For the first time since June, Manifest fans holding out for good news are finally able to take a breath following news that Netflix has indeed renewed the cancelled NBC series for a fourth and final season. While much of the cast took to social media to celebrate and share their gratitude, it’s still a question of just who will actually return.
When news broke that Manifest was saved by Netflix, Deadline reported that series stars Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh had closed deals for the new season, along with J.R. Ramirez. The remaining members, Parveen Kaur, Luna Blaise, Matt Long (who was recently cast in a new NBC pilot) and Jack Messina (whose character’s fate is up in the air after Cal came back from a mysterious absence much older), remain in negotiations.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, fans shouldn’t have to worry. Creator and showrunner Jeff Rake told EW that he’s hopeful all our favorite characters will return, at least the ones who were left alive or the same age by the end of the twisty Season 3 finale:
We haven't finished those conversations yet. I am hopeful that everybody is back. As you and I are talking right now, negotiations continue. I'm cautiously optimistic that all of our favorite characters will be returning to the story.
One person that likely won’t be returning, or at least in the same capacity? Athena Karkanis, who played Grace Stone. Grace was fatally stabbed in the final minutes of the Season 3 finale, so it’s unlikely she’ll be coming back short of a dream sequence, hallucination, or flashback. Or, of course, if they begin Season 4 exactly where Season 3 left off, so we can see everyone’s reaction when they find out just what happened to her. Meanwhile, now that Cal is older, fans could be seeing a lot less of Jack Messina. But whether or not older Cal, played by Ty Doran, will return is also up in the air.
Considering the cast has been very active on social media following the cancellation, even taking part in the #SaveManifest campaign, it wouldn’t be surprising if all or at least most of them signed on to return. Hopefully all of them will return because it simply wouldn’t be the same without them. For now, you can check out the first three seasons of Manifest streaming on Netflix while waiting for the fourth and final to premiere.
Those early seasons streaming are responsible for Netflix having the motivation to invest in more Manifest, so fans from the NBC days can be very grateful that more people discovered the show when it hit the streaming platform. For some more viewing options to pass the time without more Manifest, be sure to check out our 2021 fall TV premiere schedule.
