One of last year's most intriguing and acclaimed new TV pilots was NBC's mind-bending thriller "Awake," starring Jason Isaacs ("Brotherhood") as a cop living two very different lives. Which made it all the more disappointing when "Awake" didn't make it onto the network's fall schedule… or its midseason one, either. (They were saving room for "The Playboy Club," we guess.)
But after months of wondering whether it was ever going to air at all, "Awake" finally has a solid premiere date: March 1 at 10 PM on NBC. And even better, you don't have to wait any longer to see it. You can watch the series premiere in full right here, two weeks before it airs.
The premise (from "Lone Star" creator Kyle Killen) is admittedly a little tricky: Isaacs plays Detective Michael Britten, who, after suffering a horrific car crash with his wife (Laura Allen) and teen son (Dylan Minnette), finds himself living in two separate realities. In one, his wife survived the crash and his son did not. But when he goes to sleep, he wakes up in a world in which his son survived the crash, but his wife didn't. On the job, Michael has different partners ("That '70s Show's" Wilmer Valderrama and "The Practice's" Steve Harris) and works on different cases in the two realities -- but details from one world are starting to bleed over into the other. Which reality is real? Or is all of this in Michael's mind?
Critics are already big fans of "Awake" -- but we want to know what you think. After you watch the premiere, give us your impressions in the comments. Is "Awake" too high-concept to attract a wide audience? Or will its original premise and smart execution earn it a loyal fan base?
"Awake" premieres Thursday, 3/1 at 10 PM on NBC.
