This post is mostly a rebuttle to some of the comments on the post “Smash season 2 premieres to 71% smaller audience than last year.”

Let me start by saying this is urgent. Smash is a good show. Season 1 was a great ride. With a bit of re-tooling, the show picked up a lot that it lacked. It turned into a show where I really want to see what happens next. But in a few weeks, there may be no hope for that.

Smash premiered on Tuesday to a final rating of 1.2/3 (the only number that really matters to network TV stations). In comparison, Pretty Little Liars‘ Tuesday episode also pulled a 1.2 and the highest rated CW show(s) (Arrow and The Vampire Diaries) pull around a 1.2. Smash‘s finale last year earned a 1.8.

In order to be anywhere safe for CONSIDERATION for renewal, Smash needs to be pulling 1.8s or greater. Let’s hope the show doesn’t slide into the (0.9) territory…it could be yanked off the schedule completely, then. The 10 p.m. timeslot has a much lower threshold for renewal than 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. because less people watch TV at 10 p.m. But it can only go so low before NBC loses money on it.

Put it this way: Grimm (on Friday on NBC) pulls around 1.2+ on FRIDAY. It gets renewed because it is a Friday show with generally good ratings for Friday. If Grimm aired on Tuesday at 9 p.m. with a 1.2 rating, it would be canceled. If it aired at 10 p.m., it would be a toss-up (and would get canceled if NBC lost money on it).

My point that I am trying to make:

GET PEOPLE TO WATCH THE SHOW.

It is a good show for men, women, kids, teens, and adults. The most important part is for them to watch the show LIVE. The timeslot absolutely sucks. But we need it renewed. If anything, NBC may be wise to move it to a post-Voice spot. But it looks unlikely.

If you gave the show a chance, give it another try. Season 2 looks to be better than season 1.