Manifest is an American supernatural drama television series created by Jeff Rake that premiered on September 24, 2018, on NBC.

It stars Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, Matt Long, Holly Taylor, Daryl Edwards, and Ty Doran.

[1][2][3] While traveling from Jamaica to New York City, on April 7, 2013, Montego Air Flight 828 experiences a brief period of severe turbulence.

When they land at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, New York, the plane's 191[4] passengers and crew learn from NSA deputy director Robert "Bobby" Vance that over five and a half years have passed while they were in the air, during which time they were presumed dead.

As they rejoin society, the passengers must face the fact that their lives—and loved ones—are not the same as they were, while they also begin to experience guiding voices and visions representing events yet to occur, referred to as "callings".

The pilot was written by Jeff Rake, who was also set to serve as executive producer alongside Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke.

[30][31] In August 2019, Yasha Jackson, Garrett Wareing, Andrene Ward-Hammond, and Ellen Tamaki were cast in recurring roles for the second season.

One possibility was Netflix, where the first two seasons of Manifest debuted in the #3 spot and quickly rose to the most watched show on the streaming service.

"[34] On June 30, 2021, Entertainment Weekly reported that Rake was looking for a platform that would bankroll a two-hour Manifest film to tie the loose ends from the third-season finale.

[37] On August 28, 2021, Netflix renewed Manifest for a fourth and final season, consisting of 20 episodes, split across multiple parts.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Manifest's attempts to balance supernatural mystery and melodrama largely work thanks to its well-chosen cast — though it could use a few more distinguishing characteristics.

[45] In a more positive assessment, USA Today's Kelly Lawler explained how she felt that the series' simplicity and variety of drama subgenres might help it outlast similarly themed but ultimately unsuccessful past shows.

"[46] In another favorable evaluation, Variety's Daniel D'Addario commented that the pilot didn't "pretend to have answers; it only poses questions.

Just like that, a viewer who might have been interested in the human element is instead served a cold plate of mystery meat — not the new Lost, but a feeble throwback to forgettable failures such as The Event.

"[49] In a similarly dismissive appraisal, The New York Times' Margaret Lyons commented that "Manifest has a frustrating lack of propulsion, a central dullness whose force field is so strong it bends all the interesting parts toward itself.