NBC Not Showing 'Manifest' Monday Night, Airing 'Wicked' Halloween Special Instead

Manifest fans are in for a disappointing night on NBC, while fans of the Broadway musical Wicked will be getting a serious treat.

There will be no new episode of Manifest on Monday, Oct. 29 on NBC. The freshman drama has risen to popularity fast among network TV audiences, but now they will have to suffer through an extra week of waiting, as the show's time slot will be taken up by the new special A Very Wicked Halloween: Celebrating 15 Years on Broadway this week.

The special reflects on the 15th anniversary of Wicked, a unique Broadway show that examines another side of the Wizard of Oz fictional universe. It will feature performances by past stars of the play, as well as other high-profile singers — including Ariana Grande. It will also feature the original leading ladies, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the latter of whom told Entertainment Weekly that filming the special made her "ugly-cry."

"I didn't realize it was going to be so emotional," she said. "It's been a fun journey, and I can't believe it's been 15 years."

The special was filmed two weeks ago, on Oct. 15 in New York City. At the time, Grande and Pete Davidson had been broken up for just a few days, and many were worried that Grande would back out of her appearance at the show. Without addressing the split directly, she posted a screen shot of her script on Twitter, letting fans know that she would be there.

"Honored to be included in this celebration of 15 years of my favorite musical of all time," she wrote at the time. "Wouldn't miss it for the whole universe #wicked15."

Blurry cell phone footage of Grande's performance made it to social media later, proving that she made good on her promise. She sang "The Wizard and I," a triumphant anthem about a witch meeting a wizard for the first time.

Manifest has drummed up a dedicated following in its first season — so much so that NBC tacked on three extra episodes to its order, bringing the total to 16. Manifest follows the passengers of a seemingly normal flight, which landed after a bout of unremarkable turbulence to find that five years had passed on the world below.

Manifest returns next Monday, Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.