About four years ago, Netflix swooped in and saved Manifest from cancellation, bringing the popular show to an even wider viewing audience. Manifest had a long journey to getting on the air. The show’s creator, Jeff Rake, pitched the show for nearly ten years before anyone took interest in the series (via JewishJournal).
NBC ended up picking it up for a pilot and then a 16-episode first season in 2018, with the series premiere set for September 24, 2018. The series was renewed for two more seasons over the next two years, but NBC canceled the show after that third season with plenty of questions still unanswered.
What Is Manifest About?
Manifest is a four-season series that follows Montego Air Flight 828, an airliner flying from Jamaica to New York City that endures severe turbulence on the ride. When the plane lands, all 191 passengers are shocked to learn that over five years have passed and the plane was assumed to have been lost.
Everyone on board Montego Air Flight now has to deal with the fallout of their lives jumping five years into the future, contending with everything that has changed. At the same time, they begin hearing guiding voices and seeing visions of events that are yet to come, something they come to describe as “callings”.
Netflix Saved Manifest After It Became A Streaming Hit
While Manifest was airing on NBC, it was also being ported to Netflix, where the first two seasons debuted at number 3 and the series rose to the top of the streaming chart. After the show was canceled, fans and the creators alike were frustrated, and Twitter campaigns began and Rake began trying to sell one last season to networks.
Only a few months after the series was canceled in June 2021, Netflix announced in August 2021 that it had come to an agreement with Rake and would be producing a fourth and final 20-episode season. That final season ended up premiering in two parts, one in November 2022, and the second part in June 2023.
The Days Of Netflix Saving Shows Seem To Be Over
It feels like a bygone era now, of Netflix coming to the rescue to save shows. Now, the streamer is more likely to axe a series rather than breathe new life into it. There was a time when a show could look to the streamer to give it a second chance, like with Arrested Development or Lucifer.
That time seems to be over now. Dead Boy Detectives, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Girls5eva are just a few of the series to be taken off the air by Netflix this year. Netflix does not seem to be in the business of second chances anymore, like with Manifest.
- Release Date
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2018 – 2023-00-00
- Showrunner
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Michael Smith
