Josh Dallas Answers Our ‘Manifest’ Season 2 Burning Questions
Q&A
January 6, 2020 may be the date for the second season premiere of Manifest, but as viewers of the dramatic mystery series on NBC know there’s a far more important date — June 2, 2024 — the day Ben Stone (Josh Dallas) has calculated that he, his son Cal (Jack Messina), and his sister Michaela (Melissa Roxburgh) will perish. (Ben’s daughter, Olive, played by Luna Blaise, also calculated the upcoming fateful date!)
As viewers of Season 1 recall, the pilots, passengers, and crew of Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City, which experienced some kind of supernatural turbulence prior to jumping five years into the future, have been trying to make sense of the mystery that has robbed them of a half a decade of their lives.
In addition to the ominous “death date,” the Season 1 cliffhangers include Michaela walking in on a gunfight between Jared (J.R. Ramirez) and Zeke (Matt Long), a hiker, who experienced a similar time-traveling trauma after being trapped in a blizzard.
Viewers also learned that Ben’s wife, Grace (Athena Karkanis), is six weeks pregnant, which means Daniel (Daniel Sunjata) has to be the dad, not Ben! (Maybe.) Given the mystical elements of Manifest, our advice is to assume nothing!
TV Insider caught up with Dallas at a recent NBC/Vanity Fair party where he previewed Season 2. Read on to get the scoop!
Have you had any time off since completing the first season?
Josh Dallas: We had time off between Seasons 1 and 2. We’re almost finished shooting the second season.
What can you say about the Season 2 premiere?
We start Season 2 off from exactly where we left off in Season 1. There are a lot of questions being asked. There’s a baby, but we don’t [know everything about it]. We don’t [really] know whose baby it is. A gun went off when Michaela walked in, and Ben and Olive have discovered this concept of a death date. It’s June 2, 2024, which is 5 ½ years from now.
(Peter Kramer/NBC/Warner Brothers)
We’ve been waiting so long! Can you say if viewers will get some answers right away or is there more waiting?
I can say that you’re going to get some answers straight away. You’re going to find out who — if anyone — got shot. You’re also going to find out whose baby [Grace is carrying] in a really interesting and unexpected way.
The show began on April 7, 2013, is set in present day, and the “death date” is in the future.
Yes. We are set in present day so June 2, 2024 is 5 ½ years away.
That’s kind of brilliant on the part of producers and writers. This could give the show a nice long run! Syndication!
[Laughs] Yes, six years. We’ll have to see. When we return, we’re going to give you answers, but we’ll also keep asking questions.
How much do you want to know of what the show’s big picture is really all about? Do you want to know everything?
I ask for a big overhaul of the season so I know where we are going. I want to know the general arc of what’s ahead, but I don’t want to know the ultimate answer.
(Peter Kramer/NBC/Warner Brothers)
If your character knows something that hasn’t been revealed yet, do you want to know what it is so you can play it?
Yes. Then, I would definitely want to know. There are some secrets that Ben keeps throughout the first half of the season. Ben understands the “Death Date” and he’s going to make necessary preparations for that in secret for his family that he may be leaving behind. But he’s not fully going to accept that he, [his son, and his sister] are going to die. This knowledge launches him on a journey to hopefully stop it from happening.
Since the show hasn’t been on in a while do you know if there will be a “Last time, on Manifest!” at the top of the Season 2 premiere? Viewers love complexity, but recaps are nice so they don’t get…well, no pun intended…”lost.”
I think there will be a recap. I would think so. If not, go back to Hulu or NBC.com and watch Season 1!
What else is keeping you busy?
I’ve been filming Manifest since June. I have two little boys, who are two years apart, and they keep me very busy!
Manifest, Season 2 Premiere, January 6, 10/9c, NBC
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