NBC premieres second season of 'The Voice' following Super Bowl XLVI

New musical drama "Smash" to premiere next day, after regular season debut of "The Voice"

NBC will use television's biggest stage following Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, to unveil the second-season premiere of "The Voice" (10 p.m. ET; time approximate) followed the next night with the debut of the much-anticipated "Smash" (10-11 p.m. ET) on Monday, Feb. 6.

"The Voice" also will premiere in its regular day and time on the following night, Monday, February 6 (8-10 p.m. ET).

The announcements were made by Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment.

"The Super Bowl represents the biggest television audience of the year and we think that the return of 'The Voice' is deserving of this prominent showcase," said Greenblatt. "We also will shine the promotional spotlight throughout Super Bowl Sunday for Monday's debut of 'Smash,' which will give it a powerful launch platform."

"The Voice" is a vocal competition series modeled after Holland's top-rated vocal talent discovery show, "The Voice of Holland." Hosted again in its second season by Carson Daly, the show features four musician coaches, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton, who coach only the most talented vocalists.

The show's innovative format features three stages of competition: the first begins with the blind audition, then the competition enters into a battle phase, and finally, the live performance shows.

"Smash" is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross-section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire -- to be a "Smash."

The series centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe - written by the successful songwriting duo of Tom (Tony Award nominee Christian Borle, "Legally Blonde: The Musical") and Julia (Emmy Award winner Debra Messing, "Will & Grace"). Julia recently began the process of adopting a child with her husband (Brian d'Arcy James) of many years, but her focus is torn when she has the opportunity to write another Broadway hit.

A rivalry soon forms for the lead role between a youthful, inexperienced Midwestern beauty (Katharine McPhee, "American Idol") - who is trying to find fame in the big city against all odds - and stage veteran (Megan Hilty, "Wicked," "9 to 5: The Musical"), who's determined to leave the chorus line and finally get her big break. A tenacious producer, Eileen (Oscar winner Anjelica Huston, "Prizzi's Honor"), discovers the "Marilyn" project and jumps on board with a brilliant director (Jack Davenport, "Pirates of the Caribbean" films), whose talent is matched by his cunning and egocentric amorality. The series stemmed from an idea of executive producer and multiple Emmy and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg ("ER," "Schindler's List").
The pilot was written by acclaimed playwright/screenwriter Theresa Rebeck ("Mauritius," "NYPD Blue"). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Oscar-winning "Chicago," "Hairspray") and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey ("United States of Tara," "The Borgias") will also serve as executive producers. Original songs are written by Tony and Grammy Award winners Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman ("Hairspray," "Catch Me If You Can"), who also serve as executive producers.

For contestant blogs and full episodes of "The Voice," visit NBC.com's official show site: http://www.nbc.com/TheVoice.Follow the show on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NBCTheVoice and on twitter at @NBCTheVoice and #TheVoice.

For more information on "Smash," visit the official show site:http://www.nbc.com/smash/. Follow "Smash" at http://www.facebook.com/NBCSmash, at http://twitter.com/NBCSmash and #Smash.