Awake is an American police procedural fantasy drama television series that originally aired on NBC for one season from March 1 to May 24, 2012. The pilot episode had an early release on Hulu on February 16, 2012, two weeks before the series' premiere on television. Kyle Killen, the series' creator, was primarily responsible for the program's concept. Killen and David Slade served as executive producers of the pilot episode, and Killen continued producing the series along with Jeffrey Reiner and Howard Gordon.
The show's central character is Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), a detective who works for the Los Angeles Police Department. In the first episode, Michael, his wife Hannah (Laura Allen), and their son Rex (Dylan Minnette) get into a serious car accident. After the accident, he finds himself switching between two "realities" whenever he goes to bed—one in which Hannah was killed in the accident and one in which Rex died instead—and is unable to determine which reality is true. He uses details from each reality to solve cases in the other.
Awake garnered critical praise, particularly for Isaacs' performance. However, its ratings were low, averaging 4.8 million viewers per episode and sitting in 125th place in viewership for the 2011–12 season. The series was canceled after one season.
Series overview
Michael Britten, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and his family are involved in a car accident. After the crash, Michael is confronted with two separate realities. His wife Hannah has (apparently) survived the accident; however, in a second "reality", his son Rex survives instead. To distinguish the two realities for the viewer, Michael wears a red wristband in the first reality and a green one in the second. Michael does not know which "reality" is real; he has therapy sessions with Dr. Jonathan Lee in the "red reality" and Dr. Judith Evans in the "green", both of whom attempt to diagnose what is happening to Michael. Each therapist sees it as a coping mechanism, insisting that the other reality is a dream. Dr. Lee is confrontational about the accident, while Dr. Evans is more nurturing. In the "red reality" Hannah plans to move to Portland, Oregon, but later decides against it (partly due to Michael's objections).
Before the crash Michael worked with his long-time partner, Detective Isaiah Freeman (known to his LAPD team as "Bird)". After the accident, Michael is assigned to Detective Efrem Vega in the "red reality." Vega was previously an officer, when Bird was transferred to the western division to work with Detective Ed Hawkins. In the "green reality," Michael stays with Bird and Efrem remains an officer. While working on cases in both realities, Michael begins to realize that the details of one case can help him with another case in the other reality. Due to this, he often clashes with his partners, who are unaware of his situation. Rex and Hannah grieve each other's death after the accident, coping in different ways: In the "red reality" Hannah begins to redecorate the house, while in the "green reality" Rex begins to play tennis with Hannah's former partner Tara. In "Turtles All the Way Down", in a dream Michael sees Hannah at a restaurant. He was "dreaming while he was dreaming", and Hannah told Michael to give her "one last kiss goodbye". This causes Dr. Evans to note that Michael realizes the "green reality" is life. However, soon afterwards Michael sees Rex and Hannah together and is happy.
