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.
Very sad day, one of the very few tv shows I watch and this rivals many films out today and the scope of it is incredible and I have never been so compelled from the first episode of a tv show by the end of the first episode I had this incredible feeling inside me that even very few films have accomplished
I am so upset that its not coming back on! I hate that every show I really like and get into cancels before I get to see what exactly happens! I lovee that show! I cant believe it got canceled!
This is total BS… I am so sick and tired of NBC canceling amazing shows getting canceled because the american public is too stupid to understand them. First they cancelled Life (Damian Lewis, hello), then Studio 60 (awesomely written/acted show) and now this? I swear if someone isn’t getting judged by phone-in voters or having sex on screen (or both at the same time all under a laugh track) it never lasts on a network TV. This is why I continuously pay premiums to watch HBO/Showtime/AMC original programming every month, because the networks can’t get it right and always bow… Read more »
Fantastic showcase for these amazing performers. I’m sorry to see the show end but know that these actors will shine again in another way very soon. Bravo to the entire cast and crew of Awake.
Worst decision. Huge mistake.
Terrible decision to cancel! Excellent show!
I am SOOOOO disappointed by this! We absolutley LOVE this show and really hope they will hear from enough people to change their minds and bring it back…we think it should at least end with him having been in a coma the whole time and both son and wife are waiting for him to come out of it…
Wouldn’t be more cost effective to keep this show on the air and give it another chance then to gamble on the same garbage you keep on the air and spend more money on new sets, cast, crew, writers etc.
You wouldn’t know quality if it was staring you in the face! does the ratings system track people that use DVR? I can’t believe this show had such low ratings.
I’ve watched 4 episodes so far. Show is very intriguing and thought-provoking. Not hard to follow as some have said. I am sorry the show will not be renewed.
Awake was literally the only show i could stand to watch on NBC
NBC has the worst programming i have ever seen, and this was the only show that made me go out of my way to sit down and watch some tv, its a fantastic show and i believe that the story of Michael Britain deserves to be continued by a station that can see the potential this show has
This is crazy! My husband and I became addicted to the show and adore it. Loved all the twists and turns. Anyone who could not follow has to be a complete moron. Such a shame. Praying some how another network picks it up. This was a great show with a great cast that will be sadly missed in our household.
The show was well acted and well wriiten. I watched it and I began to get tired of him waking up to a different person. I did not know the show was cancelled until today. I had decided that I was not watching on next season. I always fell asleep on the show and would watch it on the next day, Hulu Plus. But it was not like Scandal, where I can’t wait to see what happens next week. It just never drew me in. I stopped watching Missing at the second episode and I thought the actors were great.… Read more »
This is madness. Its the best US drama I’ve seen since the Sopranos. It was tense, paced just right and acted brilliantly. To hear that its been received so poorly over in the US is terrible news. On the bright side, the one seasson did mean there was little padding out and an extremely satisfying resolution which means it can avoid the usual fate of some of the drama that comes from the states, i.e. Lost syndrome. I always said Lost could have been the best show ever if they’d kept it to a season or two. I think this… Read more »
Oh no! Awake was so compelling…beautifully written, acted, suspenseful. I know this show would grow because it is exciting and satisfying. My husband and I are hoping that Awake can have a second life on TNT or some other cable channel…it happened with Southland…another fabulous show. THis was one of the few shows we watched that we couldn’t wait for each week.
Please TV Gods we’re begging you! Bring Awake Back!
Penelope and Arturo
I’m both sad and satisfied that this show only had one season. During its run I was worried that the show would get tired after two seasons. I told my wife that Awake is so entertaining and well written that it should be written to only last a season or two. Personally, I would rather see a quality, well conceived show over a watered-down one whose only interest is maintaining a time slot. To find out that Awake was cancelled due to poor ratings is sad. How can a show like this not be rated significantly higher?! It just shows… Read more »