Smash Casts Rent Original Jesse L. Martin

Continuing with the slew of new and amazing casting decisions, the new show runner of “Smash” Josh Safran is bringing on Rent’s very own Jesse L. Martin on for the sophomore season of NBC’s show tune drama.

Jesse L. Martin, who made his debut in 1996 playing Tom Collins in the original Broadway cast of Rent will now play Scott Welker, an artistic director at a theater company. Martin is said to also be a love interest for Debra Messing’s character who spent much of the first season in and out of her marriage.

Back in March it was released that creator/writer/producer Theresa Rebeck would take her final bow after the first season. Although the pilot met with rave reviews the creative decisions following that episode were criticized, which ended in the firing of Brian d’Arcy, Raza Jaffrey, Jaime Cepero and Will Chase from the show. All actors were involved in pivotal arcs surrounding the series.

Gossip Girl’s Josh Safran, who joined the show after creator Theresa Rebeck left, is making great strides in recreating the show that was plagued with story line problems during its first season. Instead of having a second season of art imitating life, Safran has decided to make smart decisions in “Smash’s” additions.

In addition to Jesse L. Martin, the revamped cast includes big voices from Broadway and film including Sean Hayes, Jeremy Jordan, and Jennifer Hudson. The additions will also join the originals that stuck around Katharine McPhee, Megan Hilty, Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Christian Borle.