Picture Credit: Warner Bros. Television
Happy 828 Day, Manifest fans! Now exactly five years after Netflix officially resurrected the beloved supernatural drama following its NBC cancellation, the streamer has announced that the Manifest universe is expanding. Get ready for Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery.
Dropping the news appropriately today, August 28th (8/28), Netflix confirmed that the thrilling new sci-fi series will introduce a brand-new cast of characters and uncharted storylines set within the same world as the global phenomenon. For some fans, this has been an open secret for a while, with various references to Arrivals being spotted around the globe and Jeff Rake’s personal Instagram often full of people asking about it. In some of the earlier grids we got sent for the show, it described Arrivals as a reboot.
Indeed, even in the run-up to the release of Manifest season 5, Jeff Rake, among others, had plenty to say about possible extensions of the franchise. Even as late as last June, there was plenty of speculation with actor Josh Dallas saying, “As far as the sequel goes, you know, I’m not going to lie. I’ve definitely heard rumblings,” adding, “There are rumblings of talking. I know there’s only talking. So I don’t know what it would be… Maybe it’s in the future. Maybe it’s Eden at 21 years old. I don’t know.”
Netflix first learned about this project in late 2025, and we asked for comment in January 2026.
What is Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery about?
While we’ll be following a new set of characters, the premise promises the same addictive, puzzle-box mystery that made the flagship series a massive hit. Here is the official logline for the new series provided by Netflix:
“When a mysterious plane crash-lands in Denver, the passengers emerge with no memory of who they are, where they came from, or why they’re here. A young social worker and a novice Homeland Security agent team up with the new arrivals in an attempt to stop a humanity-ending catastrophe, discovering along the way that they are all part of the very puzzle they’re trying to solve.”
Who is behind the new spinoff?
Fans can rest easy knowing the franchise is staying in very familiar hands. Original creator and showrunner Jeff Rake is returning, this time joined by former Manifest co-executive producers Margaret Easley and Laura Putney, who are stepping up as co-creators and co-showrunners for Arrivals. Kevin Hamedani is on the writing staff for the upcoming reboot.
The executive producing team includes heavy hitters Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) and Jack Rapke of Compari Entertainment, Len Goldstein of Tall Baby Productions, and Jacqueline Levine. Warner Bros. Television will once again serve as the studio.
Jinny Howe, Netflix’s Head of Scripted Series for the US & Canada, expressed her excitement for the expansion:
“We are thrilled to expand the Manifest universe with Arrivals, led by the original creative team of Jeff Rake, Margaret Easley, and Laura Putney. Their return ensures the creative continuity essential to this franchise, allowing us to honor what made the original a phenomenon while introducing a fresh perspective for fans worldwide.”
Jeff Rake also shared his enthusiasm on behalf of the showrunning trio, noting that building upon the mothership series is “beyond his wildest dreams.”
“Arrivals co-Creators and co-Showrunners Laura Putney and Margaret Easley have been my trusted colleagues for over a decade. Their contribution to the Manifest mothership cannot be overstated. It was a no-brainer to make them my partners on this spinoff. Together we’ve set out to create something bold, surprising, deeply human, and full of the kind of big ideas that spark conversations long after the credits roll. We can’t wait for a whole new audience – and longtime Manifest fans – to discover Arrivals.”
Rake also posted on Instagram the first draft (and a tease earlier this morning), telling fans, “HERE WE GO! Thank you for keeping the faith.”
Production is expected to take place in Vancouver, according to old listings, although no production date has been set yet.
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since Netflix officially saved Manifest. In fact, exactly five years ago today—on August 28, 2021—we had the absolute pleasure of breaking down the news that Netflix had picked up the show for a supersized 20-episode final season.
If you remember our coverage from back then, getting to that point was an absolute rollercoaster. After NBC canceled the show following Season 3 alongside a bloodbath of other network titles (like Good Girls and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Warner Bros. initially threw in the towel on finding it a new home. We even wrote an article at the time stating we didn’t think Netflix would be able to pick it up due to complex international licensing issues and the fact that Netflix had largely moved away from the “revival” game. We have never been so happy to be wrong!
The day before the NBC finale aired in June 2021, Netflix dropped Seasons 1 and 2. What followed was an unprecedented summer of domination. We tracked the numbers closely: Manifest racked up over 12 billion minutes in viewing time on Nielsen and became the second-biggest show in the Netflix TV Top 10s for the entirety of 2021 (trailing only CoComelon).
While fans relentlessly trended the #SaveManifest hashtag and pushed a petition to nearly 100,000 signatures, creator Jeff Rake urged fans to “keep the faith.” By mid-August, whispers of new deals being struck began to surface, culminating in that massive 828 Day announcement.
Looking back on that chaotic summer today, Rake admits the sudden explosion on the platform caught him entirely off guard.
“Melissa [Roxburgh] sent me this text with a link from Netflix, and she said, ‘Do you know anything about this?’” Rake told Netflix this week. “Unbeknownst to me, some executive at Warner Brothers had made a deal with some executive at Netflix. And sure enough, the first two seasons dropped two days later after we had been canceled on NBC — and were watched by everyone. We became No. 1 on Netflix for over a month and set a record.”
The cast also remembers the limbo period between cancellation and revival. “I remember when we did get canceled, I like to listen to my little gut, and it didn’t feel done,” shared Melissa Roxburgh (Michaela Stone). “I just kept saying that. Then, as time went on, I was like, ‘I think maybe I’m crazy.’ But then the Netflix thing happened!”
That “Netflix thing” gave the cast and crew the chance to finish the story on their own terms, wrapping up all the Easter eggs planted since Season 1. Josh Dallas (Ben Stone) recalled the deeply emotional final table read: “I couldn’t stop crying. I was like, ‘This is ridiculous. What is happening to me?’ But we weren’t only saying goodbye to the story, to these characters, but to each other as colleagues. And it was all wrapped up into one big, mushy, beautiful thing.”
Since arriving on Netflix, the series has pulled in staggering viewership, with all four seasons amassing more than 130 million views since early 2023 alone.
Now, with Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery, the journey is just beginning again. “It’s been five long years since we showed up on Netflix, and there’s probably half a generation who has never heard of Manifest,” Rake says. “We’ve tried to thread the needle in a way that’s rewarding for the OG Manifest fans, but also equally rewarding for people who are brand new to the show.”
Are you excited to board a new flight in the Manifest universe? Let us know in the comments below!
