'Manifest' Season 4: Everything We Know

It's official: Manifest is coming back for a fourth season on Netflix. The season 4 announcement was made on 8.28 a.m. on 8/28/2021—a nod to the pivotal Flight 828 in the series, a plane that returns with its passengers five years after taking off from Jamaica. For that reason, fans are hoping that season four will come out on 8/28/2022—even though Deadline has noted that the release date for Manifest season four is "this fall." Almost all of the cast, including leads Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh, are returning for the show's final chapter (or two).

The August 2021 renewal of Manifest marked a stunning about-face by Netflix, which initially declined to renew the series, as did the show's creator NBC—but both were forced to reconsider after the addition of Manifest (opens in new tab) to Netflix shattered U.S. streaming records.

"There is something very meta about the show's death and rebirth, given that that's the story of the series itself," creator Jeff Rake said (opens in new tab) in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. He's referring to the show's titular "manifest" of characters, all of whom were presumed dead for years before their plane touched down in New York City. The show follows a brother and sister duo—Dallas and Roxburgh—as they seek to pick up the pieces and find out exactly what happened to them.

Netflix's decision to renew Manifest came two months after the streamer picked up the first and second seasons of the NBC show. Per Hollywood Reporter, 25 million Netflix accounts in the U.S. and Canada watched the show in its first month. Even after Manifest dropped out of the No.1 spot, it continued to dominate Netflix's charts: In August of 2021, Nielson confirmed that Manifest had broken its streaming-ratings records with more than a billion views a week for six straight weeks. And by September, Manifest was the third show in Netflix history to sit in its Top 10 for 100 days—ever.

'Manifest' Season 4 Release Date

Season 4 of Manifest is expected to come out in the fall of 2022, with some fans speculating that it could come out on 8/28/2022 in honor of the flight's Flight 828—and one year after the show was "saved." Deadline reported in early June that its release date will be "this fall."

What Could Happen in 'Manifest' Season 4?

Creator Rake will have to squeeze his three planned seasons' worth of plot into 20 episodes—split into Part One and Part Two, Lucifer-style—to reach a fitting conclusion. In his EW interview, he said: "The endgame won't change at all...I am absolutely confident that 20 episodes gives me enough time to tell the entirety of the story as I always intended to."

Here's Netflix's official description of the season, per Deadline: "When Montego Air Flight 828 landed safely after a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers were relieved. Yet in the span of those few hours, the world had aged five years—and their friends, families and colleagues, after mourning their loss, had given up hope and moved on. Now, faced with the impossible, they’re all given a second chance. But as their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the returned passengers soon realize they may be meant for something greater than they ever thought possible in this emotionally rich, unexpected journey into a world grounded in hope, heart, and destiny."

Which...tells us very little that fans don't already know. But Josh Dallas, who plays Ben, shared in an interview with Netflix Life that there will be a time jump of two years. “We begin the next season two years from where we left off season 3. So we’ve moved ahead in time,” said Dallas. He added: "Sometimes I think—and of course, I haven’t gotten to the end—that he could be the agent of the apocalypse, the downfall of all of this because of the way he is so tenacious...The first part of the season is not going to be easy.” He also wrote about Ben on Twitter: "To be honest… he’s not in a great place," and tweeted an on-set photo of a funeral, with the caption: "Brace yourselves." Which, given what happened to Ben at the end of season three...are we surprised?

SpoilerTV and Netflix Life shared some "leaked" episode titles, allegedly from the fourth season—including "High Flight," "Final Descent," "Full Upright and Locked Position," and "Fata Morgana."

The Cast of 'Manifest' Season 4

According to Deadline's Nellie Andreeva, the cast were no longer contractually bound to the show after June 2021. Thankfully, most of the cast signed on in September following the renewal—except for the character who died at the end of season three, and the character who...unexpectedly aged (no spoilers!), though it's worth noting that that character has popped up in behind-the-scenes filming shots. Also promoted to series regular was Daryl Edwards, who plays Vance.

Meanwhile, said character who unexpectedly aged is being replaced by the older actor who was featured at the end of season three. It's a shame, because the two actors who aren't returning were pivotal to the first three seasons of Manifest and its success thus far—and according to Andreeva, the remaining cast will receive "sizable pay increases" for the fourth season. The budget for each episode of the final season has also been considerably increased, according to What's On Netflix—from $1 million to $4 or $5 million.

According to What's on Netflix, we'll get a few new characters in the fourth season—but minor ones. We'll meet Kyle Boyd, who was a passenger on Flight 828 alongside the key characters we know and love; Henry Kim, another Flight 828 passenger who was detailed in Singapore upon his return; and two more characters named Tela and June, whose backstories we know less about. We'll also meet a couple of smaller characters, reportedly named Captain Kevin Fahey and Detective Price. Season 4 will also reportedly feature "the Eden twins," according to a tweet shared by the Renew Manifest account, though little is known about their roles.

And Ginnifer Goodwin—the Once Upon a Time star who's married to Josh Dallas in real life—might make an appearance, too. Goodwin posted a cryptic selfie from a "plane" labeled Montego Airways (as in, the plane), with the caption: "@joshdallas is taking me on a trip somewhen."

Trailer for 'Manifest' Season 4

Here's the first-look sneak peek of Manifest season 4:

As for a full-length trailer? It's on its way, according to Rake. In June, he tweeted: "How about that trailer, Manifesters? Finally a nibble. Hang in there!"