Manifest's creator and showrunner Jeff Rake has revealed that fans can expect season 4, the final season, to begin filming at some point this year. Originally airing in 2018, the series followed the passengers on Montego Air Flight 828 that disappeared for five and a half years. When the plane landed, those aboard had no concept of the amount of time that had passed or where they had been, but began to experience strange 'callings.' Despite proving popular with fans on NBC, and Rake having planned up to season 6, Manifest was cancelled after just three seasons back in June, with season 3 ending on a notable cliff-hanger.
In the wake of the news, fans of Manifest flooded social media with calls for Netflix to save the show from cancellation through the #SaveManifest movement. The hashtag picked up steam after prolific horror writer Stephen King also called for the show to be revived. During this time, Manifest's first and second seasons topped Netflix's Daily Top 10 list for 27 days straight, tying Tiger King's record for most time spent in the top position. With Manifest showing great numbers for the streaming platform, alongside the fervent fan campaign, Netflix announced on August 28th (828 day to fans) that they had picked up the show for a fourth and final season consisting of 20 episodes.
Speaking to EW about the show's resurrection, Rake claimed that he is expecting filming on Manifest season 4 to begin in "November or December" at the latest. He added that while he and the rest of the team are working as fast as they can to deliver new episodes, they want to ensure "quality control" so that the final episodes meet the high expectations from fans. Read Rake's full statement below:
"We certainly expect to be in production this calendar year. I'm hopeful that cameras are rolling in November or December latest. We're going to work as fast as we can while still keeping an eye on quality control, because we want to get episodes to everyone as soon as possible. We also want them to be excellent. It might take a minute for a brand-new batch of episodes to show up in people's homes, but it's going to be worth the wait."
Fans will undoubtedly be excited to hear that Manifest's long-awaited season 4 aims to begin filming soon. Rake has a lot on his plate as he attempts to condense three seasons into just one, and also wrap the story up in a satisfying manner. Initially, the creator he had hoped to make a two-hour TV-movie, so a full season will assumedly give him more room to work with. Rake is also clearly grateful to the show's viewership for campaigning to save the show as strongly as they did, and is keen to repay them with new episodes while also ensuring that they live up to the hype.
While many fan-campaigns like Manifest's are created when a show is cancelled, it's rare to see them actually succeed. That said, it's not unusual for Netflix to bring a show back from the dead for a final hurrah. In 2018, the streaming giant saved Lucifer from cancellation at Fox after a similar fan campaign, bringing the show back for three seasons. The move proved to be a smart one as the show topped Nielsen's streaming ratings for several weeks when the second half of season 5 dropped back in May. With Manifest doing similar numbers from its first two seasons alone, it makes sense that Netflix would choose to save the show from cancellation. Fortunately, fans won't have to wait long to see if their hard work has paid off.
Source: EW