Manifest

Storyline

While traveling from Jamaica to New York City, on April 7, 2013, 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 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".

Cast and characters

Main

Melissa Roxburgh as Michaela "Mick" Stone, a detective who worked at the NYPD's 129th Precinct, and Ben's sister. She was a passenger on Flight 828. She gets engaged to Jared before the flight. She later rediscovers Zeke. Ariana Jalia portrays a younger Michaela.

Josh Dallas as Ben Stone, a college associate professor in mathematics, Michaela's brother, and father to Olive, Cal and Eden. He was a passenger on Flight 828.

Athena Karkanis as Grace Stone (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), Ben's wife, Michaela's sister-in-law, and mother to Olive, Cal and Eden. She runs a catering business. She is fatally stabbed by Angelina at the end of the third season while trying to stop her from abducting Eden and dies in a now-teenage Cal's arms. In the series finale, Ben is reunited with Grace after the passengers are returned to 2013.

J. R. Ramirez as Jared Vasquez, a detective at the NYPD's 129th Precinct and Michaela's ex-fiancé; he married Michaela's best friend during the five-plus year absence of Flight 828, but they divorce after Michaela's return. Jared is later promoted to lieutenant.

Luna Blaise as Olive Stone, Ben and Grace's daughter, Michaela's niece, Cal's twin sister, and Eden's older sister. Jenna Kurmemaj portrays a young Olive in the first episode and early flashbacks while Samsara Leela Yett portrays her in the final episode.

Jack Messina (seasons 1–3; guest season 4) and Ty Doran (season 4; guest season 3) as Cal Stone, Ben and Grace's son, Michaela's nephew, Eden's older brother, and Olive's twin brother, who is five and a half years younger than she after Flight 828 returns. Cal was a passenger on Flight 828. Jack Messina portrays a younger Cal while Ty Doran portrays a teenage Cal.

Parveen Kaur as Saanvi Bahl, a doctor and medical researcher at Koch Hospital and passenger on Flight 828. She is later recruited to work for the NSA's Project Eureka task force that is investigating 828.

Matt Long as Zeke Landon (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1), a hiker who got trapped in a cave during a blizzard and was presumed dead for a year. He returns to life in a situation similar to what happened to Flight 828 passengers. He later marries Michaela and becomes the first person to beat his death date after saving Cal's life. After beating his death date, Zeke develops empathic powers. At the end of the first part of the fourth season, Zeke sacrifices himself to save Cal by absorbing Cal's returned cancer. In the series finale, after being returned to 2013, Michaela meets Zeke again for the first time to pursue a relationship anew as he is seen working as a taxi driver. Colin Critchley portrays a younger Zeke.

Recurring

Frank Deal as Bill Daly, the pilot of Flight 828. After vanishing in season 1, he abruptly reappears for a moment in Flight 828's cockpit after the tail fin is returned to the ocean. In the final season, he reappears in the detention center as the subject of government experiments. Angelina later manipulates him into breaking out of his room. Despite Ben's intervention, Daly was shot by the guards. His corpse was later swallowed by a tremor. In a deleted scene from the series finale, Daly is shown to have been resurrected alongside the other lost passengers, but later disintegrates into ash just like the 11 unworthy passengers right in front of Vance and other NSA agents after the plane returns to 2013.

Leajato Amara Robinson as Daniel Amuta Clarke, the co-pilot of Flight 828. Clarke was one of the 13 "dangerous" passengers the Registry had failed to apprehend.

Mugga as Bethany Collins, a flight attendant on Flight 828 and Georgia's wife.

Alfredo Narciso as Captain Riojas, the police captain of the NYPD's 129th Precinct where Michaela and Jared work.

Curtiss Cook as Radd Campbell, a musician on Flight 828. Before leaving for Jamaica, he left his son with a neighbor.

