The story
After a bumpy flight, a passenger jet lands in New York to discover that five and a half years have gone by on the ground, though for everyone on board it feels like a few hours. Long since declared dead, the returnees try to slot back into families that have grieved and moved on, while some start hearing strange inner voices that seem to be steering them towards a purpose.
Why it matters
Manifest is a clear case of streaming data rewriting a show's fate. Added to Netflix shortly before NBC cancelled it, it was watched by 25 million US and Canadian accounts in its first 28 days and became only the third show to spend 100 days in Netflix's Top 10, numbers that earned it a final season.
How it was rescued
NBC cancelled Manifest on 14 June 2021 after three seasons, just as its earlier seasons were topping Netflix's charts. Talks with Netflix initially broke down, but on 28 August 2021 Netflix renewed it for a fourth and final 20-episode season, the first half of which arrived on 4 November 2022.
Filed under: Cancelled, then revived online
Notable facts
- Creator Jeff Rake originally sold the show to NBC with a six-season plan mapped out. (source)
- Rake said he could only get network executives interested after the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. (source)
- By September 2021 it was the third show in Netflix history to spend 100 days in the platform's Top 10. (source)