Netflix Passes On Cancelled NBC Show Fans Tried To Save
The hopes that Netflix would save a canceled NBC show have been dashed. Negotiations to bring it to the streaming platform are over
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Fans of the program aren’t going to want to hear this news at all, but it looks like a movement to save a canceled show has failed. And this might be the end of the line for the story which leaves more than a few fans wondering what would have happened. Deadline is reporting that Netflix and Warner Bros have concluded their negotiations to bring Manifest over to the streaming platform for a fourth season. This marks the end of the show.
The rough news started last week when NBC abruptly canceled Manifest and opted to not renew it for a fourth season. Declining ratings for the program in its third season were likely the impetus for the move. But there was some hope that it wouldn’t be the end of the line for the show. That’s because Warner Bros had already optioned the series over to Netflix which was airing the first three seasons. And it had become quite popular. For multiple weeks Manifest sat at the top of the ratings for television series on the platform. It had developed a surprising fanbase over there.
And those fans were quick to cry out and lament the decision by NBC to cancel the show. A not insignificant number of them had picked up on the program on Netflix and been following along the still unresolved story. Though NBC was seeing declining numbers, there was reason to believe the fanbase was actually still growing. The #saveManifest hashtag started trending on Twitter with more than a few people calling for Netflix to give the show a new home.
And there was further hope that Netflix would pick up Manifest after the NBC cancellation because they had some precedent for a similar move in the past. Warner Bros and Netflix had already worked to move Lucifer off a network and onto the streamer. Understanding the machinations it took to pull off the move had fans and those associated with the show somewhat bullish that there was light at the end of the tunnel for these negotiations. But alas, it was not to be with the two parties agreeing that the numbers simply didn’t work in order to keep Manifest alive.
Warner Bros also said, according to this Deadline reporting, that they wouldn’t seek to shop the NBC show to any other streaming outlets. This makes sense also. No other streamer would have had the same motivation and internal statistics that Netflix would have had in this situation. Despite the seemingly strong showing on the platform and the cry out from the fanbase, they were still willing to pass. Why would another platform see things any differently?
NBC canceled Manifest in the middle of their story which is another reason for such a strong outpouring of disappointment. The show followed the lives of a group of plane passengers who take off from Jamaica bound for New York, only to find out that when they land more than five years have passed in the “real” world. The plane has been missing for all of that time though the passengers didn’t experience any of the time-lapse. The mystery surrounding this disappearance and the changes of all this involved, passengers and the ones left behind, had become a core question in the show. And now fans will never know what happened.
