Six months after announcing her separation from Daniel Zelman, Debra Messing filed for divorce on Tuesday.

The actress is seeking joint custody of their 8-year-old son and is requesting spousal and child support. Court papers say the pair separated in February 2010, although they continued to live together for the sake of their son.

She has hired attorney Neal Harsh, whose past clients include Halle Berry and Camille Grammer.

Debra, 43, met Daniel, 44, when they studied at New York University. They tied the knot on Sept. 3, 2000. She reportedly began dating her Smash co-star Will Chase this past December.

Not only was the May 14 season finale of Smash the best episode since its critically acclaimed pilot, but it also served to reinforce a few truths I’ve come to accept during the course of the season: Ellis (Jaime Cepero) sucks, Dev (Raza Jaffrey) is a douche, Ivy (Megan Hilty) is chemically imbalanced, and Karen (Katharine McPhee) — well, Karen is a star!

Much to the chagrin of the rest of the creative team, Derek insisted that Karen play Marilyn in the final preview performance, adding an additional layer of stress to the cast and crew of Bombshell. As if it wasn’t enough that Tom (Christian Borle) and Julia (Debra Messing) had to pull a brand-new final number out of their collective butt, Karen had only a few hours to learn the entire show.

No one was more upset with Derek’s choice than Ivy, who decided to not-so-subtly reveal her affair with Dev at the worst possible moment, sending Karen into a Marilyn-style tizzy. After a brief nervous breakdown, she gave Dev back his engagement ring and broke up with him for good. Derek added an extra “f**k you” of his own, telling Dev, “She’s mine now.”

I’ve got to say, it felt really good watching Dev get his head handed to him. He’s been on the decline ever since the pilot, and I wouldn’t be too disappointed if he didn’t stick around for season two. Karen needs a guy who understands what she’s going through — or at the very least, she needs to be single for a while so Derek can try living out one of his little fantasies.

But it wasn’t all bad news on Broadway this week, as Eileen (Anjelica Huston) finally fired Ellis. He told her he was the one who poisoned Rebecca’s (Uma Thurman) smoothie — bragged about it, in fact — and insinuated he was the only one doing any real producing. Like the true cartoon villain that he is, Ellis vowed revenge before sauntering out of the theater, so it looks like we can anticipate plenty of weasel sightings in season two.

The rewrite and recasting for Bombshell clearly paid off, because Karen was sensational and the crowd loved her. But while she was belting her glorious final number, Ivy was preparing for a curtain call of her own: The final scene revealed the Marilyn-hopeful downing a bottle of pills, leaving her fate in question until the show returns in 2013.

What did you think of the Smash finale? Did it restore your faith in the inconsistent series, or will you not be tuning in when it returns next year? Was Karen the right choice to play Marilyn? And what do you think will happen to Ivy, post-pill binge? Drop your thoughts and theories in the comments section below!

— Andy Swift

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Just when you thought Ellis (Jaime Cepero) was the worst thing to happen to Bombshell, along came Rebecca Duvall (Uma Thurman) on the April 16 episode of Smash to remind us all that, despite what Dan Savage claims, it doesn’t always get better. After butchering “Let Me Be Your Star,” Rebecca introduced a few creative changes to the show: In a nutshell, longer scenes and less singing — which is great for a musical.

The only bright side to Rebecca’s arrival was the unlikely alliance of Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Ivy (Megan Hilty). Hell hath no fury like a potential understudy scorned, so between Karen’s tenacity and Ivy’s crippling addiction to prescription drugs, I’m sure they’ll be able to cook up a wacky scheme for ol’ Becky.

But maybe Ivy should help Karen out with her man problems first. Dev (Raza Jaffrey) spent the hour getting awfully close to his lady friend at the mayor’s office, while Derek (Jack Davenport) fantasized about Karen — as Marilyn — singing “Our Day Will Come.” Neither Dev cheating nor Karen hooking up with Derek are unexpected twists to the series, but it will be interesting to see how each will affect things moving forward.

