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.
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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.
man this sucks… I get wrapped in a show and then they cancel it! He is one of the best actors i’ve seen on tv in a while. First the event now awake….
So unimpressed with the cancellation of this show. It was full of twists and turns and kept my wanting more. DON’T DO IT NBC – DON’T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s all about the ratings. If a video loop of a hamster running in its wheel pulled in the numbers then NBC would happily show that.
Sadly most of the viewing public has neither the attention span nor the intelligence required to digest a complex show like Awake. It was awesome, and it will be missed.
This has happened several times to my wife and I. Great shows are cancelled. Awake has excellent writing and even better acting. NBC is stupid. They know they didn’t give any publicity to this show. Really! We just stumbled upon the show. Just make a little bit of effort NBC. I have sold the program to a couple of friends just by outlining the basic plot. It’s just marketing. I could sell both programs to a generally sleep walking audience. Another great TV drama is The Firm, also cancelled. Also, poorly treated by NBC. Maybe it is time to give… Read more »
I love this show and am completely bummer that it’s getting cancelled. Please give us more! We want to understand the conspiracy!
It sucks that Awake is cancelled! I am very disappointed! I really enjoyed watching the story unfold. Cable networks, please pick this up!!!
This is sad proof that the public wants dumb shows. AWAKE has been suspenseful and thought-provoking. UNFORGETTABLE, HARRY’S LAW, A GIFTED MAN and AWAKE have all been cancelled, while so-called reality shows thrive. This a sad time. I still miss HAWTHORNE RN and RAISING THE BAR. We used to blame the networks for putting on garbage. They did a great job putting some great quality shows on their schedule and the public couldn’t be bothered. Sad indeed.
I wish NBC would stop taking away such good shows. It may not have bee a home run out of the box, but put on those reruns, let people get hooked all over again. The HOOK, BAIT and SWITCH just is not getting it. The Event, Surface, others and now Awake. Come on NBC change your mind and renew!!
Such a fantastic show. What is it with the most brilliant shows being canned? What does this say about the common viewer of television? Sad.
Very upset to hear that Awake was cancelled! I LOVE this show and tuned in every week. I thought it was an awesome concept and that the writers did a phenomenal job with it. I dont understand why they cancelled it. Maybe TNT or TBS or some station like that will pick it up and start season two…..PLEASE!!
Just horrible. Every show my wife and I have been following is being cancelled. This is exactly why we are hesitant in supporting new shows. We record most of our shows to watch later and enjoyed this show very much, along with The Firm, Missing, and Harry’s Law. Eventually this world will be filled with 100% reality TV garbage and shock value shows. Pathetic that a show as great as this is being cancelled after 1 season.
it needed to be promoted better_ after seeing the first few promos the show didn’t interest me- but one night i decided to watch it_ and i discovered it was GREAT- and it gets better with each progressive show. i don’t think enough people tuned in to even check it out- again the promoting. the premise was so fresh and new and original-ORIGINAL_ but being original doesn’t win anything- so they make a 5 or 6th csi or other detective show_ and renew them over and over- and we’re stuck with watching the same thing every year
I love this show. Awake is such a good show. First Missing now awake. What the hell! We need to keep it on. What can we do?
Why is it that NBC Thinks all America should watch is sarcastic comedy? Awake and The Firm were refreshing offerings in a general network lineup that has traded storytelling for snappy one liners. The success of smarter, more intense Cable shows like Dexter, The Killing, Mad Men, etc.. Should be a wake up call to the network that they need to give these dramas a chance. Maybe their slow starts are due to the fact that people looking for intelligent drama have learned from recent years that there won’t be anything (other than SVU) even on the NBC schedule, so… Read more »
This show is fantastic … What a shame it’s being cancelled