Manifest – Picture: Warner Brothers Television / NBC
The fans have been heard. Manifest is coming back for a fourth and final supersized season at Netflix consisting of 20 episodes. Here’s what we know so far about the Manifest revival at Netflix.
Before we dig into the revival and how it came to pass, here are a few key details about Netflix’s final season:
- Season 4 will consist of 20 episodes however are not expected to drop all at once ie. will release in 2 or more parts as we’ve seen with shows like Lucifer or the upcoming final season of Ozark.
- Netflix will release the fourth season exclusively globally.
- Netflix will acquire global rights to the previous three seasons (more on this in a separate post).
- Season 4 will be the final season of Manifest.
- No production schedule has been announced.
- Jeff Rake will continue showrunning duties for the final season.
- Executive producers for the new season include Robert Zemeckis, Jack Rapke, Jacqueline Levine, and Len Goldstein.
Couldn't let a day as significant as today go uncelebrated.
Manifest will officially return for a super-sized fourth and final season, only on Netflix! pic.twitter.com/HGns7vCvhX
— Netflix (@netflix) August 28, 2021
So with the good news (albeit bittersweet) out of the way, let’s dig into how we got to this point and what we can expect storywise from the new season.
The Road to Season 4 of Manifest on Netflix
Getting to this point has been a relatively quick and unexpected journey.
Throughout season 3 of Manifest airing on NBC, there were consistent rumors of the show being canceled as NBC axed a large number of its shows this season including the likes Debris, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and Good Girls.
A day before the finale was due to air on NBC, we got the first word that Netflix was due to add the show with seasons 1-2 on June 10th, 2021.
Shortly after that addition, NBC opted not to renew the show with Warner Brothers reportedly called it a day on trying to renew the show elsewhere on June 21st, 2021.
We originally posted that we thought the show wouldn’t be able to be picked up due to complex licensing issues and the fact Netflix has largely got out of the revival game (although we’re happy we were wrong).
Then came the domination of the show in the Netflix top 10s and other viewing data we can get our hands-on.
The show has picked up the second-most points in the Netflix TV top 10s in 2021 just behind CoComelon.
Top 10 data for Manifest on Netflix US – Picture: FlixPatrol
Looking at US Nielsen top 10 data, we can track the performance too. It has dominated Nielsen’s Top 10 SVOD Programs list for weeks now racking up 12,221 million minutes of viewing time.
Below you can see the graph of the Nielsen data over time although it’s worth noting their data doesn’t yet cover the release of the third season.
Nielsen viewership graph for Manifest
The show did fall out of the top 10s but quickly rebounded after season 3 was added to Netflix US on August 21st, 2021. Netflix Canada is due to receive the third season at the end of August.
In mid-July 2021, the showrunner Jeff Rake said on Twitter that he was not giving up.
I’m not giving up. Keep the faith. #SaveManifest
— Jeff Rake (@jeff_rake) July 14, 2021
Throughout this period, Nellie Andreeva from Deadline reported on multiple occasions that talks with Netflix were ongoing. The biggest inkling the show would be coming back was on August 18th where it was reported new deals were being struck with writers and the cast.
Of course, fans from around the world rallied behind the show whether that be the hundreds of thousands of social media posts or the various petitions including one that was closing in on 100,000 supporters.
Now, of course, we know that those negotiations were successful and the rest is history.
Reaction to Manifest being revived at Netflix
We’ll keep this section updated with reactions from the cast and crew as and when we get them.
Jeff Rake, the showrunner of Manifest said:
“What started years ago as a flight of fancy deep in my imagination has evolved into the jet engine journey of a lifetime. Never in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned the worldwide outpouring of love and support for this story, its characters, and the team who work so hard to bring it all to life. That we will be able to reward the fans with the ending they deserve moves me to no end. On behalf of the cast, the crew, the writers, directors, and producers, thank you to Netflix, to Warner Bros., and of course to the fans. You did this.”
Manifest – Picture: Warner Brothers Television
So there you have it, season 4 of Manifest is coming to Netflix. We’ll keep you posted on everything we know about season 4 as and when we get it and we’ll have a full preview for the season up in due course.
Let us know in the comments if you’re excited for season 4 of Manifest.
