Jason Isaacs stars in Awake on NBC

You might know the actor Jason Isaacs from the many movies he's been in, playing memorable characters such as Colonol Tavington in The Patriot, Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, and the traditional dual role of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Isaacs is now starring in a new television show on NBC called Awake.

I've been looking forward to this show for a long time, ever since I first watched a trailer for it last year. Isaacs plays a police detective who gets into a car accident with his wife and teenage son. From then on, he experiences two realities. One where his wife died and his son is still alive, and one where his son died and his wife is still alive. Every time he goes to sleep, he wakes up in the other reality.

It starts on Thursday night (March 1st) on NBC, at 10/9 Central after the rest of the Thursday night lineup of 30 Rock, Parks And Recreation, The Office, and Up All Night.

Although Awake hasn't aired on television yet, NBC put the first episode on the internet for people to watch. I saw it, and it's such a good show. The acting by B.D. Wong and Cherry Jones (the two psychiatrists), and especially by Jason Isaacs is incredible. Isaacs' monologue at the end of the episode made the hairs on my arms stand up. Besides the acting, the whole concept of the show is very interesting to me, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and I really enjoy the music. I'm really looking forward to seeing more. I'd love to see the show do well, and I highly recommend you check it out. The first episode has also been getting great reviews.

You can watch the first episode on NBC.com, youtube, hulu, or just watch it on the embedded player below.

UPDATE: The episode has now been removed.

If you'd rather wait for Awake to actually be on TV, like I said, it will be on NBC this Thursday night (March 1st) at 10/9 Central. Maybe you should go set it to record right now.