Manifest has had a wild ride over the past few months following its high-stakes Season 3 finale. NBC cancelled the show just days after the third season ended on a number of big cliffhangers, but the show just continued to dominate on Netflix. It held a prime spot in Netflix's Top 10 for weeks when only the first two seasons were available, and the #SaveManifest movement gained steam. Now, Season 3 has finally arrived on Netflix, boosting Manifest back into a prime spot in the Top 10 as fans theorize about when news might come of Season 4.
The arrival of Manifest's third season on Netflix proved that there are still plenty of viewers invested in the story and it wasn't just a brief craze that kept the show on top on the streamer for as long as it did. At the time of writing, Manifest holds the #3 spot on the Top 10. It's also the top TV show, and one of only two entries on the Top 10 list that isn't a Netflix original, with the other being The CW's All American. Season 3 shooting Manifest back into the Top 3 happened not too long after Netflix reportedly started seriously working to produce a fourth season as an original.
So, can anybody blame fans for coming up with a theory about when good news of Season 4 could arrive? The theory goes that a big announcement is on the way in just a matter of days – August 28, or 8/28. The mystery of Manifest from the very beginning was centered on Montego Air Flight 828, so "828" is an important number for the mythology of the series. Plus, there's a precedent for Manifest celebrating August 28.
Last year, when fans were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the third season, the official Manifest Twitter account posted a "Happy 828 Day" message with a video from showrunner Jeff Rake dropping some details about eight things to look forward to, debunking two fan theories, and commenting on eight things fans may have noticed in Season 2. 8-2-8 on August 28, 2020. Is it so wild to think that a big announcement is on the way on August 28, 2021?
Fans on social media don't think so, as they've taken to Twitter to post their hopes for Season 4 while also continuing the #SaveManifest campaign that has been going strong against all odds since early June.
The cancellation of Manifest after the third season meant that showrunner Jeff Rake's vision of a layered story told over six seasons was cut short at the halfway mark, with plenty of unanswered questions. Rake has been leading the effort for more Manifest, even pitching a TV movie to wrap things up back when the odds of an NBC or Netflix rescue seemed at their worst. And such a thing could arguably work, but a Season 4 announcement really would be the ideal way to celebrate 828 Day.
Manifesters have been getting bits and pieces of news recently, including reports that Netflix was in talks with the stars, whose options had expired, and looking for writers to pick up the story, but nothing too big has been confirmed. Yet?
Whether or not the fan theories about 828 Day prove correct, that date is giving them something to rally around with the #SaveManifest campaign. The timing is pretty convenient, and fans will have a lot to celebrate if something big breaks in a good way in less than a week.
August 28 falls on a Saturday this year, so news of Manifest Season 4 would certainly make a lot of weekends better for those who have spent months hoping for any kind of official confirmation that the Manifest story didn't just end for good on those devastating (and intriguing) cliffhangers.
For now, fans can only wait and hope that Netflix confirms that Manifest is getting a Season 4 on 828 Day, if not sooner. It's hard to say with any certainty whether or not it will get a second shot courtesy of the streamer after all the ups and downs since its initial cancellation, but there's no denying how much of a hit the first two seasons were for Netflix once they arrived on streaming, and now the third has cracked the Top 10. Plus, rescuing Lucifer certainly paid off for Netflix; why not Manifest next?
Whether or not August 28 delivers some big Manifest news on Saturday, you can always watch and rewatch the three seasons of the series streaming on Netflix to your heart's delight.