Of course, Bombshell still looks like a masterpiece compared to the train wreck that is Julia’s (Debra Messing) marriage to Frank (Brian D’Arcy James). The two came together this week to help get Leo back on track in school, but don’t expect a reconciliation anytime soon; Frank remains understandably pissed. I’m not going to lie, I’m getting a lot of sick pleasure out of watching Julia deal with the fallout of her affair with Michael (Will Chase). Affairs on TV often go unpunished, so I’m glad Smash is putting her through the hell she deserves.

Even though she couldn’t save her own relationship, Julia did manage to play Cupid for Tom (Christian Borle) and Sam, but things got a little awkward when Sam started talking about religion. He sees sex as “holy” and wants to take things slow, which I’m sure is exactly what Tom wanted to hear the week after breaking up with a guy for being Republican.

What did you think of this week’s Smash? Do you like Rebecca’s take on Marilyn — at all? Are you rooting for Karen and Dev to break up? There are only three episodes left until the season finale, so hit up the comments section with your thoughts on what’s to come!

— Andy Swift

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“Hell on Earth” couldn’t have been a more appropriate title for the April 2 episode of Smash because, despite Karen (Katharine McPhee) scoring a national orange juice commercial, everyone else’s lives were turned completely upside down. Julia’s (Debra Messing) marriage crumbled, Ivy’s (Megan Hilty) addiction escalated, and Tom (Christian Borle) was faced with the most terrifying evil of all — a gay republican!

I would like to begin by applauding Frank (Brian D’arcy James) for the way he handled the revelation of Julia and Michael’s (Will Chase) affair. Smash has been coaxing the audience to root for the adulterers all season, but once the truth came out, it was Frank who got all of our sympathy. And real talk: I loved watching him scream at Julia and punch Michael in the face. They both deserved exactly what was coming to them.

And then there was Ivy, who seems determined to follow in Marilyn Monroe‘s tragic footsteps until she’s discovered dead (and possibly naked) from an overdose. After returning to Heaven on Earth, the disgruntled showgirl went on stage completely high and fell flat on her face in front of the entire audience. And surprise, surprise – Karen was watching from the wings with a Taylor Swift-esque look of shock on her face!

Of course, the characters weren’t the only ones who suffered this week. The viewers at home were put through their own personal hell watching Ellis (Jaime Cepero) weasel his way to the top. Proving to be even more sexually ambiguous than I suspected, Ellis seduced a hot-shot Hollywood agent and convinced him to get his biggest client — a major movie star played by none other than Uma Thurman – to negotiate for the lead in Marilyn.

I’d also file Karen and Ivy’s Times Square performance of Rihanna‘s “Cheers (I’ll Drink To That)” under the category of hellish torture, but only because it was so awkward and unnecessary. If Karen and Ivy were going to bond — I prefer them as mortal enemies, myself — couldn’t they have just done it over a drink? Or a pillow fight? The whole thing felt very Glee, and I didn’t appreciate it one bit.

How do YOU feel about this week’s turn of events? Were you glad Julia and Michael finally got what was coming to them? Do you think Ivy and Karen will stay friends much longer? And, seriously, when will Ellis just stop being so awful? Drop me a comment with your thoughts on the episode!

— Andy Swift

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After weeks of watching Ivy (Megan Hilty) hog the spotlight, the March 26 episode of Smash gave us a taste of what Marilyn would look like with Karen (Katharine McPhee) in the title role — and the result was, simply put, a hot mess. While “Touch Me” was a fine production number, I personally wouldn’t touch the “new” Marilyn with a 50-foot pole.

Thankfully, neither would any of the brains behind Marilyn! Julia (Debra Messing) and Tom (Christian Borle) were furious that Derek (Jack Davenport) and Eileen (Anjelica Huston) went behind their backs to produce a new song — and thanks to a few words of wisdom from Eileen’s enlightened daughter (Grace Gummer), “new” Marilyn was quickly laid to rest.