Richard Topol as Harvey Stein, a passenger on Flight 828. After three people he told about the Callings died, Harvey came to believe that he was the Angel of Death. Despite Michaela’s efforts to talk him out of it, he killed himself. In the series finale, Harvey is resurrected along with the other lost passengers when the plane is returned to 2013.

Julienne Hanzelka Kim as Kelly Taylor, a passenger on Flight 828. After the twenty people who watch as the Flight 828 aircraft explodes are warned not to discuss what they know with anyone, Kelly goes on national media to express what she believes. While she is watching herself on television later, she is shot in the head by her housekeeper. The building that she owned later appears as a hiding place for the stowaway Thomas and is discovered to be the hiding place of the Omega Sapphire. In the series finale, Kelly is resurrected along with the other lost passengers when the plane is returned to 2013.

Production

Development

Jeff Rake had first unsuccessfully pitched the idea for the story ten years earlier, but was only able to get interest from network executives after the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

On August 23, 2017, NBC gave the production a put pilot commitment. The pilot was written by 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. In January 2018, NBC gave the production a pilot order and that David Frankel would direct and executive produce the pilot. In May 2018, NBC gave the production a series order of thirteen episodes with a premiere in third quarter of 2018 and a Monday timeslot at 10 p.m. On June 19, 2018, the series premiere was set for September 24, 2018. On October 18, 2018, NBC ordered an additional three episodes of the series, bringing the total up to sixteen episodes.

On April 15, 2019, NBC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on January 6, 2020. On June 15, 2020, NBC renewed the series for a third season which premiered on April 1, 2021.

Casting

In February 2018, Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, and J. R. Ramirez joined the pilot's main cast. Athena Karkanis, Parveen Kaur, and Luna Blaise were cast in main roles the following month. In August 2019, Yasha Jackson, Garrett Wareing, Andrene Ward-Hammond, and Ellen Tamaki were cast in recurring roles for the second season. In October 2019, Leah Gibson and Carl Lundstedt had been cast in recurring capacities. On September 22, 2020, Holly Taylor was cast a new series regular for the third season. On October 22, 2020, Will Peltz was cast in a recurring role for the third season.

Cancellation and revival

On June 14, 2021, NBC canceled the series after three seasons. 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 debuted at number three 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." 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. 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."

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."

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. On August 28, 2021, Netflix renewed Manifest for a fourth and final season, consisting of 20 episodes, split across two volumes. Dallas and Roxburgh were set to return, with additional original cast members in negotiations to return as well. 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. A day later, it was announced that Daryl Edwards has been promoted to series regular. Matt Long was later confirmed to be joining the cast for the fourth season. The first volume of the season was released on November 4, 2022, followed by the second on June 2, 2023.

Release

On July 21, 2018, the series held a panel at San Diego Comic-Con. Those in attendance included executive producer Jeff Rake and actors Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas. On August 28, 2018, the first nine minutes of the first episode were released among various digital outlets. 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.

Reception

Critical response

The series was initially 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." 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". On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season has an approval rating of 86% with an average rating of 8.6/10, based on 7 reviews.

Ratings

The premiere episode was both the top-rated new show for the broadcast season and the top-rated show airing that week.

Streaming response

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. It then went on to break Netflix's streaming record with 6th straight week over 1 billion minutes viewed. By September 2021, Manifest was the third show in Netflix history to sit in its Top 10 list for one hundred days.

Accolades

In 2019, the series was nominated for Best Science Fiction TV Series category for the 45th Saturn Awards.

In the same year, Manifest was also nominated for Best Primetime Program – Drama category for the 34rd Imagen Awards.

Spin-off

In August 2024, Rake said he and his writing partners were still working on developing a spin-off continuation of the series. In announcing the upcoming release of his novel on his official social media accounts in June 2025, Rake wrote that he was "still working away on a potential Manifest spinoff! Not there yet.".

In August 2026, Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery, a spin-off series featuring a new cast of characters and storylines in the same universe, was greenlit by Netflix. Rake, Margaret Easley and Laura Putney are co-creators, executive producers and showrunners of the series.