Stephen King criticizes Manifest’s sloppy writing ahead of the show’s fourth and final season coming to Netflix this fall. Prolific author Stephen King criticizes Manifest’s sloppy writing ahead of the show’s upcoming season 4 revival on Netflix.
Jeff Rake, the supernatural drama premiered on NBC in 2018, following the crew and passengers of a commercial airliner who suddenly disappear and are presumed dead, only to mysteriously return five and a half years later. Manifest has been the subject of much attention ever since it was canceled back in June 2021 due to declining ratings, which inspired a passionate fan campaign on social media from those who wanted to see the show come back and tie up loose ends. Fans finally got their wish when Netflix picked up Manifest for a fourth and final season, which will consist of 20 episodes. Much of the original cast will return and reprise their roles, including Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Parveen Kaur, Holly Taylor, and Daryl Edwards. Despite some uncertainty surrounding Matt Long’s return as Zeke Landon, it was later revealed he has rejoined the cast. Other than its returning cast and possible November release date, not much is known about Manifest season 4 in the way of plot details.
Manifest Season 4’s Massive Time Jump Risks Skipping 6 Huge Stories Manifest season 4 will kick off with a two-year massive skip. Unfortunately, this could result in the show skipping over several major stories. Manifest’s massive time skip risks skipping six huge stories for season 4. Apparently, the next season won’t immediately pick up where things left off in the season 3 finale. In a recent interview, Ben actor Josh Dallas revealed that Manifest season 4 will begin with a two-year time jump.
While two years is obviously a long time, it’s not altogether shocking that the series is taking this approach. The show taking this route was one of the many possible options that were considered to be on the table in regards to a solution to Manifest’s timeline problem. Manifest showrunner Jeff Rake originally planned for the show to last six seasons, which gave the series a timetable for how long it would take for the story to play out. Manifest clearly lined up the show’s planned final season with the Flight 828 passengers’ dreaded Death Date. Since season 1, the main characters have been under the impression that they had until June 2, 2024 to solve the Death Date mystery. It was always understood that beating the Death Date would be the final challenge for the passengers to overcome before the show’s conclusion, but Manifest’s early ending complicated this plan.
Manifest coming to a close in season 4, it became necessary for the show to find a way to get the Flight 828 passengers to June 2024 in the span of a single season, as opposed to three. Some believed that Manifest would accomplish this goal by delivering several time jumps every few episodes, but that won’t be the cast at all. Instead, Manifest will jump ahead by two years at the start of the season. Arguably the biggest concern about this though, is that this decision could result in Manifest skipping six highly-anticipated storylines. Unless the show makes heavy use of flashbacks, that may be exactly what happens. Here’s every major story viewers may not get to see when the show finally returns.
On social media, the famous author frequently shares his enthusiasm for new television shows and movies, though he hasn’t been afraid to criticize them either. Another recent example was when King called Stranger Things season 4’s release structure “kind of lame.” It’s all coming from a good place though, as King is an avid fan of both shows. With Manifest season 4 eyeing a November release date, fans won’t have to wait too long to find out if the show’s signature sayings will be uttered during the final season.