Manifest | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Jeff Rake |
Starring |
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Composer | Danny Lux |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 62 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Cinematography |
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Editors |
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Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 41–61 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 24, 2018 – June 10, 2021 |
Network | Netflix |
Release | November 4, 2022 – June 2, 2023 |
Manifest is an American supernatural drama television series created by Jeff Rake that premiered on September 24, 2018, on NBC. It centers on the passengers and crew of a commercial airliner who suddenly reappear after being presumed dead for five and a half years. It stars Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, Matt Long, Holly Taylor, Daryl Edwards, and Ty Doran.
In October 2018, NBC ordered further episodes for the first season and subsequently renewed the series for a second season that aired in 2020, and again for a third in 2021. In June 2021, the series was canceled by NBC after three seasons. The series was added to Netflix shortly before it was canceled and immediately topped the viewing charts, persuading Netflix to renew Manifest for a fourth and final season consisting of twenty episodes, with part one premiering on November 4, 2022, and part two premiering on June 2, 2023. [1] [2] [3]
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 [4] passengers and crew learn from NSA deputy director Robert "Bobby" 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 rejoin society, the passengers must 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".
On August 23, 2017, NBC gave the production a put pilot commitment. The pilot was written by Jeff Rake, who was also set to serve as executive producer alongside Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. Jackie Levine was expected to serve as a co-executive producer. Production companies involved with the pilot were slated to consist of Compari Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. [16] In January 2018, NBC gave the production a pilot order [17] and that David Frankel would direct and executive produce the pilot. [18] In May 2018, NBC gave the production a series order of thirteen episodes [19] with a premiere in third quarter of 2018 and a Monday timeslot at 10 p.m. [20] On June 19, 2018, the series premiere was set for September 24, 2018. [21] On October 18, 2018, NBC ordered an additional three episodes of the series, bringing the total up to sixteen episodes. [22] [23]
On April 15, 2019, NBC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on January 6, 2020. [24] [25] On June 15, 2020, NBC renewed the series for a third season which premiered on April 1, 2021. [26] [27]
In February 2018, Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, and J. R. Ramirez joined the pilot's main cast. [28] [29] Athena Karkanis, Parveen Kaur, and Luna Blaise were cast in main roles the following month. [30] [31] In August 2019, Yasha Jackson, Garrett Wareing, Andrene Ward-Hammond, and Ellen Tamaki were cast in recurring roles for the second season. [10] [8] In October 2019, Leah Gibson and Carl Lundstedt had been cast in recurring capacities. [11] On September 22, 2020, Holly Taylor was cast a new series regular for the third season. [6] On October 22, 2020, Will Peltz was cast in a recurring role for the third season. [12]
On June 14, 2021, NBC canceled the series after three seasons. [32] Due to the cliffhanger ending of the third season and the fact that creator Jeff Rake originally sold Manifest to NBC with a six-season plan mapped out, Rake and others were hopeful that the series would get picked up by another platform. One possibility was Netflix, where the first two seasons of Manifest debuted in the #3 spot and quickly rose to the most watched show on the streaming service. Rake tweeted on June 15: "I am devastated by NBC's decision to cancel us. That we've been shut down in the middle is a gut punch to say the least. Hoping to find a new home. You fans deserve an ending to your story." [32] On June 21, 2021, Warner announced that negotiations with Netflix had broken down and that they would no longer be seeking a new home for the series. [33] The following week, Rake stated that: "We're trying to find a way to conclude the series. Could take a week, a month, a year. But we're not giving up. You deserve an end to the story." [34]
On June 30, 2021, Entertainment Weekly reported that Rake was looking for a platform that would bankroll a two-hour Manifest film to tie the loose ends from the third-season finale. Said Rake, "There is a huge appetite for people wanting to know what's that end of the story, what happened to the passengers, what ultimately happened to that airplane." [35] [36]
