Naomi Watts Starred In A Sci-Fi Series That Was Canceled After Just Two Episodes

A few years before her breakout role in David Lynch's critically acclaimed neo-noir psychological thriller "Mulholland Drive," Naomi Watts starred in an NBC sci-fi show that was canned after a couple of episodes. The series in question was Stephen Kronish and David S. Goyer's "Sleepwalkers," which premiered on November 1, 1997 as part of NBC's Saturday night programming block Thrillogy. 

Watts plays Kate Russell, a dream interpreter and psychologist who uses state-of-the-art technology to enter people's dreamscapes and help them confront the darkest parts of their subconscious. While NBC was open to Kronish and Goyer's concept, the network felt that the sci-fi elements needed more dimension and that there was little cohesion between the artistic styles of the two creators. This caused repeated clashes between the show's creative team and NBC executives, as the network was unsure whether audiences would take well to the surrealism in "Sleepwalkers."

Although nine episodes were produced, only two went on-air, with both receiving poor Nielsen ratings. Five further episodes were aired only on the West Coast the following year, but the final two installments were never broadcast in the United States. "Sleepwalkers" may not be the shortest-lived TV series of all time, but it's not far off.

NBC's Saturday Night programming block Thrillogy was introduced in 1996 with three shows: "The Pretender," "Profiler," and "Dark Skies," with the latter being the network's answer to "The X-Files." "Dark Skies" was canceled before the end of its first season and NBC tried to replace it with "Sleepwalkers," which ultimately met the same fate.

Thrillogy marketing never really took off despite the fact that both "The Pretender" and "Profiler" earned decent ratings. After "Sleepwalkers" was axed, a third attempt to reinstate Thrillogy with a new show called "The Others" was made in 2000, but NBC ended up binning the entire block by the end of that year, cancelling all three shows.

It's difficult to evaluate the merits of "Sleepwalkers" due to its fragmented broadcasting and inconsistent availability, but the sci-fi series has an intriguing premise. Watts co-stars with Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Nathan Bradford, her boss and the founder of the Morpheus Institute, where his team treats patients who are psychologically haunted in their dreams.

Watts, of course, went on to become a movie star after "Sleepwalkers" was pulled, but she's no stranger to small screen work. She's become a regular fixture in Ryan Murphy's TV shows in recent years, plying her trade in the likes of "The Watcher," "Feud: Bette & Joan," "All's Fair," and "Love Story," in which she portrayed famed former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.