NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: The fan-favorite series 'Manifest' was canceled only after three seasons on NBC leaving the fans extremely devastated. With an interesting premise and supernatural twists, the series quickly made its way into the hearts of NBC's audiences only to have it canceled before a final conclusion is reached. But it seems like someone saved 'Manifest!'
However, after much consideration from the fans, 'Manifest' and its entire catalog started trending on Netflix during the Covid pandemic. It eventually led to Netflix picking up the show and announcing one final season that enables achieving a definitive conclusion for the story. 'NBC's cancellation came at a time when the show was getting enough appreciation from Netflix to launch a full-fledged social media campaign. Buckle up, because 'Manifest' Season 4 is streaming on Netflix!
Why did NBC cancel 'Manifest'?
'Manifest' was canceled due to a steady decline in viewership over the course of a few years, as per Soaps. While the series started off extremely strong with its supernatural and dramatic premise, it failed to acquire a similar range of excitement from the audience in its subsequent seasons. In terms of its rating, the series had a decent start but continued to witness a decline until Season 3, to the point where NBC did not consider it popular enough to be renewed for a fourth season.
Netflix becomes 'Manifest's savior
While the cancellation decision was announced, the series was simultaneously trending on Netflix as well. It led to the formation of a massive social media campaign by the fans with the #SaveManifest. The campaign emerged soon after the showrunner of the series Jeff Raker announced how heartbroken he was over 'NBC's decision. Unintentionally, Raker may have started the campaign by adding the hashtag in his tweet which was later taken up by the fans.
In June 2021, almost 10 weeks after the cancellation 'Netflix' announced that it has renewed the series for a fourth and final season to give the audiences the conclusion they deserve. Netflix mentioned that the final season would consist of 20 episodes divided into two parts. Part one was already released on November 4, 2022, and part two was released on June 2, 2023, allowing the creators to present an ultimate conclusion to the story.
The incredible feeling of the actors
The creator of the series showed appreciation towards the decision by saying in a statement, “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”. Rake further said, "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."
The lead and supporting actors rejoiced in the decision of Netflix after spending a substantial amount of time under the uncertainty created by NBC during the pandemic. However, actress Melissa Roxburgh who plays the character of Michaela Stone said that she received the news of Netflix's revival after an emotional turbulence of three months. Meanwhile, actor Josh Dallas who plays Ben Stone in the series expressed the same concern but said that he felt incredible after hearing about the show's revival. If anything, the cast and crew of the show were only hoping to conclude the story in a way that satiates the attachment fans have towards the show. Given that Season 3 ended on a cliffhanger, fans were desperate to know what was going to happen to their favorite characters.
All seasons of Manifest are available to stream on Netflix.
