NBC gives 'Awake' an early-rising preview
Jason Isaacs drama's pilot available weeks before its broadcast debut
Jason Isaacs in "Awake."
For the second time in about a month, NBC has decided to make the entire pilot episode for one of its new dramas available through non-traditional means weeks in advance of its broadcast debut. In mid-January, it was "Smash." Now, it's "Awake," which won't air on NBC until Thursday, March 1 at 10 p.m., but is up on NBC.com, Hulu (as embedded below) and at least some cable On Demand systems. (Though it is not, as of this writing, up on iTunes the way the "Smash" pilot was.)
Though these non-broadcast means of distribution have been available for years now, there was a belief that if you make an episode available in advance, it would damage the premiere ratings. Then FOX made the "New Girl" pilot available on pretty much every platform before it actually aired on television, and that show had one of the most successful launches of the fall, and now other networks are dipping a toe into these still-uncharted waters.
So far, the shows chosen make sense as test cases. "New Girl" had a star who wasn't hugely famous and who could be polarizing among those who did know who she was. "Smash" is an adult-oriented musical about a form of popular entertainment that's not nearly as culturally-dominant as it used to be. And "Awake" is, as I've written before, a show with a terrific pilot, but also a complicated premise — cop Jason Isaacs survives a car crash with his family and begins living in two parallel lives: one where his wife survived and his son died, and one where the opposite occurred — that's raised questions both about how NBC can market it and how sustainable it is long-term. Given those questions, NBC might as well put it out there now in hopes that people are impressed enough by the pilot to get some good word-of-mouth going. The odds are stacked against the show just by virtue of being an NBC drama that doesn't air after "The Voice" (and even "Smash" took a notable dip in the ratings from week 1 to week 2), but at least they're trying.
Conveniently, NBC sent out the first four episodes to critics, and I'm looking forward to watching them soon to see how well producers Kyle Killen ("Lone Star") and Howard Gordon ("Homeland," "24") pull it off. In the meantime, you can watch the pilot right here. I'm eager to here reactions to it from non-critics. Did you like it? Was it easy to follow as it shifted from one reality to the other? If this episode — and the relative amount of time devoted to Isaacs working cases, visiting his shrinks and dealing with his family — is reflective of the balance going forward, would you keep on watching? Or are you skeptical that they can keep this balancing act going week after week?
News From Our Partners
-
Robert Pattinson's 'Cosmopolis': The Cannes Reviews Are In!
Marvel Casting Round-Up: 'Thor 2,' 'Iron Man 3' Add Villains
'Men In Black' Star Will Smith's Energy Needs To Be 'Harnessed'
-
'Fringe' Season 5: Seth Gabel will not return as a series regular
'True Blood's' Grant Bowler cast as Richard Burton to Lindsay Lohan's Elizabeth Taylor
TV ratings: 'Duets' premiere soft for ABC, 'So You Think You Can Dance' down from last year
-
Critics Consensus: Men in Black III Is Solid Fun
Five Favorite Films with Director-Producer Oren Peli
Cannes 2012: Critics Scorecard
-
This Was Pop: May 26, 2012
For Our Consideration: Reconsidering Codeine, a ’90s band frozen in time
Podmass: May 17-May 23
-
The Telefile - The Most Heinous Person on Reality TV This Week
The Telefile - TWoP 10: In Memoriam - What We'll Miss from Cancelled Shows
The Telefile - Today's TWoP News: Thursday, May 24, 2012
-
FIRST LOOK: It's 'The X Factor' Judges, Y'all!
Helene Campbell on Ellen: Double-Lung Recipient Gets Her 'Dance Dare'
'Bachelor' Host Dishes On His Favorite Romances
-
About This Blog
All through his childhood, Alan Sepinwall's relatives told his parents, "All that boy does is watch television! How's he going to make a living doing that?" His career as a TV critic has been 15 years and counting of his attempt to answer their concerns. "What's Alan Watching" is a blog whose title is self-explanatory: Alan watches TV shows, then writes about what he watched. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Get Instant Alerts on What's Alan Watching
HitFix Poll
Will you still watch Community without Dan Harmon behind it?
