Rake Taps Director for Arrivals Manifest Spinoff
Netflix's Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery, a spinoff of the NBC-born Manifest series, has its first-episode director selected but no release date set.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Television
Showrunner Jeff Rake revealed on Instagram that a director has been secured for the first episode of Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery, a Netflix spinoff of Manifest. The director has not been publicly identified, and no confirmed release date has been announced.
Why it matters
The spinoff extends a series that ran on NBC from 2018 across four seasons, ending in June 2023, and shows Netflix continuing to revive the franchise. For U.S. viewers, the next step is production progress rather than any available episodes.
Manifest aired three seasons on NBC before its cancellation and reached four seasons in total with the Netflix revival, which ended in June 2023. The director of Arrivals' first episode and the premiere timing remain undisclosed.
The players
Jeff Rake
Rake is the creator and showrunner of the Manifest franchise, known for overseeing its NBC run and subsequent Netflix revival.
Netflix
Netflix is the global streaming service that revived Manifest and is producing the Arrivals spinoff.
NBC
NBC is the broadcast network that originally aired Manifest from 2018 before cancelling it after three seasons.
The details
Rake announced the director selection as part of his Showrunner Diaries series, saying several production positions have already been filled. The spinoff will follow an unidentified aircraft that crash-landed in Denver, with passengers who, like those of Flight 828, may have experienced time passing differently.
Timeline
2018: Manifest premieres on NBC.
June 2023: Manifest's fourth and final season concludes.
August 28, 2026: Netflix officially announces Arrivals: A New Manifest Mystery.
2028: Industry speculation predicts the series' release.
Franchise Revival
Netflix's Arrivals follows its earlier continuation of Manifest, which was revived after NBC cancelled the series following three seasons. The spinoff suggests streaming platforms are reviving network dramas through expanded franchise content.
Viewers can expect Arrivals on Netflix, though no release date has been confirmed. Until a premiere is scheduled, the spinoff remains unavailable and fans will need to follow Netflix announcements for timing.
The takeaway
The Arrivals announcement shows that cult network dramas can return through streaming spinoffs. Readers following the franchise should watch for a confirmed release date before planning to watch.
Further reading
Explore more Television coverage for context on streaming revivals of network dramas.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ScreenRant.
