Though we’ve been reporting on a bunch of very exciting pick-ups over the past 24 hours (including Community and Parks and Recreation), NBC has given the axe to a few of its freshman series.  The most high profile cancellation is the Jason Isaacs-fronted drama Awake.  The show, from Lone Star creator Kyle Killen and Homeland’s Howard Gordon, got off to a great star with a stellar pilot, but quickly spiraled into boring procedural territory.  I found the premise—a man is living two realities, one in which his son survived a car crash and one in which his wife survived—to be incredibly promising, but for some reason producers decided to rely heavily on the procedural aspect of the show and inject an eyeball-rolling mythology.

Audiences weren’t buying it, and the ratings steadily declined over the ensuing weeks. Killen is undeniably talented, so hopefully he gets another shot next pilot season.  Hit the jump for news on other NBC cancellations.

On NBC’s groundbreaking new mystery drama Awake, Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) has experienced a devastating car accident and learns the devastating news that his wife (Laura Allen) died in the crash. And then, he wakes up to realize that his wife is very much alive and his teenage son (Dylan Minnette) died in the accident. Unsure as to which is real and which is a dream, he goes back to work solving crimes, alternating between realities and partners.

At a press day held on the show’s set during a break from filming, actor Steve Harris, who plays Detective Freeman, Britten’s partner in one world, and actor Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Detective Vega, Britten’s ambitious young partner in the other world, talked about keeping track of their characters in each world, what it’s like to play different versions of their characters, whether either of their characters are getting suspicious about Britten’s grasp on reality, and how the car accident is part of a bigger journey and plot within the series. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

From executive producer/writer Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and executive producer Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24), and with a pilot directed by David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night), the NBC series Awake follows the life of Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), who wakes up from a car accident with his wife (Laura Allen) and teenage son (Dylan Minnette), to learn the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. And then, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident. When Michael goes back to work solving crimes, alternating between realities provides some challenges when he realizes that these realities overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways.

At a press day held on the show’s set during a break from filming, Kyle Killen and Howard Gordon talked about whether they believe a show can be too smart for TV, how there will be a case-of-the-week element to the serialized storytelling in Awake, how viewers will get answers about the crash if they stick with the 13 episodes of the first season, that little clues and hints will be offered throughout, why they needed a production hiatus during the season, and how important the moments of levity are within what could really be a truly miserable story. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

From executive producer/writer Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and executive producer Howard Gordon (Homeland, 24), and with a pilot directed by David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days of Night), the NBC series Awake follows the life of Detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), who wakes up from a car accident with his wife (Laura Allen) and teenage son (Dylan Minnette), to learn the devastating news that his wife died in the crash. And then, he wakes up a few days later to realize that his wife is very much alive and his son died in the accident. When Michael goes back to work solving crimes, alternating between realities provides some challenges when he realizes that these realities overlap in fascinating and inexplicable ways.

At a press day held on the show’s set during a break from filming, actor Jason Isaacs talked about this complex and intriguing new drama, how the universal themes are what made him want to do the show, that no episode will be the same because the character’s world changes all the time, why they decided to shut down production for a month, and that, as a producer and part of the storytelling process, he knows which of the worlds is real and which one isn’t. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The series won’t premiere until the beginning of next month on March 1st, but NBC has made the full pilot for Awake, one of my most anticipated shows of the midseason, available to stream online right now, two full weeks before it premieres on television. Awake stars Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy of Harry Potter) as a detective who survives a bad car accident, but finds himself waking up in two different realities. In one, his wife died in the accident, but their son survived. In the other, his wife survived the accident, but their son died. It comes from creator Kyle Killen, who last gave us the sorely underrated and sadly cancelled Lone Star. I’m hoping NBC keeps Awake around long enough to find an audience. Check out the full pilot for yourself after the jump.

My most-anticipated new show of the 2011-2012 television season is Awake.  Jason Isaacs stars as a cop who’s in a car accident with his family, and now he’s living in two realities: one where his son (Dylan Minnette) survived and one where his wife (Laura Allen) survived.  The question is which one is the dream and which one is reality?  It’s a terrific premise that could easily run out of steam in a short amount of time, but it’s more original than almost any other new show on network TV.  Hopefully, they find a way to build on the premise rather than use it as a hook and nothing more.

The first seven minutes have gone online, and after watching them, I’m still jazzed for this show.  I like the way it’s shot and the pacing, and (less surprising) Isaacs is great. If you’ve seen the extended trailer, there’s not a tone of new stuff, but now you can see it in context.  Hit the jump to check out the first seven minutes of Awake.  The series premieres on Thursday, March 1st at 10/9c on NBC.

If NBC not figuring out when to bring back Community wasn’t enough to piss some viewers off, the network’s delay in figuring out where to put the most promising new series of the midseason should’ve put them over the top. Since the upfronts last year, many viewers, especially us here at Collider, have been dying to find out when Awake from creators Kyle Killen (Lone Star) and Howard Gordon (24) and starring Jason Isaacs would finally hit the air. Thankfully, NBC had an answer today by announcing that the new series will premiere on Thursday, March 1st at 10/9c following the big block of comedy on Thursday nights. It will be knocking The Firm from its current timeslot to a Saturday airdate at the same time. I couldn’t be happier about this news. For a full press release and the fantastic trailer from the upfronts last year, hit the jump.

