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 think you should learn how to spell “canceled” correctly. Note: only one (1) “L”.
DarksideHalo » Thank you. There are two acceptable spellings.
True… but you have both spelling versions of it (one vs. two “L”s) in the TITLE tag on this page. 😉
*sigh* And yes, I realize I’m being pedantic. Honestly not trying to troll. I’ll stop now. 🙂
This show was the BEST program on television in years. The acting was A+, story complex and captivating. So who are those that love this show? We are like the writers–intrigued by intricate plot lines, not appeased by mundane and familiar. It was the only show I put on my calendar to watch; those episodes which conflicted with my schedule were watched online. Anticipation of the next episode was high… NBC is nuts to cancel this. This was my weekly indulgence of creme brule. NBC you got an A+ for producing and airing this great series. And now you get… Read more »
Unbelievable!
I am dumbfounded as to why they would cancel such a great show.
What were they thinking ????
Good quality entertainment is not easily found on network television, and with the decision by NBC to cancel one of their best, only insures that our search will continue to be difficult.
Boo to NBC.
I am very disappointed Awake was cancelled. Ther are very few intelligent shows to watch.
Best show in a long time. Awake actually made me pay attention and focus on what was going on in the show. I’m disappointed in NBC… Nothing on that network I liked except Awake.
The show had a great concept, but the storyline felt like its been done many times before. I could see why the show got cancelled, but still disappointed.
The show had a great concept, but the storyline felt like its been done many times before. I could see why the show got cancelled, but still disappointed.
You had to “think” to watch this show. Maybe that’s the problem with people. They don’t want to think any more. I loved this show because the premise was so unique. There isn’t very much on TV any more that’s different. It’s all repetitive drivel. I don’t think there was a “problem” with the show, per se, other than that the network didn’t give it enough time. A show like this can take a while to catch on. It deserved a second season. Maybe, if they’re lucky, another network will see something in it that NBC didn’t and give it… Read more »
“You had to ‘think’ to watch this show.”
Absolutely! I could FEEL my brain working—not just to keep the realities in order—but also the interleaving clues for BOTH of the cases Britten (BTW: LOVE Jason Isaacs!) was working.
There were OBVIOUS clues of where we were (red / green bands… not to mention the WHOLE FREAKING COLOR PALETTE of the scenes), but apparently even that’s too much to keep Joe Blow American on track.
Disappointed is a understatement. Although the time slot didn’t allow me to watch, I did look forward to watching on my DVR. Sad news.
My husband and I both loved this show! It is one of the few shows we actually both watch! It definitely has a complicated storyline, living in 2 different realities, but that is what made it such a great show. It showed both sides of a life, based on 2 different outcomes from one situation! Why do they always cancell shows that make you think, but keep the reality crap on television way to long? What is wrong with our culture these days? I’m very sad to hear this and I know my husband will be as well.
I loved this show. The dumbing down of America is so sad when intelligent, well written shows are shunned for yet another idiotic sitcom not worth spending 10 minutes on. Maybe if we boycott network TV and stick with cable we’ll show the big boys how we feel.
This is the ultimate reality show. I hate all the others and don’t watch them, and this is not really one, but the concept of an altered or confused reality woven so well together was intriguing from the start. Mucho applause to the writers…brilliant orchestration of details and subtleties. I just wish there was some logical direction the plot line was following other than another X-Files-like conspiracy notion of secrets and power. While I wondered from the very beginning how a show with this complexity could continue very long just on the basis of the main idea, of Britten living… Read more »
I’m so sad to see this show get cancelled! It is a great show. I love it!
Love the show!!! My husband & I look forward to Thursday nights. What a bummer! Hope NBC reconsiders.
Loved Awake! So sad & mad it’s cancelled.