Manifest is not dead yet.
A month after NBC canceled the supernatural drama after three seasons and Netflix opted not to pick it up, sources told Deadline that the network and the streaming giant are both in new conversations with Warner Bros. TV about a possible season 4 renewal.
NBC has reportedly become interested in renewing Manifest for a fourth season after the network’s planned eight-episode season 5 pickup of Good Girls fell through at the last minute over cast-deal issues. That, as well as NBC’s decision not to move forward with the previously ordered spinoff series Law & Order: For the Defense freed up funds in the network’s 2020-21 drama series budget and opened up holes on the schedule. Sources said that those changes led the network to reopen talks with Warner Bros. TV on ordering another season of Manifest.
For Netflix’s part, Deadline reported that the streamer has restarted talks with Warner Bros. TV about saving Manifest after the series remained in the platform’s daily top 10 for more than a month and after it topped the Nielsen streaming ratings in its first week of release online.
However, there are some factors that may prevent Netflix from renewing Manifest for a fourth season. One of those is the international distribution for the series. In most cases, Netflix wants global rights for its originals, but Warner Bros.TV has already sold Manifest internationally market by market. For instance, season 3 of the show just launched in the U.K. on Sky.
Despite such complications, Manifest has reportedly been too big of a hit in the U.S. for Netflix to not pursue it. Deadline noted that Warner Bros. TV has an experience in successfully moving a canceled broadcast drama to Netflix and overcoming international distribution obstacles with Lucifer, so it’s not impossible to see Manifest get a second life on the streamer.
In a recent tweet addressed to Manifest fans, series creator Jeff Rake wrote that he has “no comment” on stories claiming that NBC and Netflix are both interested in renewing the show for a fourth season, but “if the impossible happens and the dead rise again, it’s because of YOU.”
Starring Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, JR Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, and Matt Long, among many others, Manifest centers on Montego Air Flight 828, which landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight. The crew and passengers were relieved, but in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years. The returned passengers attempt to reintegrate into their old lives but soon find that they and their loved ones aren’t the same as they were. Things only get more difficult when they begin to see flashes of the future they refer to as “callings.”
The first and second seasons of Manifest are currently streaming on Netflix while the third season can be watched on Hulu.