Latest Posts
-
What would he have done differently? And what did the finale mean?Thursday, May 24, 2012
-
Our summer rewind will take us into season 2 of 'Deadwood'Thursday, May 24, 2012
-
Danny Masterson and friends don't do much of interest in Breckin Meyer-created sitcomWednesday, May 23, 2012
-
Celebrate the finale's anniversary with Jack, Sawyer, Hurley and friendsWednesday, May 23, 2012
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupthe passenger
February 16, 2012 at 2:48PM EST Reply to CommentAt this point NBC's standing is so diminished that maybe it's time to discard traditional programming strategy. Instead of hoping each new show will be the hit NBC thinks it needs, maybe they could just commit to programming full seasons (even shorter, cable-like ones) of decent shows and offering lower ad rates. The old way isn't working anymore for them, so why not try something fresh and in the process reward the audience that IS watching?
nathan Watch it. You will not be disappointed. Try it, don't knock it. It's very well done. Now, we'll talk about rubber band reality.
February 16, 2012 at 3:25PM ESTCaptain Hammer
February 16, 2012 at 3:28PM EST Reply to CommentI'll probably wait for NBC to put it on iTunes before checking it out. But I'm very excited to see it, and I really hope it's successful, even though I doubt it will be given the content and the network it's on.
LizT
February 16, 2012 at 3:58PM EST Reply to CommentI watched it this morning and though I'm probably not the viewer you have in mind, since I've been following news about the show and seen the previews and teasers so I went into it with some knowledge, but I did like it quite a lot. I fear for it on NBC, since I can't believe it's going to get the kind of audience they would like for it, but I'm certainly going to watch the next one. I didn't find it confusing at all, but intriguing. I also don't particularly fear that it's a short-lived premise, since there's no pressure to 'fix' what's going on (unlike, for example, Once Upon a Time, where fixing the double realities is a premise of the show that they'll have to either drag out or adjust as they go). I don't know if they'll be able to keep up the quality of the scripting, especially since the shrink visits could get very tedious unless those continue to be well-writen, but I'm content right now with what I saw. I'm glad it's finally here!
JC
February 16, 2012 at 4:08PM EST Reply to CommentPeople seem so prejudiced against NBC scripted shows right now I really fear for Awake. They had to market the hell out of Smash (which I really enjoy and think is a top quality show for a network) just to get decent ratings, and that's off the back of The Voice! It's such a shame, because I feel that NBC is still the network that continues to product the best quality shows on network tv - Smash, Awake, Commmunity, 30 Rock, Parks and Rec etc!! Awake feels like an even harder sell than Smash, but I hope it can find an audience. It helps that it is premiering on a night when ABC and CBS are airing repeats, which I guess is why NBC chose that date! Fingers crossed because I want Smash and Awake to succeed!
M
February 16, 2012 at 4:10PM EST Reply to CommentI watched it. Liked it a lot. I did find it a little confusing trying to remember which shrink and which case were part of which reality, but I assume that'll get easier to remember as the show goes on. Right now my biggest complaint is that they've given me a reason not to hate Wilmer Valderrama.
eyecue For now, an easy way to remember...
February 16, 2012 at 5:06PM ESTMale shrink – son died [both males]
Female shrink – wife died [both females]
eyecue Reply to comment...
February 16, 2012 at 5:08PM ESTAnon Alternatively,
February 21, 2012 at 12:10PM ESTScenes in reality where wife lives: Shot in a yellowish/bright hue
Scenes in reality where son lives: Shot in a bluish/cool hue.
march14 It's not that you don't understand, it's annoying having this man with non existent people. His wife tells him to tell the son she misses him, then he watching the play tennis. It has nothing to do with NBC. Who cares what channel a good show is on. Why can't NBC get TERRIERS that's a win. This show is lost
February 24, 2012 at 12:31AM ESTeyecue
February 16, 2012 at 4:27PM EST Reply to CommentI found it interesting and the characters easy to commit to... the fact that I tend to gravitate to this genre of shows is a likely factor.
