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.
I loved Awake!
First Prime Suspect (outstanding acting) and now Awake (also excellent cast and unique story). I truly believe both of these fine shows would’ve gained respectable followings if given a little more time. Nice work, NBC. As another commenter stated, back to cable.
I loved this show. Wouldn’t miss it. Of course it’s cancelled. We need another talent show with singing housewives.
At least I got nearly thirteen hours of a story worth watching. That’s a rare thing with network television. I guess the fact that it required an attention span of more than 30 seconds at a time was too much to ask of the dumbed down viewers NBC woos. The comedy line-up for next year speaks to that notion. I won’t be watching.
Noooooo… I love this show! I hope they reconsider!
Obviously, this show was too thought provoking for the mush-brained viewers in this country. It’s really too bad that this show couldn’t have been left n the air for the few of us viewers who s till enjoy thinking. Awake was one of the few shows I really enjoyed watching for it’s storyline and excellent acting. I guess it’s just that much more time I will have to read a good book or do something else stimulating other than sitting on my ass watching one of your other mind-numbing series. Thanks for giving me me houe back!
Of course it was cancelled! It required an IQ higher than a chimpanzee’s to appreciate it.
This show was slow starting, but as the story developed, it got very intriguing. Sad to see it go:(
I am very upset. My husband and I keep getting into these new dramas only to have them cancelled after one year. I think we are going to just stop watching . . . anything on NBC.
What a shame… I guess it’s not about making good shows, but about making popular ones.
Is it the newer generation simplistic mind or NBC inability to promote the show properly?
As a baseline, they might want to create a show consisting only of cream pie throwing.
This show is wonderful and for thinking viewers, but unfortunately it’s too mental for many of the bumbaclot American television audiences. If this was an HBO series it would have fared better I think.
I thank the creators, writers, producers and actors for making such an outstanding show. Hopefully, they can team up for future projects until they find the right formula that brings the audience.
One of the best shows this season..thought provoking, well acted. Everything clicked in this one…WOW—Talk about not giving even a small chance…A long time ago, shows were let run a few years and some turned out to be classics we still enjoy today. I am displeased. I actually let myself get back into TV watching after losing my favs a few years back…Not again. I will be using my local Redbox a lot!!!
I was able to overcome my hatred for NBC and actually watch this amazing show. Every week I felt like purging myself because I had actually supported NBC, but it was just such a great show I couldn’t help myself. I will now never watch another NBC show ever again. I’m done with this pathetic network.
Obviously though provoking shows that require viewer attention are in conflict with the overall objective of dumbing down the audience to be lulled and entertained by commercial breaks.
Amazing show. This is crazy. We watch mindless tv. And when people actually have to think they give up.