'Manifest' has done it again. After breaking a record by becoming the third highest watched show after first two episodes in all of broadcast and cable television, it has added more than eight million viewers for the premiere considering delayed viewing after seven days. Beating its own record of a total viewership of almost 16.1 million with the new addition, NBC's show now has a total of 18.4 million viewers. 

The show's whopping increase in viewership has made the show the second highest to have a Live + 7 Days lift on record for any telecast on broadcast or cable, according to L+7 data from Nielsen Media Research. The show now only falls behind ABC's spinoff 'Roseanne', but the Live + 7 Days viewership of 18.4 million viewers has made it NBC's most-watched drama series premiere in almost 19 years since the 'Third Witch' which debuted with a massive viewership of 20.6 million in 1999.

The show also continues to be NBC's biggest series launch in digital with a projected 1.15 rating in adults 18-49 through seven days of digital viewership.

It is almost surprising that the show which has been considered to be the successor of 'Lost' and almost follows a similar storyline is breaking all records. If your'e wondering why, here are four reasons: 

1. A continuous sense of a looming danger

We all like to be on the edge of our seats at times. As human beings, we like to take risks and prove to ourselves that we can be much better than what we already. Emphasizing on the word "better", the characters in 'Manifest' are at the point of their lives where they can either become better people or, well, just die!

Viewers have the appetite for things which they are uncertain about. The maximum number of moviegoers would love to trade their tickets for 'Get Out' instead of 'Coco'. In that sense, 'Manifest' is a real treat with the eerie voices, the haunting music, and the looming shadow figure. 

2. The slow-burner

It has been established by the now that the show is going a long way and it has no intention of giving out to its audience any clues about what will happen next. In fact, even though creator Jeff Rake has been planning the show for almost 10 years, he is pretty strict about his actors taking it one day at a time. Probably that is one of the chief reasons why we are stuck to the show, it does not give away things in a moment. It plays with your head by dropping certain hints here and there, but never actually revealing why the hints are there in the first place. Just like its predecessor 'Lost', 'Manifest' has been treating its audience with some twists and turns that we did not see coming. 

3. The surprise element

While the show has been dropping a few hints here and there, it never really reveals to the audience what will happen in the very next scene. We did not expect Grace (Athena Karkanis) to cheat on Ben, even though he was assumed dead for almost five years. Michaela's story about her past gradually unfolded one side of it in the last episode when it was revealed that the woman who had died in the car accident was actually one of her best friends. We certainly did not see that coming.

Also, even though we had adjusted to the fact that the characters are hearing voices, the show right away dropped another supernatural element in the form of a villain. 

4. Missing flights

As already mentioned, we love the adrenaline rush that we have while encountering any kind of danger. We were probably glued to 'Lost' throughout its six seasons since we loved the idea of being stranded on an island... Maybe, we all like to play Robinson Crusoe at times.

However, when it comes to 'Manifest' it is the history of the Flight MH370 which has made the show even more relevant. It is not entirely verified if the show is actually based on the incidents in the flight, but Jeff had earlier mentioned that, although the idea of the show was pitched a decade ago, it was only when the unfortunate mishap of MH370 took place when "suddenly my crazy idea felt a little more real, a little more relatable, in the context of Malaysian Air, suddenly people were interested."

'Manifest' surely is off for a brilliant start, and we only hope that Jeff Rake does not overdo the play of mystery. 

Disclaimer : The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and are not necessarily shared by MEAWW.