Manifest Star Joins NBC Pilot: Is the Show Doomed?
Paul Dailly
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Manifest was grounded for good earlier this year, and one of its stars is moving on.
According to Deadline, Matt Long has joined the cast of NBC pilot Getaway, from The Blacklist duo John Davis and John Fox.
Long joins a cast that includes Marg Helgenberger (CSI), Jasmine Mathews (The Rookie) and E.J. Bonilla (The Old Man), and Annie Ilonzeh (Chicago Fire).
All of the stars are set as series regulars, with one-year-deals, according to the outlet.
Long was reportedly approached to join the series when talks with Netflix for a revival of Manifest fell through with production company Warner Bros. TV group.
In recent days, however, both Netflix and NBC have restarted negotiations to potentially bring the series back from the dead.
Manifest catapulted to the top spot in the Nielsen streaming charts shortly after touching down on Netflix, amassing 2.5 billion minutes viewed its first week and 2 billion its second week.
Similarly, it topped the Netflix top spot for a TV series for almost three weeks, proving that there is an audience for the show.
Manifest was never a bad performer for NBC.
Its most recent season averaged 3.2 million viewers and a 0.5 rating in the all-important adults 18-49.
Among 14 dramas on NBC, Manifest ranked No.7 in the demo, meaning that a renewal was all but certain.
So, what happened?
The streaming numbers are good, NBC subsequently scrapped Good Girls Season 5 and Law & Order For the Defense, two shows that were widely considered to be a go when the plug was pulled on Manifest.
With the surge in popularity, both NBC and Netflix are interested in bringing the show back ... if the financials work out.
With Getaway being deemed a pilot at this stage, it might not even make it onto the schedule, leaving the room for him to return to the missing plane drama should it get a third season.
Series creator Jeff Rake tweeted this week about hopefully getting good news this week, which could suggest that the negotiations are winding down.
The cast also includes Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J. R. Ramirez, Luna Blaise, Jack Messina, Parveen Kaur, and Holly Taylor.
Remember, you can watch Manifest online right here via TV Fanatic.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
