American Idol’s Katharine McPhee Joins Debra Messing on SMASH

Katharine McPhee, the knockout singer who came this close to winning the fifth season of American Idol, will be putting her lungs to use on TV again as she joins the cast of NBC’s hour-long pilot, SMASH, according to Deadline.

McPhee will play the role of a struggling actress who will go to any length to snag the part of Marilyn Monroe in the musical being put on by lyricist Julia (Debra Messing) and musical composer Tom. Jack Davenport and Megan Hilty will also star in the show.

SMASH, based on an idea from Steven Spielberg, follows an assorted cast of characters who get together to put a Marilyn Monroe musical on Broadway. It’s written by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Michael Mayer.

In addition to her American Idol appearance, McPhee also showed up in last season’s The Pink House on NBC and she’ll also be in the romantic comedy, You May Not Kiss the Bride.