Let's Be Bad

"Let's Be Bad" is the fifth episode of the American television series, Smash. The episode aired on March 5, 2012.

Plot

Karen (Katharine McPhee) performs at a government party; tensions between Michael (guest star Will Chase) and Julia (Debra Messing) increase; Eileen (Anjelica Huston) becomes associated with Ellis (Jamie Cepero); Ivy's (Megan Hilty) romantic relationship with Derek (Jack Davenport) hits a bump in the road.

Production

Recurring guest stars include Neal Bledsoe as Tom's boyfriend John Goodwin, Will Chase as actor Michael Swift,^[3] Leslie Odom, Jr. as Ivy's ensemble friend Sam Strickland, and Emory Cohen as Julia and Frank's son Leo Houston.

Among the songs appearing in the episode are the original title number from the episode performed by Megan Hilty and the cast of Marilyn, Katharine McPhee's cover of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"^[1] and Donny Hathaway's^[4] "A Song for You" performed by Chase.^[2] All three songs were released as singles on March 5, 2012.

Ratings

The episode saw a 17% increase in ratings from the previous week. It had an 18-49 rating of 2.7/7 and was seen by 7.76 million viewers and was first in its timeslot.^[5] With the Live+7 DVR viewing added, the episode was seen with a total of 10.22 million viewers and achieved a 3.8 rating in 18-49 demographics.^[6]

Accolades

Smash won a 2012 Primetime Emmy Award for Josh Bergasse for choreography. The choreography for the song "Lets Be Bad"'s performance was one of the routines that were part of the show's submission in the Choreography category.^[7]

References

Smash
Episodes	Season 1 "Pilot" "The Callback" "Enter Mr. DiMaggio" "The Cost of Art" "Let's Be Bad" "Chemistry" "The Workshop" "The Coup" "Hell on Earth" "Understudy" "The Movie Star" "Publicity" "Tech" "Previews" "Bombshell" Season 2 "On Broadway" "The Fallout" "The Dramaturg" "The Song" "The Read-Through" "The Fringe" "Musical Chairs" "The Bells and Whistles" "The Parents" "The Surprise Party" "The Dress Rehearsal" "Opening Night" "The Producers" "The Phenomenon" "The Transfer" "The Nominations" "The Tonys"
Music albums	The Music of Smash Bombshell
Original songs	"Never Give All the Heart" "The National Pastime" "Let Me Be Your Star" "The 20th Century Fox Mambo" "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" "History Is Made at Night" "I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl" "Let's Be Bad" "On Lexington & 52nd Street" "Touch Me" "Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking" "Dig Deep" "A Thousand and One Nights" "Second Hand White Baby Grand" "Smash!" "Don't Forget Me" "I Can't Let Go" "Heart Shaped Wreckage" "Rewrite This Story" "I Heard Your Voice In a Dream"
Other	Smash (novel) Bombshell (musical) Hit List (musical) Characters
Category