NBC has put in development Escape, an action thriller drama based on the 2015 Russian series Quest (Квест), from Lucifer executive producer Jason Ning.
Written by Ning, in Escape, when six complete strangers wake up on the roof of a building in San Francisco, they’re told they have 36 hours to live unless they can solve a series of deadly games set throughout the city.
Ning executive produces with Tariq Jalil of Intrigue Entertainment and Universal Television, division of NBCUniversal TV Studios.
Intrigue’s Lucas Carter and Joe Wiggins serve as consulting producers.
Ning has been on Lucifer since after the pilot, rising to executive producer.
He is Lucifer’s lead writer for the first episode of the upcoming Season 5, and is not known for lovey-dovey scripts.
Ning recently completed Episode 501, and Lucifer experts on social media were quick to point out that his past work has been quite dark.
“I think it’s a momentous thing as Ning is writing the 1st episode of a season and that troubles me a bit to be honest,” wrote @Sanoiro on Twitter. “He is good. Very good. But Ning means ANGST, pain, desperation & a derailed Lucifer. It means Lucifer will be broken.”
Lucifer star Lesley-Ann Brandt has said that her demon character Maze has a pivotal role the first episode, which could confirm how down and sad it is.
Ning has previously written other dark episodes, including: Favorite Son from Season 1, Weaponizer from Season 2, The Angel of San Bernardino from Season 3, and O, Ye of Little Faith Father from Season 4.
Lucifer star Tom Ellis said ‘The Angel of San Bernardino’ was his favorite Season 3 episode.
Ning once pointed out this tidbit for watching TV: “Rule in procedural television watching. Dude who shows up with the popped collar in Act One is ALWAYS the killer.”
He is also responsible for bringing us one of the most classic lines from Season 3, as Lucifer says to Chloe, “You have DNA on your shirt.”
Lucifer then pulled a “DNA” sticker off Chloe to finish the joke.
Screenrunner Joe Henderson said it was “the subtly crudest/most absurd joke we’ve gotten away with. And we’ve gotten away with a lot.”
His series credits also include The Expanse and Perception.
The original series Quest premiered on Russia’s CTC in 2015 and ran for two seasons.
Below is a trailer (in Russian) whose opening tagline translates as, “They follow you, they manipulate you, and you cannot escape.”
