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.
I love this show, I watch it every week. It has a great plot, great acting, sure it takes a while to build up the story – but goodness people! This has substance, it has something promising. It’s not like those reality shows where millions of people tune in for something they don’t even think about later. This show has such great writing and premise, I am very sad to see it go. I couldn’t believe it when a friend told me it was cancelled. NBC has made a big mistake pulling the plug so quick. I will watch NBC… Read more »
I’m really disappointed to see this show cancelled. It’s one of the very few reasons I was keeping my cable subscription. Great show! Bring it back!!!!
One of my favorite shows this season. I never miss an episode. Excellent cast and stories. What a loss!
I am so seriously sad to see it go. It is amazing to me how easily networks give up on programming; without even a thought to the 1.1 million who faithfully watched. Can you say, “Different time slot?”
It’s to bad that good TV and good writing is the first shows to be canceled Good TV now is about big buts and boobs. I am glad that at least the writers gave the show a good ending. Hoping all writers think like that when writing for these shows. Especially since the good show seems to axed. Thank you for this show, and the plot.
I loved it!!! It was perfect. And so true what someone else said about it making you think. I guess everyone wants sex and gore instead of a psychological show. It was genious the way both realities were meshed together. I am so sad.
please find a new home,,,entirely intact.his program…i can’t bear the the thought of it being oof the air permanently…what a shame…but so predictable when it actually takes some attention to follow the storyline….i’m so sorry and i will really miss the show and all the characters.
I think one reason for the cancellation is that the vast majority of tv viewers don’t like shows that don’t hold their hands and make them actually think. This is one of those shows. The problem is not NBC but the viewers who like to be thought of as morons.
I blame Fez! 🙂 I really liked this show. I started watching it and Touch at the same time but abandoned Touch after 3 or 4 weeks. Awake had a unique concept. I’m almost not sad. I’m almost glad we’re getting out after a sort of “miniseries run”. Better to do that than to push the series too far and have to deal with the whole “aliens created the alternate reality” or “it really WAS a dream” or whatever explanation they would finally throw together in season 5 or 6. Would that Heroes was cancelled before a similar thing happened… Read more »
I am really upset to see this show cancelled. It has a wild imagination, and with such a complex theory behind it, I think that the development over time was needed. People are in such a rush to know everything right away which is exactly why great shows get swept aside. The acting and writing in this series really exceeded the norms of network TV. Sad to see it go ;/
While I really enjoyed this program, I’m glad it did not turn into another “Fugitive”. It probably would have become very boring had it continued. I’m looking forwatd to the finale.
I get so sick of decent shows being cancelled! This one was good, made you think a little rather than giving away how it will end in the first 5 min!
I’m really sick about this. I’ve had virtually no interest in cop dramas in years, but the unique concept of this show really captured my imagination. It was so much more than just a gimmick, though, since the acting and the writing are also top-notch. Jason Isaacs, in particular, is superb, and I’ll be looking with great interest to see what he does next. The only other cop show I really liked before this was Detroit 1-8-7, so I guess I’m a sucker for shows that the general public doesn’t like! Do people really just want to see familiar dramas… Read more »
I, along with so many friends who are fans of this show, am terribly disappointed. The writing was smart and the storyline was compelling. Can’t they change the timeslot to give it a chance … or won’t some other network be willing to pick it up and give it a try? Everyone in it was excellent. Hate to see it go!
The show became too episodic and waited to develop the story line. I think most audience members got bored. I was ready to bail after episode three as it got routine rather quickly. I like Jason Isaacs, so decided to hang on. Things finally got fairly interesting in the last episode or two.
Wow. I guess we gotta have it all and now!
It was episodic, but it never abandoned the main storyline. It was just more focused on his family and their relationships than just the accident. The last two episodes have differently been interesting, but I thought some of the episodic ones were particularly poignant and unique.
Really sad to see this show go. It’s been my favorite show on TV.
I am very upset that this show has been cancelled. Like other viewers, i have not watched a network show regularly in ages! This one really captures the imagination. Such a shame and shame on NBC!