One of the strongest and most compelling new dramas on television is Showtime’s Homeland, about Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), who returns home to a hero’s welcome after eight years in enemy confinement. While his wife (Morena Baccarin) and children are celebrating his return, CIA Agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) isn’t buying his story, instead believing that Brody has been turned and is now working for Al Qaeda.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, executive producer Howard Gordon (24) talked about the development and appeal of Homeland, how they assembled such a talented cast of actors, and the attraction of a strong central character to base a story around. He also talked about the mid-season NBC series Awake (starring Jason Isaacs), which he is also executive producing, and how he will juggle both shows, if both are picked up for a second season. Additionally, he said he’s bringing back the central character of his debut novel, for a follow-up called Hard Target (due out in January 2012), that he’s collaborating with Alloy Entertainment and writer/director James Wong for a film and book idea called 2084, and the likelihood of a 24 movie ever happening, now that he’s focused on two television series, and Kiefer Sutherland has one he’s working on as well (called Touch, for Fox). Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Every now and then a TV show captures your eye and won’t let go of your imagination. For me, simply seeing the trailer for the high-concept NBC drama Awake was enough to leave me wanting more. Thanks to the pilot screening and Q&A of Awake in Room 6A earlier today, I came away with a lot of answers and some new mysteries. During the brief panel afterwards, star Jason Isaacs (Lucious Malfoy in Harry Potter), writer Kyle Killen, and executive producer Howard Gordon answered a string of questions that drove home that they aren’t afraid of taking risks and doing something different. For my impressions of the pilot and a recap of the panel, hit the jump.

There’s plenty of good stuff to see at this year’s Comic-Con.  There’s too much good stuff.  You could clone yourself seven times and you and your many selves still probably couldn’t see everything worth seeing.   I am without a cloning machine (damn you, lazy scientists) and I will be covering only Hall H this year.  After the jump, I’ve listed the five panels I’m most interested in seeing in Hall H as well as the five panels I wish I could attend outside of Comic-Con’s biggest room.

Comic-Con has announced the schedule for Preview Night (Wednesday, July 20th) and the Thursday that officially opens the Con.  While Preview Night is usually a chance for attendees to roam the floor of the exhibitors and trample each other for swag, this year’s preview night will be hosting world premiere pilot screenings of Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, and Supernatural: The Anime Series.  I don’t care about the last two, but since Alcatraz and Person of Interest both come form J.J. Abrams, I imagine they’ll be packed.

As for Thursday, Hall H belongs to (in chronological order): The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, Arthur Christmas, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, Drive, an unannounced line-up from 20th Century Fox (expect Rise of the Planet of the Apes), a sneak peek at Robert Rodriguez’ upcoming films (yawn), and a discussion between Guillermo del Toro and Jon Favreau.  I would stand in line all day just for Drive and the conversation between del Toro and Favreau.  Hit the jump for the full schedule.  Expect the schedule for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday over the next several days.

We recently highlighted some clips from NBC’s forthcoming new dramas and comedies, but now the network has released the full length trailers for all of their new series as well. They’re about twice as long as most movie trailers, and they give us a pretty good idea of the tone and style behind each series. After the jump you can check out trailers for Prime Suspect with Maria Bello, The Playboy Club with Amber Heard, Steven Spielberg’s Broadway musical drama Smash, the fairytale drama Grimm, Kyle Killen’s Awake starring Jason Isaacs, Whitney featuring stand-up comedian Whitney Cummings, Up All Night with Will Arnett and Christina Applegate, Free Agents with Hank Azaria, Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea with Laura Prepon, and Bent with Amanda Peet.

Personally, on the drama side of things, I’m absolutely riveted by the trailer for Awake which just looks like a truly original and compelling drama series from Lone Star writer Kyle Killen. Smash also looks like it has the musical fun and powerful drama to become Glee for adults, but hopefully with a little bit more consistent quality writing. With the comedies, I think Up All Night looks the most promising. Whitney has the potential to gain steam, but it’s hard for me to get past laughtracks on sitcoms. Anyway, you can judge for yourself after checking out all the trailers after the jump.

NBC has released the first clips for all their new 2011-2012 dramas: Prime Suspect, The Playboy Club, Smash, Grimm, Awake, and The Firm.  Based on initial impressions, Awake is the one I am now most looking forward to.  The clips promise terrific entertainment for a structure geek like myself, splitting screen time between two realities.  The 1960s-set The Playboy Club and modern fairy tale Grimm both have interesting premises, but the clips look too silly out of context.  I hold out hope the subject matter makes for a better series.  Prime Suspect looks like a kickass role for star Maria Bello — pencil her in for an Emmy nomination.

Click through to the links for the official schedule announcement and the complementary clips for NBC’s new comedies.  Hit the jump for the preview clips and official synopses for all new dramas.

NBC joined Fox in the early pickup/renewal game last night with series orders for Whitney, Up All Night, Smash, and Prime Suspect.  So far, the news continues accentuate the positive — only renewals and more pilot pickups, no cancellations.  The most confident reports indicate NBC will renew Parenthood for a full third season order.

More circumstantial reports update on the fates of Chuck and Harry’s Law. This makes the fourth May in a row where Chuck has lived on the bubble, and somehow a fifth season is very much in the works.  The deal isn’t official, but all signs suggest Chuck will continue to brighten the airwaves through 2012 with a 13-episode order.  Meanwhile, NBC is expected to renew Harry’s Law for a second season.  This will give creator David E. Kelly something to do next year, since NBC has reportedly passed on his Wonder Woman pilot.

Details on series orders for The Playboy Club, Awake, and Grimm.