Last night, NBC unveiled their newest drama, Awake, on television. The network had made the episode available for viewing online two weeks earlier in an effort to get people talking about the show. Did that strategy hurt the ratings? It certainly doesn’t seem to have helped.
Per the fast affiliate ratings, Awake debuted to a disappointing 1.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 6.2 million total viewers. The show didn’t even have that much competition in the 10pm timeslot. It was in first place but thanks only to running opposite a repeat of The Mentalist and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
On the positive side, this was a better premiere than The Firm or Prime Suspect had but that can hardly be considered a success.
Will the numbers improve for the second episode because everyone who watched online will tune in? Seems very doubtful.
But, what do you think? Did you watch Awake last night or watch it online? Will you be tuning in to see the next episode? Do you think it will be quickly cancelled?
Image courtesy NBC.
I like the show a lot-I just think it is creepy he has 2 different partners and sees 2 different shrinks-what is up with that?
We love this show and therefore share the sense of doom that others here have about intelligent TV these days. I was completely hooked on Prime Suspect and there I actually ASSUMED its fast pace and interesting crimes would guarantee it a large-enough audience. So when it vanished on Santa Claus’s heels I felt a real sense of loss. Silly me. Awake is vastly more original and it’s just complicated enough that at least an average IQ may be a requirement for viewers. That alone could doom it. Meanwhile, though, Jason Isaacs is once again proving himself to be a… Read more »
I LOVE this show. A lot of twists and turns, great acting….and the show has heart. Man, if you’ve ever lost someone important to you…..and how many people under 25 hasn’t?….this show will get to you.
agree with joe; LOVED it, so nbc will punt it for sure, just like they did prime suspect (innovatively wonderful) and the way they are trying to sabotage harry’s law by totally upending its formula. go figure.
Very good. Very well researched or the writers have had personal experience of such a tragedy. Having lost a son myself recently, the emotions and relationships ar very realistic. I hope the show contiues as I found it very comforting not to feel so alone.
I set my DVR to record this show on a whim after seeing an add spot. Returned home later and almost deleted it too tired to watch but thankfully, I gave it a chance. Thank goodness somebody said yes when this show was pitched and it went forward to production. The premise is brillant and the interplay of different ‘worlds’ is ripe for great storylines if the writing continues on this high level. The duality of Mikes two partners, the red/green wrist bands, and more importantly, the dueling therapist, is just the kind of sophisticated show we lack on the… Read more »
Brilliant concept, terrific acting. Jason Isaacs is perfectly cast. Surprised NBC is behind this unique show – it’s more an HBO-type drama. If Jason’s character must choose between wife/son reality, producers should go with son – more interesting dynamics and wife’s a pill. Magnificent – can’t wait to see how season unfolds, if they don’t pull plug. They should pair it with “The Voice” to assure ratings, as they did with “Smash.”
The premise for this show seemed really stupid. Then they added another generic cop show backdrop on top which made it very unattractive. Pass.
This show sucked me right in and held my attention for the whole hour, and that doesn’t happen very often anymore. The alternate reality premise isn’t new, but Awake offered a completely fresh approach–loved the dueling shrinks. Unfortunately, the fact that I really liked it doesn’t bode well. Case in point, they cancelled Rubicon for Walking Dead. No more zombie shows please, I don’t care gooey they are. I’ve no doubt Awake will pave the way for another reality show cause the stupid network execs don’t believe in their own product, just the almighty dollar. Reality shows are the new… Read more »
It’s not often I like what NBC offers, but I liked this on. Unfortunately, that almost guarantees it will quickly be cancelled.
I am hoping they do not cancel the episode to quickly if they are going by numbers. But I have to ask they give it a chance. I’m interested and enjoying this premiere.
another unique & original intellectually challenging show that i enjoyed–so its probably doomed. i have met very few people who actually prefer the reality shows (make that none) so it seems that the decisions made on the fate of programming are strictly based on the cost of production, thus the garbage reality shows that are anything but realistic prevail. sad sad sad!