Netflix saves Manifest for a 20-episode final season

Stars Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh have already been confirmed to return for the streaming fourth season

By William Hughes  |  August 28, 2021 | 4:02pm
TV News Netflix
Netflix saves Manifest for a 20-episode final season
We can only assume this man is very wet because he’s happy. Photo: http://www.nbcumv.com/

Netflix has saved Manifest. Deadline reports this morning that the formerly NBC-set drama, about a crew of airline passengers suffering through the spooooOOOOOookiest layover in aeronautics history, has just received a fourth and final season at the streamer, where it recently became a hit. And not one of those piddly, “Fine, have three half-hours to wrap things up” final seasons, either; the supernatural show is getting a massive 20 episodes to wrap up its various dangling plot threads.

There’s been speculation for months that this sort of move might be in the works, despite Netflix’s apparent desire to shake off its reputation as the place dead or dying shows turn to for metaphorical hospice care. Certainly, the streamer promoted Manifest better than its home network ever seemed to do, dropping the show onto the top of its homepage (a rarity for a non-Netflix Original), and touting its viewership numbers as the sort of easily consumed potboiler that the binge TV model was pretty much designed to shovel down people’s throats.

Nodding to the show’s lore—and the fact that people writing Newswires on Saturday mornings need stuff to do (thanks!)—Netflix made the announcement on August 28 at 8:28 a.m., referencing the show’s very delayed Flight 828. Deadline also reports that series stars Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh have both already signed on to return for the fourth season, while some other members of the cast are still in negotiations.

And, really, this all feels like a weirdly fitting narrative for Manifest, a show about people adjusting to being dragged from the past into the future, because this whole thing feels extremely 2015. After all, Netflix had already passed on picking the show up back in June—but then a fan campaign, spearheaded by creator Jeff Rake and several of the show’s stars, kept the show’s streaming ratings high for the next several months, and, well, here we are: Manifested.

 
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