Tonight NBC premieres the new drama Manifest. On April 7, 2013 Montego Air Flight 828 left Jamaica bound for New York City. While en route, it experienced some rough turbulence, but nothing that felt too out of the ordinary to the passengers on board. However, when they landed, the passengers discovered that it was now November 4, 2018, and the plane had vanished over 5 years earlier without a trace. For them, it was instantaneous, and they haven’t aged a day, but their families and loved ones on the ground have.
Former cop Michaela Stone (Melissa Roxburgh, Valor) was engaged when she stepped aboard the plane and is still madly in love with fiance Jared (J.R. Ramirez, Jessica Jones), but for him, it has been 5 years, and would he still be waiting for her? Michaela’s brother Ben (Josh Dallas, Once Upon a Time) was also on board with his terminally ill son Cal (Jack Messina). However, new advances in science over the those missing 5 years may now be able to save Cal. At the same time, Cal’s twin sister Olive (Luna Blaise, Fresh Off the Boat) is all grown up, and Ben’s wife of 15 years, Grace (Athena Karkanis, Zoo), had already dealt with her mourning and had started to move on. There were over 100 passengers on Flight 828, each with his or her own similar story. In the pilot, we also meet passenger Saanvi (Parveen Kaur, Beyond, The Strain), a woman who helped to develop the treatment that could possibly save Cal.
Was there a reason these particular people were on that plane? What exactly happened to them, and have the passengers been affected in some way by their experience? That’s something the FBI is eager to figure out, while the passengers just want to get back to their normal lives. However, they quickly discover that there is nothing normal about their new lives, and there is some deeper connection between them.
The creators of the series described it as being Lost meets This is Us. They are hoping to have the mystery and wonder of Lost, mixed with the deep character drama and story telling of This is Us. I really enjoyed tonight’s premiere, which sets up the premise and introduces several larger mysteries that will play out over the course of the season and series. This is probably my most anticipated new Fall TV show, and it lived up to expectations for me. I look forward to seeing how the mystery and drama unfold, and to learning more about the other passengers and how they fit into the larger story.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, I got the chance to speak with the stars/creator of the series. Check out my press room videos.
Tonight I’ll also be watching/recording The Good Doctor, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Magnum P.I., The Resident, 9-1-1, and Better Call Saul.
For additional suggestions on what to check out tonight, including Magnum P.I., The Resident and Bull, check out the If We Controlled Your Remote… 9/24/18 post at TVisMyPacifier.com.
