We thought the intricately plotted drama was grounded for good last year when NBC canceled it after three seasons. But when Netflix audiences got excited about the mystery of Montego Air Flight 828, which vanished for five and a half years only to return with passengers who hadn’t aged a day, the streamer brought back Manifest for a fourth and final round.
Although the show was originally conceived to run for six seasons, “We’ve cut to the chase a little bit,” creator Jeff Rake says. “But nothing fell out of the mythology.” That means fans get answers sooner! Here’s where things land in the first of two 10-episode blocks:
Two whole years have passed
Pivotal flashbacks in each episode will bring the audience up to speed. “The flashback sequences play as their own mini-mysteries,” Rake notes, “and they end up lending context to the present-day story happening within the same episode.”
Family tragedy has left its mark
The typically solid Stones “are in bad shape,” Rake says. Eden remains missing, taken as a baby by murderous Angelina (Holly Taylor), which leaves father Ben (Josh Dallas) consumed with finding her. “He barely talks to the rest of his family,” Rake says. “Ben basically lives in his car, driving around, putting up posters.” His sister Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) and fellow NYPD cop Jared Vasquez (J.R. Ramirez) try to help.
A new 828 passenger arrives in New York!
Rake teases that it’s a man “we’ve never met, but someone we’ve talked about before,” and he’s carrying a very special parcel. The story it launches draws in scientist Saanvi Bahl (Parveen Kaur), ally Robert Vance (Daryl Edwards), and now-teenaged Cal Stone (Ty Doran).
Manifest, Season 4 Premiere, Friday, November 4, Netflix
This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.
