Netflix's Manifest spinoff crashes a plane in Denver, and nobody on board knows who they are

Right, it seems Netflix just can’t leave the Manifest universe grounded. Five years on from the streamer’s big save of the show’s last run after NBC gave it the boot, we’re now getting a proper spin-off, and it’s called Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery. Quite a mouthful, but that does seem to be the vibe with this lot. If you thought the Manifest story wrapped up neatly, apparently there’s still fuel in the tank and, yes, more mysteries in the air.

Netflix is taking Arrivals for a landing exactly five years after it announced the revived final season of Manifest.

Who's Steering This Thing?

The brains behind all this is again Jeff Rake, who’s sticking around as creator, executive producer, and showrunner—so no, they haven’t let some random stranger pilot the sequel series. He’s tagging in Manifest veterans Margaret Easley and Laura Putney as co-creators and showrunners. Apparently, the trio have been thick as thieves for a decade, so expect the same “twisty” energy as the main show.

Plot Turbulence Ahead

The new set-up has very little to do with Flight 828. Instead, Arrivals chucks us in at the deep end with a new cast and a fresh batch of sci-fi drama. The premise: a mystery plane crashes in Denver (because it just had to be Denver), and when the passengers stagger out, they’ve got absolutely no memory. Not a clue about their names, backgrounds, or even how they landed on the runway—proper blank slates. Instead of just moping about, a young social worker and a rookie Homeland Security agent team up with them, and together they set about trying to avert a full-blown “end of humanity” scenario. As ever with Manifest, there’s plenty of cryptic puzzles, and surprise—they’re all pieces in whatever cosmic mess has just landed.

• A mysterious plane appears and crashes in Denver.
• Passengers have complete amnesia—no IDs, nothing.
• Civilian and government types unite to deal with the supernatural mess.
• Rake promises ‘big ideas’ and complicated mysteries.

Connected Flights?

No sign yet whether the original Manifest crew will be popping up, or if Arrivals is happy doing its own thing in the same universe. The showrunners are deliberately coy, but Jeff Rake’s fairly giddy about trying something fresh on the same airstrip. He made it clear that he wanted Easley and Putney specifically as partners, given their long partnership on the original:

‘To now bring fans a brand-new mystery from that world is quite simply beyond my 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.’

If you’re worried about not having watched Manifest, apparently, that’s not a deal-breaker. The showrunners seem determined to make Arrivals something that newcomers can hop onto, without leaving the die-hard fans with nothing to go on. So presumably, you won’t need to mug up on 42 episodes just to keep up.