That aside, there was nothing confusing about reality1 and reality2 [at least for me] and I didn't mind the pacing of the back and forth switching. Looking forward to the show.
alynch
February 16, 2012 at 5:01PM EST Reply to CommentThe best decision they made was using the different color tints in the two realities. It makes for a great shorthand so you don't have to wait for a character to show up to figure out which reality you're in.
timelord
February 16, 2012 at 5:02PM EST Reply to Commentscrew these geo restrictions
Interrogation Bear Use Hotspot Shield
February 16, 2012 at 5:26PM ESTInterrogation Bear
February 16, 2012 at 5:21PM EST Reply to CommentI wonder what NBC is going to air at 9pm and 9.30pm in March and April when only "30 Rock" is not in reruns.
A horribly rated repeat of UAN won't help "Awake" at all.
Jaynee
February 16, 2012 at 5:35PM EST Reply to CommentA couple years ago I read a book trilogy by Ted Dekker that had a similar premise (living in two worlds separated only by sleep). I know this series will be different, but I can't wait!
milaxx
February 16, 2012 at 5:36PM EST Reply to Commentit's up on Comcast Philadelphia, watching now
Bunk
February 16, 2012 at 5:41PM EST Reply to CommentThe pilot is terrific - thought-provoking, fast paced, and well acted. This show has the potential to be great. Who cares what network it's on as long as it's good?
Alex
February 16, 2012 at 5:45PM EST Reply to CommentI really enjoyed the pilot, and found it fairly easy to follow. I do hope they lean a little less on the shrink visits in future episodes, which worked well for expository purposes but I'd rather see more time devoted to Isaacs actually living his lives.
march14 The show is easy to follow,it's just to stupid to follow it.
February 24, 2012 at 12:35AM ESTmarc
February 16, 2012 at 6:38PM EST Reply to Commentfantastic pilot. so 1.3 A18-49 here we come, I guess.
dave c
February 16, 2012 at 7:29PM EST Reply to CommentOn Awake:
The family stuff was all really good. As was the stuff with the shrinks. The premise is very clever, and intriguing. The cop stuff was boring. The connections he was able to make from the realities weren't even all that clever. This stuff either needs to get better or marginalized while they tell the more interesting personal story. Murder of the week just does not suit this show at all. At least in the pilot.
dwexley
February 16, 2012 at 11:56PM EST Reply to CommentI'm all in. Don't care how long it goes. It's such a fascinating premise and I could watch Jason Isaacs in pretty much anything. Plus I get a little Terriers twinge with Laura Allen and a "Lost," nod every time his son is on screen.
robbeck
February 17, 2012 at 2:15AM EST Reply to CommentI hope this is better than the last show Jason was on. I couldn't make it through the first episode. It's really hard to accept him as a good guy after he was so evil on Brotherhood.
Matthew T.A.
February 17, 2012 at 4:29AM EST Reply to CommentThe show was fantastic, the uses of green and red was very intriguing. Interesting how the female shrink has on green or green around her, the son wears green, and in the other the wife wears red, the shrink has a red pen, etc. Then at the end when the main character is thinking back, and at another time earlier in the show, his flashbacks invert the color scheme. In his memories, the female therapist has on red and his son has a bright red shirt on, and his wife a green one. I just loved the little things like that. Makes me feel like even more thought was put into the show. Hope the next episodes are just as great!
Sareeta
February 17, 2012 at 4:42PM EST Reply to CommentWhy couldn’t they let Jason Isaacs use his natural accent? It can’t be any more difficult to understand than the black actor playing his partner.
The wife and son characters act how I think he remembers them rather than how real people would act. The wife suddenly wants to make a baby, wants to move out/move on, etc. I think this represents what he wants to do, even if it is subconsciously. The son acts like a typical teenage son at first, probably the way he had been treating his father prior to his death. Then, he shows his father the affection his father has been needing---a hug, a thank you. It all seems too good to be true. I wonder if this is poor writing or if the writers are more clever than I realize and are writing the characters this way intentionally.
