Jason Isaacs navigates two realities in NBC‘s new high-concept drama Awake — but which is which? That’s the overarching question that will surely lure serialized fans into sampling one of the year’s most highly-anticipated series. In this newly-released interview, Isaacs offers some thoughts and clues on the journey that awaits intrepid viewers.
Isaacs explains the unique situation that Detective Britten finds himself in (he exists in two parallel realities following a car crash, one in which his wife survived, the other his son), and why he believes it has universal appeal:
The only reason that I wanted to do this show, and that I hope people find it and like it, is that it’s completely universal. Although he has a unique situation, through that prism, we can explore what it’s like to be a father, what it’s like to be a husband, what it’s like to reboot a marriage, if you didn’t get it right the first time, and what it’s like to explore your subconscious. We’ve all got a subconscious. We’ve all got dreams. We all have fears, anxieties and hopes. In one of those worlds, those are made manifest. He just doesn’t know which one. Hopefully, there’s something very universal, as well as unique, about it.
While the weekly episodes will present Britten with a different case to solve, Isaacs hints at the ongoing, overarching story:
No episode is the same, as things progress. Although these are completely weekly, close-ended, procedural stories, it’s also true that his world changes, all the time. When we first find him, in the pilot, he absolutely wants things to stay the same. With these two worlds, he doesn’t know which one’s real and he’s fine with that. He’s not stupid. He knows one of them must be a dream, and he must have either lost his son or his wife, and he doesn’t want to engage with that loss. But, that will take its toll on him, and there will be consequences. There’s a price to pay, for that kind of denial, partly in his relationships with his wife and his son. So, he will change his attitude to it. Of course, he will.
While some actors prefer not to know where their characters are heading in the overarching story (Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston is a popular example), Isaacs explains why he not only wants to know, but knows which of Britten’s two realities is the real and which is a construct:
I’m part of the story. I’m a producer on it, and I’m part of the storytelling. Actors are all storytellers. We’re all part of the whole thing. I get to be part of the writing process as well. There’s no formula for what we’re writing. There’s a lot of veterans on this show, who have worked on many, many other television shows, many of which essentially write themselves, once you get the formula for it. Most television, including all of the television I like watching, is exactly the same, week after week. You just change the colors of the suits, or make a slight change in the plot. They are essentially re-inventing the wheel here, every week. They’re writing little movies, every week, around the same premise. All these pieces of this jigsaw are meant to go together, to make a bigger jigsaw, and it’s a real challenge for them. I didn’t want to be surprised by that. I enjoy being a part of creating that.
Despite knowing which reality is real, Isaacs says he doesn’t need to remind himself that Britten doesn’t know:
No, I’m playing Britten. I’m not playing Jason. As Jason, I know all kinds of things. But, as Britten, he doesn’t know which is real and that’s the central dilemma. That’s the hook of it. It’s not the only drama that keeps you watching, week to week, ‘cause if it was, it would get boring, quickly. There’s many other things that happen. There’s human drama, and then there’s procedural drama. Britten is struggling often and, as Jason, I’m struggling to be Britten, struggling often. Nothing good ever comes easy. Certainly, when we finish a scene, it feels like there’s all kinds of layers to enjoy.
As for whether Awake‘s high-concept can sustain beyond the first season, Isaacs says they’ll find ways of continuing the story if it proves popular. Fingers crossed it does, having seen the pilot this is certainly a show with huge Seriable Potential, and I’m intrigued as to how the procedural fusion will serve them going forward.
Source: Collider
Awake premieres March 1st on NBC. You can watch the pilot online now if you’re in the US, or the first 8 minutes if you’re outside of the US.
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