The ratings were dismal. Over 4 million watched with only a 1.1 rating… ouch. Those numbers are incredibly unfortunate; as the show’s return after a much talked about (and for the wrong reason) premiere season was pretty fantastic in this writer’s eyes.
The biggest distracters from last season were removed, including Ellis, the annoying as heck assistant (he really had no redeeming qualities), and Julia’s scarves (which is actually mentioned head on in the episode, which I found funny). What we gained was exponentially better. Jennifer Hudson playing a Tony-Award winning Broadway star shines in her scenes and her two songs of the night. Jeremy Jordan of Newsies fame also joined the cast as an arrogant and cocky hopeful Broadway composer (Personally, I thought he was annoying in the first hour, but was rather fantastic in the second).
Ivy also had a huge comeback this week in the form of a killer solo that gets Bombshell relatively back on track. Karen has some great songs after a very brief mention of her ended relationship. Julia’s life falls through the floorboards during the two hours, which ended up becoming a little tired by the end…but it is very hard for me to hate Debra Messing, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt.
Now, I realize many people jumped ship last season as it slowly sank quality wise throughout the season, but I really want you to give it a second chance. The new additions to the cast were fresh, the exclusions were wonderful, and the songs featured were all iPod material. While the whole “awkwardly-placed-dream-sequences” were not totally dismissed, they were MUCH better than the completely random Bollywood number.
This show is NOT Emmy Award material, I understand that completely, but it is a ball of fun with great music and a great look behind the curtain of the Great White Way. Let me know what you thought of the premiere below. Until next time, pass the remote!
Editor note: I completely concur with the above. I watched the 2nd half of last season a couple weeks ago and love the direction the show is taking. It doesn’t all have to be shipper material or hate watching. Also loved the small role by Margo Martindale. I hope we see more of her.