When is he going to search for the “alternate” versions of the victims, suspects, therapists, etc. and what will that reveal?
Good pilot that brings up lots of questions, so I hope it finds an audience.
Angela Though his son did say that the woman from the tennis match suggested he do that. And he did try to make conversation with his Dad about the TV show he liked when he was interrupted by the phone call so it wasn't totally out of character.
February 20, 2012 at 12:28PM ESTThough it would be interesting if he was dreaming them how he'd like to see them instead of how they really were. And at the end when his wife asked if he was going to see his son that night it didn't seem to fit with how she acted before, but it would fit with your idea, interesting.
ryanmm37
February 18, 2012 at 12:24AM EST Reply to CommentI can't get past the idea that Katie had a kid and Britt isn't around
Gern
February 18, 2012 at 1:51PM EST Reply to CommentHow different is this show from "Life on Mars"?
Chad Life on Mars in the US version was almost exclusively in the 1970's version of reality, not the modern day version. It was not nearly as 50/50 in the two worlds as Awake
February 18, 2012 at 6:08PM ESTGern It still seems too similar to me. Well, who ever accused Hollywood of originality? Maybe an axe-wielding, vampire-killing Abraham Lincoln will change the status quo. : )
February 18, 2012 at 10:16PM ESTr1pvanw1nkl3 There are only a finite number of premises. It has a similar premise to Life on Mars, but I didn't even think of it while I was watching. They're very very different in execution.
February 19, 2012 at 12:33AM ESTAngela I was going to say the exact same thing that R1P wrote.
February 20, 2012 at 12:11PM ESTAngela
February 19, 2012 at 8:50PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed this episode a lot and look forward to seeing more. Love that Kyle Killen is getting another shot after what happened with Lone Star.
I can't find anything I didn't like about it. The story-line is smart. I had a little trouble following along but I was awfully tired so that might be part of the reason. But the dialog, acting, photography, and anything else that should be included here was top notch in my opinion.
I'm very selective in what I watch. It takes a lot to make me happy so I'm thrilled that this show has started out so well. Usually it takes a few episodes for a show to find it's bearings. Not this time. Yay!
Angela
February 20, 2012 at 11:51AM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed this a lot and I'm looking forward to watching more to come. So glad that Kyle Killen is getting another shot after what happened with Lone Star.
I can't find one thing I didn't like about this show. The dialog, acting, story-line, photography, and whatever else should be added here were all top-notch in my opinion.
It usually takes a new show a few episodes to find it's bearings but not Awake. I hope they can keep it up but with these 2 very high caliber producers I'm more confident than usual.
I'm tough to please and extremely selective in what I like to watch so this is saying a lot for me. Finally, a show that meets my expectations.
Angela When I write a comment and try to post it I keep getting an error telling me to first enter some text even though I had already done so
February 20, 2012 at 12:04PM ESTAngela The text in the news feed is messed up again too. I see more HTML editing (If that's what it's called) than full sentences.
February 20, 2012 at 12:05PM ESTJedyKnight
February 20, 2012 at 11:43PM EST Reply to CommentI'll keep this short: Wow.
malfoyfan13
February 22, 2012 at 10:10PM EST Reply to CommentJust watched this and really liked it - good cast, good script. Appealed to me both intellectually and emotionally, which is rare. Hope they can keep up the quality. Making it available to preview is great, I wish more new shows would do it.
march14
February 24, 2012 at 12:23AM EST Reply to CommentI saw I can see this show on demand.
Once was enough! To watch something where not only one person is a fantasy, and the other person is a fantasy. Two shrinks, well one shrink tells the actor, he part of your sub conscious. Are they for real? Much to wonder about. A show like A gifted man. He deals with his dead wife. That's enough. I watch great deal of Tv. This is too annoying.