Speaking of things getting buried, Julia and Michael (Will Chase) met in the park one last time to officially nail the final coffin in their little affair. I know their drama is far from over, but I really wish it never started in the first place. One of the things I’ve never appreciated about Smash was the way it attempted to get the audience root for adultery. By introducing us to Julia and Michael’s families, it only made both characters seem all the more reprehensible for betraying them — and yet we were still expected to feel bad for them. Sorry, not happening!

And can we talk about Ellis (Jaime Cepero) for a minute? I know we, the viewers, fantasize about killing him — and getting away with it every time — on a weekly basis, but now he’s somehow managed to take his own annoyance to new heights. By lurking in every possible corner and injecting his opinion when a grand total of zero people asked for it, he managed to convince Eileen to hire him away from Tom as her new assistant. So now he’s basically the Iago to Eileen’s Jafar… and we all remember how annoying Iago was.

But the real bomb was dropped in the episode’s final moments when Tom told Ivy that Marilyn needed a star to get it to Broadway. In other words, “Thanks for all your hard work… but don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

What did you think of this week’s Smash? Who would make a better Marilyn: Ivy or Karen? Are you one of those adultery supporters rooting for Julia and Michael to reunite? And if you could get away with it, how would YOU murder Ellis? Drop me a comment with your thoughts!

— Andy Swift

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I hope Julia (Debra Messing) enjoyed that big kiss with Michael (Will Chase) on last week’s episode of Smash, because her affair is about to be revealed — and mild-mannered hubby Frank (Brian D’arcy James) might just release his inner Hulk. ”That information comes out; it’s coming,” Brian told HollywoodLife.com on March 5 at the NYC premiere of Friends With Kids, hosted by the Cinema Society and People‘s Style Watch. “Viewers may even see some retribution that [Frank] takes upon [Julia.]“

But Brian said viewers shouldn’t be too quick to assume the affair will lead to a divorce.

“[There are] complexities to a situation like this,” Brian explained. “The writers have been very responsible in terms of not making it easy to wrap it up in a bow. Let’s just say it’s as messy and as complicated as the event itself, which I love!”

And for the sake of putting wacky theories out into the universe, we asked Brian if it’s possible Frank has been engaging in some extramarital fun of his own while he’s been away. (God only knows what goes down at those “teacher re-certification retreats.”)

“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t say that!”

Hmm… We’ll take that as a maybe.

— Written by Andy Swift, Reporting by Chloe Melas

“Taboo” doesn’t even begin to describe what went down on the March 5 episode of Smash, and the hour of musical debauchery led up to the biggest “oh no she didn’t” moment of all: Julia (Debra Messing) gave into temptation and kissed Michael (Will Chase)! Suddenly Leo almost getting arrested for smoking pot doesn’t seem so bad, now does it?

Meanwhile, Ivy (Megan Hilty) also continued to unleash her inner bad girl all over Karen (Katharine McPhee) when she started to feel like her part in Marilyn was threatened. I’m really hoping Karen does a turnaround soon, because she’s becoming too much of a bitch to like. The Team Ivy/Team Karen dynamic from the pilot is virtually gone at this point.

But it was more than just Ivy’s part in the show that was threatened this week. She also suspected that Derek (Jack Davenport) was slipping away from her, so she did what any sensible 20-something lady would do: Get drunk, go to his apartment, and start screaming! And what do you know? They ended up sleeping together. Again.

And speaking of sleeping together, Tom (Christian Borle) finally did the nasty with that lawyer he’s been dating — and they both decided it was the worst sex they ever had.

I guess not everybody’s good at being bad.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Is a divorce inevitable for Julia and Frank? Will Ivy lose Marilyn to Karen? And, seriously, how much do you miss Nick Jonas? He was so good last week. See you in the comments section!

— Andy Swift

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