TV News: Series Pick-Up and Renewals
Breaking News
October 18, 2018
Today, NBC gave Freshman series, Manifest, a full 16 episode season order. This was an increase from the original 13 episode order. Congratulations to the cast and crew!
Manifest is the second NBC series to get a full season pick, critical darling New Amsterdam got their pick up last week. The 16 episode order represents a full season from NBC. This is a sign of the times that networks are increasingly more willing to adopt the cable model. Shorter seasons mean less in advertiser revenue per show but are seen as producing better quality, and perhaps more consistent ratings, across the season.
This news comes as no surprise to anyone watching TV ratings. Since its series premiere, Manifest has consistently been a ratings winner for NBC. The show has pulled an average of “1.8 live + same day rating in adults 18-49”* – the key demographic rating that advertisers look at when deciding the worth of a show. In total viewers, it’s pulled an average of “8.44 million viewers across its first four episodes.”*
Manifest, created by Jeff Rake (The Mysteries of Laura; The Tomorrow People) and starring Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas, tells the story of Montego Air Flight 828 which landed 5 years after taking off. The passengers on the flight did not age though their loved ones on the ground are all 5 years older. The shows is part mystery surrounding what caused the time aberration and part family drama dealing with the passengers and their families learning to be reunited after so much time.
You can catch up on all of PopCultureReview’s Manifest recaps here.
* tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com is the source of the ratings info.