Awake

Michael lives in two separate realities after a car accident. In one reality, his wife Hannah survives the accident; in the other reality, his son Rex survives. Michael does not know which reality is "real", and uses the wristbands to differentiate the two. He sees two therapists: Dr. Jonathan Lee in the "red reality" and Dr. Judith Evans in the "green reality". At work, Michael's erratic behavior triggers clashes with his team; they do not know about Michael's uncanny ability to solve crimes using details from both realities.

Awake (2012) is an American network drama created by Kyle Killen for NBC, a single-season canceled series of thirteen 44-minute episodes. Jason Isaacs plays Michael Britten, a Los Angeles police detective who survives a car accident and then lives in two overlapping realities. In one he has lost his son Rex, and in the other his wife Hannah, and he cannot be certain which version is real. Each reality assigns him its own therapist, Dr. Judith Evans (Cherry Jones) in the green reality and Dr. John Lee (BD Wong) in the red, and each brings a different partner: Wilmer Valderrama as Detective Efrem Vega and Steve Harris as Detective Isaiah Freeman. Michael's strange behavior strains his team, yet his gift for solving crimes using clues from both worlds keeps pulling him back into the job. The engine of the show is his effort to hold the two lives apart, with color-coded wristbands as his anchor, while each case becomes another puzzle about grief and identity. Episodes are mostly self-contained crimes that feed a continuing mystery about which reality matters. The tone is melancholic, cerebral and tense, with a dreamlike unease in the shifting worlds. Fans of Dark, The Leftovers and Fringe will find resonance in its mix of procedural mystery and psychological puzzle.

Audiences rated the single season positively, praising its high-concept double-reality premise and lead performance while finding the mystery format uneven.

• Dark (2017)shared dual reality premise and cerebral police mystery structure
• The Leftoversshared grieving protagonist caught between alternate versions of life, psychological mystery tone
• Lucifershared detective procedural anchored by a troubled investigator with a supernatural-tinged perspective
• Fringeshared alternate reality mystery built around a single protagonist's split consciousness

Created by

Kyle Killen

Release Date

2012-03-01

Episode runtime

44 min

Rating

7.8 / 10 (202)

What is Awake about?

A grieving detective juggles two realities after a car accident, solving cases with clues from both worlds.

What is Awake like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Awake as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.

Is Awake violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Awake as mild.

What did critics think of Awake?

Audiences rated the single season positively, praising its high-concept double-reality premise and lead performance while finding the mystery format uneven.

Which shows are like Awake?

Shows with a similar feel include Dark (2017), The Leftovers, Lucifer, and Fringe.

How long is Awake?

Awake: 1 season, 13 episodes.

Is Awake still running?

No, Awake was canceled.

Where can I watch Awake?

In United States, Awake streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.