Premiered: February 5, 2013

On: NBC

Starring: Debra Messing, Jack Davenport, Katharine McPhee, Christian Borle, Megan Hilty, Anjelica Huston, Leslie Odom Jr., Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez, Ann Harada, Becky Ann Baker, Dylan Baker, Michael Cristofer, Wesley Taylor, Savannah Wise, Thorsten Kaye, Daniel Sunjata, Nikki Blonsky, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Emory Cohen, Brian d’Arcy James, Mara Davi, Jennifer Hudson, Sean Hayes, Luke Macfarlane, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Jesse L. Martin, Jamey Sheridan, Rosie O’Donnell & Lin-Manuel Miranda

The return of NBC’s musical drama comes with a welcome shift in the storyline. 

While Bombshell continues to work its way to Broadway with Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) playing Marilyn Monroe, Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) joins a new production by unknown writers Jimmy Collins (Jeremy Jordan) and Kyle Bishop (Andy Mientus).

This season focuses more on the musicals at hand, which caters to different audiences and allows for a larger audience base. Bombshell has more glitz and glamour with traditional Broadway music and numbers, while Hit List is more of an indie musical with pop/rock numbers accompanied by modern choreography.

There’s less drama surrounding the characters, which lets the actors – primarily Debra Messing and Hilty – shine. Unfortunately, Jordan’s character, Jimmy, while talented is off-putting the majority of the season.

Final season: A standing ovation for a show gone too soon. ★★★★☆