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The fall’s highest-rated new drama has officially been given a full first season



NBC has picked up “Manifest” for an additional 3-episodes. That brings the show’s first season total to 16 episodes, short of the traditional 22 or 24-episode count, but more in line with how many episodes an increasing number of hour-long dramas are producing each season. The news comes almost a month after “Manifest” made its premiere on the network in September, with its fifth episode set to air next Monday night.

“Manifest” is now the fall’s fourth freshman show to receive a full-season order so far this year, following CBS’ full-season pickup of “FBI” and NBC ordering more episodes of “New Amsterdam.” Just yesterday, ABC picked up its freshman comedy, “Single Parents,” for a full season as well.

However, the full-season order for “Manifest” is perhaps the least surprising yet. The show currently ranks as the highest-rated freshman drama of the 2018-19 season, after averaging a 1.8 live + same day rating in adults 18-49 with 8.44 million viewers across its first four episodes.

Created by Jeff Rake, “Manifest” follows the passengers and crew of a turbulent, but routine flight, who get off the plane only to discover the world has aged five years, yet no time has passed for them. It stars Josh Dallas, Melissa Roxburgh, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Parveen Kaur, and more.