Manifest may live on after being canceled by NBC with three seasons, thanks to its strong performance on Netflix. The series has consistently landed in the Top 10 for Netflix since it became available, but rights issues are complicated. This is an NBC series, created by Warner Brothers, and is doing great numbers on the unaffiliated Netflix. It seems that it boils down to all three parties working out an agreement to carry on the show about a group of survivors of a mysterious air event in which the passengers on board a plane vanished from existence for five years.
An inside source reports that these parties are “working on a number of things” to bring the series to a proper finale. Series creator Jeff Rake, who has been drumming up fan support for the axed show, further hinted that things were in the works, tweeting:
Lots of speculation out there. No comment. Other than, if the impossible happens and the dead rise again, it’s because of YOU.#SaveManifest
— Jeff Rake (@jeff_rake) July 20, 2021
Previously, Rake stated:
“Back in the day, I laid out a six-season roadmap for NBC, and I’m halfway through. I had giant cliffhangers in the season 3 finale, so I had every intention to have three more seasons to slow-burn the back half of the story. I’m reading the writing on the wall that we may not find a home for three more seasons of the show, so I moved to plan B: Some platforms would bankroll a feature or a movie finale like we saw with Timeless, Firefly, and Deadwood. I just need a modest budget to tell the story. I am personally sketching out how to consolidate the back half of the series into a much more streamlined, cut-to-the-chase two-hour finale that would distill all of the hanging chads of the series. That’s where my head is at. 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.”
NBC was among those that gave fans a wrap-up after canceling a bubble series, Timeless. That series was given a made-for-TV movie to give closure and to wrap up dangling plot threads.
Other shows, like Lucifer and The Expanse, have found new homes on streaming services and have been given multiple seasons to tell further stories.
If you are a fan of Manifest, now is the time to make your voice heard! Contact NBC, Warner Bros., and Netflix to show your support.