The following month, it was reported that talks had resumed between Warner Bros. Television and NBC regarding the series' renewal for a potential fourth season, with Netflix also taking part in the renewal discussions. [37] On August 28, 2021, Netflix renewed Manifest for a fourth and final season, consisting of 20 episodes, split across multiple parts. Dallas and Roxburgh were set to return, with additional original cast members in negotiations to return as well. [1] On September 9, 2021, it reported that Kaur, Blaise, Taylor return as series regulars alongside Dallas, Roxburgh, and Ramirez while Karkanis and Messina exited and Ty Doran was promoted to series regular taking over Messina's role as the older Cal. [5] A day later, it was announced that Daryl Edwards has been promoted to series regular. [38] Matt Long was later confirmed to be joining the cast for the fourth season. [39] The first part of the fourth season premiered on November 4, 2022. [2] The second part of the fourth season was released on June 2, 2023. [3]
On July 21, 2018, the series held a panel at San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California. Those in attendance included executive producer Jeff Rake and actors Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas. [40] On August 28, 2018, the first nine minutes of the first episode were released among various digital outlets. [41] The series also took part in the 12th Annual PaleyFest Fall Television Previews on September 10, 2018, which featured a preview screening of the series. [42]
The series was met with a mixed response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 56% with an average rating of 6.2/10, based on 39 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Manifest's attempts to balance supernatural mystery and melodrama largely work thanks to its well-chosen cast — though it could use a few more distinguishing characteristics." [43] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 55 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [44] On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has an approval rating of 86% with an average rating of 8.6/10, based on 7 reviews. [45]
In a more positive assessment, USA Today 's Kelly Lawler explained how she felt that the series' simplicity and variety of drama subgenres might help it outlast similarly themed but ultimately unsuccessful past shows. She further praised the series for maintaining the standard of quality it set with its premiere episode saying, "Heavily serialized shows, such as Lost , Breaking Bad , or Game of Thrones often start with a great concept and first episode. But many lesser shows collapse when the story expands. Manifest navigated through its first major roadblock by easily moving from the setup to meatier stories." [46] In another favorable evaluation, Variety 's Daniel D'Addario commented that the pilot didn't "pretend to have answers; it only poses questions. But its inquisitiveness and willingness to be bold and fairly uncynical given all the things it's trying to be is more than welcome." [47] In a mixed critique, Los Angeles Times 's Lorraine Ali remarked that the series had a compelling premise and that the many mysteries it introduced "point toward a potentially addictive series if Manifest allows its gripping supernatural narrative to rise above its characters' less interesting personal dramas." [48] The Washington Post 's Hank Stuever compared the series negatively to other network science fiction series saying, "Manifest, alas, beelines thoughtlessly toward its hokiest idea, when some of the returning passengers discover they've acquired psychic powers. Just like that, a viewer who might have been interested in the human element is instead served a cold plate of mystery meat — not the new Lost, but a feeble throwback to forgettable failures such as The Event ." [49] In a similarly dismissive appraisal, The New York Times ' Margaret Lyons commented that "Manifest has a frustrating lack of propulsion, a central dullness whose force field is so strong it bends all the interesting parts toward itself." [50]
The premiere episode was both the top-rated new show for the broadcast season and the top-rated show airing that week. [51]
Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | TV season | Viewership rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
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Date | Viewers (millions) | Date | Viewers (millions) | ||||||
1 | Monday 10:00 p.m. | 16 | September 24, 2018 | 10.40 [52] | February 18, 2019 | 5.36 [53] | 2018–19 | 9 | 12.61 [13] |
2 | 13 | January 6, 2020 | 4.73 [54] | April 6, 2020 | 4.36 [55] | 2019–20 | 38 | 7.70 [14] | |
3 | Thursday 8:00 p.m. (1–5, 7, 9–12) Thursday 9:00 p.m. (6, 8, 13) | 13 | April 1, 2021 | 3.99 [56] | June 10, 2021 | 2.76 [57] | 2020–21 | 54 | 5.35 [15] |
Netflix started streaming Manifest in June 2021 and 25 million accounts in the U.S. and Canada watched the show within its first 28 days of streaming. The series remained in Netflix's Top 10 list for 71 days since its debut and was No. 1 in the U.S. for 19 days. [58] It then went on to break Netflix's streaming record with 6th straight week over 1 billion minutes viewed. [59] By September 2021, Manifest was the third show in Netflix history to sit in its Top 10 list for one hundred days.
In 2019, the series was nominated for Best Science Fiction TV Series category for the 45th Saturn Awards. [60] In the same year, Manifest was also nominated for Best Primetime Program – Drama category for the 34rd Imagen Awards. [61]
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