my wife finally gave up, I'd watch the songs, and skip the drama. Same with DWTS. I'm happy to just watch the dancing, and some of the backstories. I don't believe in the judging, or care who wins. It's all about who draws in more viewers. And I only watch the dancers who can dance! Except Tommy Chong. There was something about him that was so appealing!)

I didn't like Jimmy at all. I also hated how ungrateful he was to Karen who believed in him and was trying to help him.
Also her decision to leave Bombshell didn't make sense to me, it would've made a lot more sense if "The hit list" people were friendlier to her. They kept pushing her away and she kept going back to them.

<< What ruined the show >>

The reason Season 2 is bad is because all the men in charge fired the 1 woman on the creative staff. She wrote and produced the pilot, created the characters and a hit show, oversaw the scripts and (male) writing staff...and this pissed all the men alongside her off.

Then they brought in a (male) show runner -- who did not have the creator's experience in either theater or television -- that all the guys were comfortable answering to. The show then disintegrated, creatively speaking.

Writer/producer Theresa Rebeck writes about it in an essay detailed HERE:

http://ew.com/books/2017/03/31/read-smash-creators-essay-about-being-fired-from-her-own-show/

It's naive to think misogyny isn't still alive and well in Hollywood.
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