'Smash' Reviews Roundup: What We've Got To Look Forward To (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Smash, the hugely anticipated musical TV series from Steven Spielberg, starring Oscar-winner Anjelica Huston and former Will & Grace actress Debra Messing, received a lot of hype before its primetime airing on NBC in America last night.

Luckily for all the big stars involved in the show, which centres around the making of a Marilyn Monroe Broadway musical, the first episode has received a resounding applause from US critics.

The big money production, which stars Brit actor Jack Davenport as sleazy but talented director Derek Willis, and American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee and Broadway diva Megan Hilty as two very talented actresses vying for the part of Marilyn, is set to come to UK screens via Sky Atlantic in April.

Here's what the critics are saying just one episode in...

Entertainment Weeklywrote:

"This was one damn lively show with a lot of promise. I'm a sucker for behind-the-scenes stories, for how-they-do-it productions, for catty exposes of how dirty one's hands must get to create a gleaming-bright spectacle."

The Wall Street Journal said:

"After weeks and weeks of advertising, Smash premieres. The show seems to have a lot of promise, and the musical numbers dazzled."

The Hollywood Reporter admitted:

"It looks and feels like a well-written, tightly focused adult drama more likely to be found on cable (NBC didn't tamper with its intellectual DNA) than anywhere else. That doesn't mean it's going to be a hit, nor even acclaimed going forward. But it's a hell of a start."

And Starpulse gushed:

"Smash is the best new show of this TV season, and it should live up to its title."

READ: The Huffington Post's Smash review.

SLIDESHOW: Meet the Smash cast...