Brookelynn Hodgin & Ben Meyler | Writers
September 9, 2021
ABC struck it big with their 2004 TV show Lost, which follows the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 when they crash on a deserted island and remain stranded there until the twist-filled series finale in 2010. Now, with NBC’s new show, Manifest, the passengers of Flight 828 vanish out of thin air, only to land five years later — but no time has passed for those onboard.
Manifest contains some stark differences from Lost, mainly in regards to the heavy focus on its supernatural plot. Taking place in suburban New York, the show surrounds the Stone family during their grieving process from the unbelievable event, and follows their journey of learning how to live with the bizarre, inexplicable phenomena that seems to plague the passengers of 828. This show has something for everyone, with corrupt political subplots, conspiracies, and an appeal to ancient mythology and religion.
Completing its third season in May 2021, NBC decided not to renew the hit mystery series. Apparently, the “finale was the lowest-watched episode in the show’s history, with 2.5 million viewers – down from the 4 million who watched the first episode of Season 3,” according to Newsweek. Down over 20 percent of its viewers, the network decided to ditch the series, leaving questions unanswered, and Manifest fans with a major cliffhanger.
This summer, Netflix added Manifest to its wide collection of shows and movies. It quickly took the streaming service by storm. The show remained on Netflix’s Top 10 list for 27 days, leading them to pursue adding the third season. As Manifest is one of the most watched shows in the US right now, Netflix was green-lighted to finish off the epic story with a fourth season, which has all Manifest viewers and cast members excited to watch everything come together.
The news of a final season is also leaving some fans disappointed because the show will have to end two seasons earlier than originally planned. “[Manifest] came out a while ago, but I really didn’t hear about it until three months ago,” senior Shelby Reisender said. “Now that it is getting more attention, I don’t think they should cut it short.”
However, despite all of the hype, some viewers didn’t seem to understand all the excitement surrounding the hit drama. “I thought it started out strong, but the visions and messages from the mysteries became a bit repetitive,” said sophomore Emily Forster. While the plot focuses a lot on the visions, known as “callings” in the show, it is easy to get bored.
Others believe that there is much more to the show than the repetitive callings. Following a huge plot twist in season one, the show takes a whole new direction, which is mainly why so many people are hooked.
Season four of Manifest is rumored to drop in Spring 2022, but might very well be released later than that. Expect the entire cast to return, potentially with a few new faces, to find the answer to probably one of the most highly anticipated series of this year.
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