'Manifest' takes flight again for its final season, now on Netflix
It's taken a while to get there, but a season to conclude the series definitively was "Manifest's" destiny.
The drama about an airliner that mysteriously returned more than five years after it vanished - intact with those who were aboard - took off to a strong ratings start for NBC in 2018, then was renewed by that network for two more seasons. The audience it had there lessened, but its three seasons drew much viewership on Netflix, which ultimately decided to order a fourth and final season of "Manifest" that begins streaming Friday, Nov. 4.
The last season is being split into two halves, and fans will be able to binge the first 10 episodes at once if they so choose. (The debut date for the concluding 10 hadn't been set at press time.) Expectedly, there is much to be resolved from where Season 3 left off, and many of the original cast members are back to do that.
Young Cal Stone (now played as a teenager by Ty Doran), who has had "callings" - or advance visions - of calamities resulting from the plane's initial disappearance, has vanished while assisting those who literally have been piecing the mystery together. Val's father Ben (Josh Dallas) and NSA Director Robert Vance (Daryl Edwards) are in search of him, as well as of the reconstructed plane, which has disappeared again ... in conjunction with an apparent tragedy that has befallen the Stone family.
Melissa Roxburgh, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Matt Long, Parveen Kaur and Holly Taylor also remain among the principal "Manifest" cast, and creator and executive producer Jeff Rake co-wrote the first of the new episodes. Though the start of Season 4 is sure to have a "Previously on 'Manifest'" recap, Netflix is likely to experience a viewing bump for some or all of the first three seasons, which have continued to reside on that platform.
"Manifest" went through its own maze to get to the point where its last round finally is beginning. With Season 3 ending with a cliffhanger that might be left dangling forever, Rake expressed the hope that Netflix or another outlet would order further episodes. However, Netflix bowed out of discussions with originating studio Warner Bros. Television, which said then that it was giving up on pursuing a firm ending to the show.
Soon afterward, though, talks resumed with NBC - with added participation by Netflix, which eventually placed the 20-episode order for a fourth and last season. While "Manifest" isn't the only broadcast-network series to be continued by a streaming service, it certainly is one of the most high-profile ones ... and thanks to loyal devotees, it's definitely a case where the fans won.