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 liked the show a lot and was intrigued by it. I thought it was creative and compelling…it certainly kept me “awake” watching it. Perhaps the time slot?? Was it up against other popular shows? I would have given it a second season in a different time slot. Really sorry to see it go..
It is a terrible thing today that if a show is not a break out hit with huge ratings and therefore extremely profitable for ad revenue then it will be canceled because a reality show can be thrown in the slot for lower cost. All of the networks are doing this and it leading to people waiting until the second season to watch shows because there is no reason to invest time in a story that you never get to see finished. Which of course leads to more first season cancellations. Guess what? Eventually people will quit watching tv, there… Read more »
The largest problem with most new NBC drama lately, is they have that underlying thing going on instead of a clear cut beginning and ending on each show. You get a great idea, a great ensemble cast, characters you can really get into and because they want to drag everything to some great unknown thing that has happened or will happen, the best part of the show gets bogged down. Plus, in the past, shows like that get you hooked and then let you down when they get cancelled, just as you are really getting into it. You get tired… Read more »
They always cancel great shows and leave us with reality TV schlock. Who the heck does Nielsen poll? I have seen many shows that I have really liked cancelled. I think the ones that have an edge, and are a bit different don’t make it. I guess they don’t get enough of the “general empty-headed public” to sign on. I will miss it though the ending was really great making the season well worth it. Brilliant ending. Maybe we should cut all the new series like Revenge, Once Upon a Time, Ringer, etc. into one season. We sure would get… Read more »
The show was too smart for its own good.
I didn’t even know this show got canceled. I was told by a friend of mine who was a fan . I saw parts of the show and I got hooked, but due to so much work and school, I didn’t even have time to turn the TV on. I was planning on catching up with this show once summer hits, but I guess I won’t be able to now.
I can’t believe they canceled a Great show!! Why can’t they cancel the reality shows and keep this one? more people would be apt to watch it. How can they judge the demographic when the show was on during the series finale of House. Come on people think! we need some new and interesting shows and this was it! I agree with the previous comments about how great a show it was. NBC should rethink canceling it.
I am VERY disappointed to hear Awake has been cancelled as it’s become one of my favorite shows on TV. The last few episodes were so good to the point that I was dying to see the next one. I’m really growing to hate NBC as it keeps cancelling shows I love and it’s really getting on my nerves.
Same here. Stupid execs that cancel all the good shows. Awake was an excellent show!! It seems stupid TV is better these days than intelligent TV… It is a shame!
It has been awhile since I have seen a show that keeps me up past my bedtime. Awake did just that. I do not have cable and really do not want to get cable. There are many of other people like myself that want to watch only the shows that interest us and are willing to pay todo it. So maybe our ratings watching the show online do not count. But to the creator of the show thank you for bringing a show that made television worth watching. It has been refreshing please do not stop the wonderful creativity that… Read more »
I was so sorry to hear that Awake was canceled. It was a thinking person’s show, and unlike most mindless TV shows, I will miss it.
I keep thinking of the days of Brandon Tartikoff when NBC was brave and allowed new series that were good to have some time to get a following. Hills Street Blues, etc. took a while to get an audience but broke new ground. What is left now, at NBC is a complete lack of vision. ‘Awake’ was a terrific series and will be missed!
We can watch reality TV but not fascinating shows like Awake? I am very disappointed in NBC.
The show was extremely well done and had an interesting “hook”. However, there is a trend lately that every show must have a plot line, separate from the main theme of the show, that often make a complex show even MORE complex. I think that this show might have done better if it focused on the dual world crime solving and keep that “gimmick” running for a while before going off on the conspiracy angle. I always get so bored and disappointed at the end of a really good episode of some show, that then has to spend the last… Read more »
I just finished watching the season or now due to the cancellation the series finale…While I due agree with the above comments I feel that there were countless possible avenues they could have gone down after such an amazingly emotional scene…But we’ll never know because it’s too complex of an idea for the “american idiot”(Green Day) to comprehend…but if Awake is too complex no wonder shows like Rubicon, Flash Forward and Terra Nova didn’t last…I honestly believe that Neilson should be invesitigated and find out if the cross section of people they give there ratings boxes to have very low… Read more »