It’s the nightmare NBC’s Awake fans were dreading. NBC has cancelled the show after 13 episodes and one season.
Created by Kyle Killen (Lone Star), Awake revolves around a police detective (Jason Isaacs) who, after being in a horrific car accident, finds that he’s living in two realities. In one, his son perished — in the other, his wife did. The cast also includes Laura Allen, Steve Harris, Dylan Minnette, B. D. Wong, Michaela McManus, Wilmer Valderrama, and Cherry Jones.
The complex drama had an unimpressive debut back on March 1st, registering a 2.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 6.24 million viewers. NBC had released the pilot episode well in advance so some believed that hurt the premiere ratings.
 Loading ... |
Theoretically the second episode should have shown signs of growth but it didn’t. Week two dropped 20%. Week three remained stable but subsequent weeks saw additional declines. Last week’s episode hit a new low with a dismal 0.7 rating and just 2.15 million viewers.
This season has averaged a 1.1 rating in the demographic with 3.5 million total viewers. Awake is the third-lowest rated drama on the network, beating only Harry’s Law and The Firm (both of which have been cancelled as well). On our NBC Ratings Report Card, which measures the relative demo performance of shows on the network, Awake has a “D+” grade.
NBC has now cancelled Awake and the series finale is on track to air Thursday, May 24th. While it wasn’t intended as a series finale, Killen has said that he believes the finale is very satisfying.
What do you think? Are you sorry to hear that Awake has been cancelled and won’t be back for a second season? Was the series too complicated for most TV viewers or did it have other problems?
Image courtesy NBC.
Great acting, great drama…innovative, complex, creative. I’m so disappointed to see this show go.
Crushed to lose this show. So smart, so fascinating. Brilliant TV. Awake is over?
Devastated.
Wow! I think its time to boycott NBC. For the first time I found show that held my attention and was intriguing. Honestly what the **** do ppl enjoy watchin ,all these reality shows-that are just scripted garbage. Awake was a great show with amazing acting and a superb plot.
Awake was one of the few smart shows that just kept getting better and better. It’s premise was unique and, more importantly, thought provoking. I am disgusted with NBC for cancelling it after just one season, though I am of the minority (I have found) group of people who believe that shows should be thought conceived and written with a beginning and end, ala Battlestar Galactica, etc. Awake was an excellent premise that I don’t believe could have been stretched over three or four seasons. BUT two thirteen episode seasons would have been just perfect. Thank you, NBC, for depriving… Read more »
I agree with everyone who is upset and angry about this show’s cancellation. I just finished writing comments about my disgust with the cancellation of Harry’s Law, a wonderful series of quality. And here I am again writing about a show I love which is brilliant, mind bending and all around innovative. But this is NBC we’re talking about. The execs in charge of PrimeTime programming all need to be replaced!! I will not be roped in again by the promise of a fine NBC show only to have it ripped away after I have bonded with the characters and… Read more »
Honestly, This show being cancelled ruins my thursday nights. I don’t even really find Breaking bad or any shows with a similar plot that appealing to me…though I’m more a Comedy fan (because I’m sure everyone likes a good laugh). However, with that being said, Normally these types of shows don’t cut it for me, but Awake was too awe-inspiring and really gripping that I fell in love with it from the first ep. I hadn’t even heard of it anywhere, or being advertised..If it weren’t for my friend I would’ve never known about it, so I agree with those… Read more »
I’m really disappointed. This was the first series to catch my imagination in a long time. Boooo.
I agree…this was an intelligent, interesting, and fun show; it was my absolute new favorite. I hope everyone involved in this show know that there are people out here who truly appreciated such a fabulous show.
Frustrating. Interesting premise, interesting characters, clever weaving of parallel storylines, interesting actors. Never missed an episode.
Cancel enough of the clever series, and there will be an incentive to cancel cable and move to other forms of entertainment. I have stacks of purchased series from HBO, Superchannel, Movie Central and AMC that I can default to without ever missing NBC.
Tacky reality shows, “Real” Housewives, survivors, bachelors, Kardashians, etc don’t cut it as substitutes for good dramas.
I am very sad to see that Awake has been cancelled..I don’t watch tv ever, unless I’m watching awake! The storyline was new and refreshing. Acting was also great and the show altogether was captivating! NBC rethink this decision, please! Promoting the show more would help a lot!
This is pure crap! Very upset that Awake has been cancelled! Finally a show that I waited for each week to come on and you cancel it! Will we have any kind of finale? Probably not. We will be left wondering what the heck is going. NBC sucks!
I agree with the comments below. The show is intelligent, gripping and utterly interesting. My 14 and 16 year old daughters actually love it as much as I do. I totally agree with Holly, who mentioned the lack of promotion for this show. I came across this one by accident – I’ve never seen an ad for it and bet many people don’t know about it. I can understand that many people might have tuned in to the first one and then left as it wasn’t the show they were expecting, but the people who would really love to sink… Read more »
We knew this would happen; Awake was too good to last. NBC did nothing to attract new viewers: offering a repeat each week just prior to the second, third, and even fourth episodes certainly could have helped keep this outstanding show alive. As so many others have commented, our society is too involved with reality television and mindless comedy to appreciate an excellent script and fine acting.
NBC does it again. Another well written, well acted show is gone so they can make room for a low budget reality series. They did the same thing with the show “Life.”
I loved Life too!
NBC Sucks! Kill The Office, it’s been pathetic for years. Awake was one of the most brilliant, exciting, mind-stimulating, well-acted series on TV. I guess basic network can’t handle breaking the mold type shows. Maybe Kyle Killen has to take his talents to HBO or even AMC. I’m so disappointed in NBC. It’s not like they have anything of quality to replace it with.
One of the best, most intelligent and unique shows on TV. Well acted and scripted. Probably too intelligent for the majority of TV watchers who claim to not be able to follow the plot. Duh, easy if you give it some thought. Some times it helps to use your mind when you watch TV…its not a bad option.