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 was absolutely tearing up inside watching the 3rd to last episode because it was so powerful. You know a show is good when it tugs on the heartstrings like that. The acting was always spot-on, and real, and the whole show had an excellent concept. This is just total BS that they are cancelling this. I still have the last two episodes to watch so hopefully I will enjoy them. What are the chances that another network would pick it up? Not good right? :/
Just because the plot was complicated doesn’t negate the outstanding acting and character development; in fact, it enhanced the show. I am very very sad that this show was cancelled. I looked forward to it more than any other network show. I wish one of the cable stations, such as FX, TNT, or USA would pick it up.
This is one of the reasons NBC is way behind all the other networks..poor judgement on their OWN SHOWS! This show was one of the few shows a family could actually sit down together and watch..Bad call NBC
I totally agree with every word of your comment!
I loved this show!!! As a busy childcare owner and mom, I set the series to record on my DVR to be watched later. It was the one show I could enjoy with my 2 teenage boys which we could not only enjoy and appreciate together, but that I didn’t have to edit for content. Those finds are few and far between these days. I wish I would have had warning to watch on a certain night to save my show…I’d have made it happen! I’m sad to see it go. I was looking forward to season two. Someone needs… Read more »
A big shame this show was cancelled. It obviously required you to pay attention and think a little to be able to watch and enjoy it. Way too much work for the idiot masses who live in this country. Better to show mind numbing junk with lots of T&A and goof balls to make it into the next season. Happens over and over again. Still, happy we got 13 good shows.
Our family has enjoyed this series immensely with growing interest and investment as the season progressed and characters matured. We hate to see it leave and hope it gets picked up by another network by chance :o)…great cast.
This was a very good and new style of show and i dont think it got a chance i work alot of hours at a hospital so i was only able to watch on hulu and i guess that doesnt count towards the ratings and i know atleast 15 people who did that as well at the hospital and we all thought was not only a great show but amazing! There was one episode that i didnt care for the the rest were on the edge interesting and great and i am a huge tv show buff i was as… Read more »
I just found out that recorded shows don’t count as a view and I scheduled the show to be recorded for every new episode then I watched it later on. I think that they should take to consideration that more people are watching because lots people record shows because their busy and then watch it later on. They should not have cancelled it. I LOVED this show.
This is so disheartneing that Awake has been canceled, considering that garbage like Survivor, and 16 and Pregnant is somehow allowed to ruin people’s lives and kill their brain cells still. The world is somehow all about the teenager now, and since this did not have a god ratintg in the 18-49 demographic it was killed. When are they going to bring things back to the people that actually have an educated opinion and work for a living, making the world go around and not just spending mommy and daddy’s money?
After receiving the news that AWAKE was cancelled, I’ve decided I’m done with NBC. The concepts were original and the story was well-written. I’ve seen some other NBC shows that have done well in their ratings, but they’re not any good. I don’t get it. Great entertainment means nothing anymore. Most would rather watch their typical crime dramas that have nothing going on except catching the bad guy week after week. This truly disappoints me. Goodbye NBC.
I think that the issue is people have little time to invest in a series of that magnitude. If they miss one episode, they cannot just pick up where it started. I wonder if networks look into the hits shows receive on Hulu Plus. This might tell who is watching the shows on their schedule!
My family LOVED the show. Considering the only other show we watched all week long was TOUCH, that is a big statement. I think the problem the ratings had more to do with the fact that it was aired in the same time slot as “The Mentalist” which has been another of my families favorites. We made the tough choice to stop watching that show in favor of AWAKE, but many of my friends couldn’t do that.
I did NOT like the series finale and felt it left much room for a season 2. LOVE to see that.
I think it is crazy that they are actually cancelling this show. This show is so much different than all the detective shows out there. Shows that seem to have a higher audience. Well it says a lot of the viewers/people in general. They seem to be fascinated to catch the bad guys and they (viewers) don’t care if it is the same drama every week. Drama: someone is dead another person/s killed him/her and they need to find the killer. Really???? Shame on you NBC. I am livid with your decision. In times where TV shows are all the… Read more »
I actually tweeted about how great the ondemand pre-premier was and one of the writers responded in gratitude. 3 weeks later and I’m not watching anymore.
Not the the show was compelling, more like there are very free shows that I have time to keep up with on a regular basis. Still the premise of Awake was uniquely inventive and would’ve been nice to series renewed.
This was a great show and NBC is basing their decision to cancel on “first time airing” but I suspect many people watch it via On Demand or other venues – or simply by recording the show. This was a smart series. The fact that NBC can’t make AWAKE work leads me to believe that network execs are making poor decisions. I’m sticking with cable shows that don’t really solely on ratings.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I can’t take anymore brilliant shows being cancelled. My husband and I watched Awake faithfully every thursday even on DVR if we missed it. We were hooked from the very beginning till the last episode and still are trying to figure out what happened. It was the highlight of our thursday nights because it let us have time to sit down and watch something together. I’m praying another smart network picks Awake up so we won’t go crazy with the WHAT IF’S???