Manifest TV show saved by Netflix

Created by Jeff Rake, Manifest is an American supernatural drama series that premiered on September in 2018 on NBC. It is about the passengers and crew of a commercial airliner “Flight 828” who suddenly reappear after being presumed dead for more than five years.

The show aired on NBC for three seasons where season three ended on a major cliff-hanger much to the delight of fans and viewers of the show as they anticipated an explosive fourth season to follow; however the excitement was short-lived when in June, NBC suddenly announced that the show was cancelled and would not be renewed for a fourth season. During the same time, Netflix US added Manifest to their list of programmes and almost immediately started trending on Twitter as the show was number one in the Netflix viewing charts. This outcome sent confusion amongst Manifest fans as it did not make sense as to why a show with a high viewership would be cancelled; something that led to a campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #SaveManifest that was led by show creator Jeff Rake. The campaign saw Jeff Rake interact with fans of the show as he went through the various stages of the shows season’s and episodes as well as appreciation posts for the cast and crew of Manifest.

The main cast includes Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, Daryl Edwards, and Matt Long. #SaveManifest the campaign hashtag that was trending on social media, in hopes of bringing back the TV series which has a large and passionate fanbase was successful in not only getting it renewed, but it drove viewership on Netflix, keeping Manifest near the top in the charts, after it was already at number one for four consecutive weeks. The show reached more than a billion views and stayed on top for two additional weeks, surpassing some of Netflix’s own popular series, such as Bridgerton.

Creator, Jeff Rake, is hopeful for the return of the whole cast with Netflix’s revival, and he gave a rough estimate as to when production will begin, explaining, “We certainly expect to be in production this calendar year. I’m hopeful that cameras are rolling in November or December latest. We’re going to work as fast as we can while still keeping an eye on quality control, because we want to get episodes to everyone as soon as possible. We also want them to be excellent. It might take a minute for a brand-new batch of episodes to show up in people’s homes, but it’s going to be worth the wait.”

Manifest for the most part has been compared to LOST due to mysteries surrounding a plane; which for many fans, on its final season offered a very disappointing ending, therefore the cancellation of Manifest from NBC without proper closure for watchers, was felt in a similar vein only it was cut short just as the plot intensified. However with Netflix coming in for the rescue; viewers are hopeful, and have been extremely vocal on social media not only about the renewal as the campaign ensued, but adding that they do not want the same disappointing ending as LOST. Many viewers are excited about the move to Netflix as Netflix is known for investing large budgets on shows, which further heightens the expectations on the fourth season of Manifest in all areas, from the story and character arcs, visuals and of course the finale that will finally reveal what really happened to flight 828.

Manifest Plot

While traveling from Jamaica to New York City, Montego Air Flight 828 experiences a brief period of severe turbulence. When they land at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York, the plane’s 191 passengers and crew learn from NSA director Robert Vance that over five and a half years have passed while they were in the air, during which time they were presumed dead. As they re-join society, the passengers begin to face the fact that their lives – and loved ones – are not the same as they were, while they also begin to experience guiding voices and visions representing events yet to occur, referred to as ‘callings.’

Watch Manifest seasons 1 to 3 on Netflix, and on demand on other streaming platforms such as Apple TV, and Amazon.