Awake (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series was created by Kyle Killen, who drew inspiration from the dreaming process, asking what if one could not tell the difference between being awake and asleep. The pilot, originally titled REM, was picked up by NBC in 2011 after being turned down by Fox. Killen and David Slade served as executive producers of the pilot, with Killen continuing alongside Jeffrey Reiner and Howard Gordon. The show was a co-production of Letter Eleven and Howard Gordon's Teakwood Lane Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Jason Isaacs was the first actor cast, playing the central character Michael Britten. The show's two realities are distinguished by color: Michael wears a red wristband in one reality and a green wristband in the other, with the 'red' reality graded in warm tones and the 'green' reality in cool tones. Michael sees two therapists—Dr. Jonathan Lee in the 'red' reality and Dr. Judith Evans in the 'green'—each of whom insists the other reality is a dream. The cause of the car accident remains ambiguous throughout the series, with no definitive explanation given.

In the series finale, Ed Hawkins is killed by Captain Tricia Harper in the 'green' reality. Tricia Harper is later imprisoned for her actions. The final scene shows Michael in a therapy session, where the fate of his family remains ambiguous.

Reader's Guide

Awake is notable for its ambitious narrative structure, presenting two parallel realities that the protagonist navigates without knowing which is real. The series garnered critical praise, particularly for Jason Isaacs' performance, but its ratings were low—averaging 4.8 million viewers per episode and ranking 125th in viewership for the 2011–12 season—leading to cancellation after one season. The show's exploration of grief, trauma, and the nature of reality, combined with its police procedural elements, made it a distinctive entry in television drama. Its legacy includes being a cult favorite among viewers who appreciated its psychological depth and innovative storytelling. The series was released early on Hulu on February 16, 2012, two weeks before its television premiere.

Did You Know?

• The pilot episode was released on Hulu on February 16, 2012, two weeks before the series' television premiere.
• The series averaged 4.8 million viewers per episode and ranked 125th in viewership for the 2011–12 season.

The Central Mystery

The story of Resurrection unfolds in the small town of Arcadia, Missouri, where the natural order is shattered when deceased individuals reappear, physically unchanged from the moment of their death. The inciting incident centers on Jacob Langston, a boy who drowned in 1982 at the age of eight. Decades later, he is discovered alive in China, and immigration agent J. Martin "Marty" Bellamy makes the extraordinary decision to override his superiors and reunite the child with his parents, Henry and Lucille Langston. This reunion ignites a chain of questions for the wider Langston family, particularly Sheriff Fred Langston and his daughter, Dr. Maggie Langston, whose own mother perished while reportedly attempting to save Jacob years earlier. The mystery deepens when Caleb Richards, father of Maggie's close friend Elaine, becomes the second person to return to Arcadia. Caleb delivers a chilling warning to the community: many more of the dead are still to come, and the town must prepare for a wave that no one can fully explain.

From Novel to Network

Resurrection originated from Jason Mott's 2013 novel The Returned, adapting the concept of the dead returning to life into a serialized television format. The project entered development at ABC in January 2013, when the network ordered it to pilot status. By March of that year, director Charles McDougall was attached under a two-year agreement with ABC Studios, and the working title was briefly listed as Forever before being changed once more when the series was officially greenlit in May 2013. Production was a collaboration between ABC Studios and Plan B Entertainment, the latter bringing a heavyweight slate of executive producers including Brad Pitt, Aaron Zelman, JoAnn Alfano, Jon Liebman, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Michele Fazekas, and Tara Butters. The finished series premiered on ABC on March 9, 2014, and ran through January 25, 2015, spanning two seasons. The involvement of Plan B and its roster of producers signaled a high-profile production effort behind what would become one of the network's notable short-lived dramas.

Critical Reception and Cancellation

Resurrection received mixed-to-average assessments from critics. On Metacritic, the series earned a score of 59 out of 100 based on thirty critic reviews, placing it firmly in the mixed or average category. Rotten Tomatoes reflected a similar picture: the first season held a 50 percent approval rating with an average score of 5.7 out of 10 across forty reviews, while the critical consensus noted an excess of melodrama paired with insufficient subtlety. The second season fared slightly better at 57 percent approval and a 7.0 average, though it was based on only seven reviews. Ratings told a starker story. The first season drew strong viewership, but the second season experienced a significant decline. On May 7, 2015, ABC officially cancelled the show after two seasons, citing those diminished numbers. The cancellation placed Resurrection among the network's most prominent losses that cycle, alongside Cristela and the Ioan Gruffudd-starring drama Forever.

International Broadcast and Home Media

Resurrection found a particularly enthusiastic audience in Australia, where the Seven Network aired the premiere on March 25, 2014. That debut episode became the highest-rated series premiere in two years, pulling in 1.9 million mainland capital city viewers and surpassing the previous record set by Revenge in 2012. Nationally, the episode attracted 2.82 million viewers and led all three key advertising demographics. The second season shifted to a 10:30 p.m. Sunday slot on February 22, 2015, but drew only 112,000 viewers, marking the series' lowest ratings. Beyond Australia, the show aired in New Zealand on TV2 in July 2014, in Canada on Citytv for season one and CTV for season two, in Ireland on RTÉ Two during summer 2014, and in the United Kingdom on the pay-TV channel Watch beginning August 18, 2014. For home viewing, ABC and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released a two-disc DVD set of the first season on June 10, 2014, including all eight episodes plus bonus material such as behind-the-scenes location footage, bloopers, and deleted scenes.