Escape the Night
Genre
Created byJoey Graceffa
Written byJohjn Lawson
Directed byAdam Lawson
Opening theme"Evil House"
by George Shaw
ComposerGeorge Shaw
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes40
Production
Executive producers
  • Adam Lawson
  • Ari Weiner
  • Brian Graden
  • LB Horschler
  • Catherine Keithley
  • Nancy Tamayo
  • Petar Mandich
Producers
  • Joey Graceffa
  • Daniel Preda
  • Chris Grannon
CinematographyCypress Sterling
EditorSteve Grubel
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time19–41 Minutes
Production companyBrian Graden Media
Original release
Network
ReleaseJune 22, 2016 (2016-06-22) –
September 4, 2019 (2019-09-04)

Escape the Night is an American reality television series created, hosted, produced, and owned by Joey Graceffa. The series follows fantasy plots based on horror and murder mystery aesthetics. The series premiered on June 22, 2016, through YouTube Red. The series concluded its fourth season on September 4, 2019, making the longest-running series on YouTube Premium until 2020. After the cancellation of the series, the creator announced an upcoming film and set up a fundraiser.

Synopsis

The series follows The Savant (Joey Graceffa) as he finds himself in an estate in a past era, where he invites a number of guests to a party and requires them to act and dress as various personas from that era. Once there, they are isolated from the outside world, and tasked with surviving the night and escaping the estate. To achieve this, the guests team up with him to participate in challenges and escape room puzzles, competing with each other to escape from the historical era by solving and completing the challenges. At the end of each episode, two guests are voted into a challenge to compete against each other, where the losing guest is eliminated via a fictional death until one or more guests ultimately win and are sent back to the modern world.

Production

Conception

In October 2015, the subscription service formerly known as YouTube Red, revealed upcoming projects including an untitled Joey Graceffa project that involves a murder mystery.[1] A year later, the subscription service teased clips of their upcoming murder mystery series.[2] Graceffa revealed in a Teen Vogue interview that "the idea for the project has been in the works for two years, and that he most looked forward to collaborating" with other YouTubers.[3] The creator also said the series was inspired by a murder mystery episode of television series Lizzie McGuire, and was also closely related to the American film Clue (1985).[4]

Distribution

The first season it premiered two episodes on June 22, 2016, through YouTube Red.[5] The premiere season gained success, was renewed for a second season in October 2016, and premiered on June 22, 2017.[6] Graceffa confirmed that a third season was renewed in May 2018. The third season premiered on June 21, 2018. With the fourth season renewed, it made the longest-running original series on YouTube.[7] The fourth season premiered simultaneously at VidCon during a panel conference with Graceffa and was also available to watch for free on YouTube, on July 11, 2019.[8]

Episodes

SeasonContestantsEpisodesOriginally airedWinners
First airedLast airedNetwork
11110June 22, 2016 (2016-06-22)August 17, 2016 (2016-08-17)YouTube RedEva Gutowski
Joey Graceffa
Oli White
21010June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22)August 16, 2017 (2017-08-16)Andrea Russett
Tyler Oakley
31010June 21, 2018 (2018-06-21)August 15, 2018 (2018-08-15)Joey Graceffa
Matthew Patrick
Nikita Dragun
41010July 11, 2019 (2019-07-11)September 4, 2019 (2019-09-04)YouTube PremiumBretman Rock
Colleen Ballinger

Post-production

Gabbie Hanna controversy

On June 27, 2021, former contestant Gabbie Hanna released "an exposé video" that aimed at producer Daniel Preda, creator Joey Graceffa, and their creative team. In the video, her eating disorder was triggered by "alleged mistreatment on set" and her dietary meal requests were denied by production.[9] Daniel Preda denied Hanna's allegations and personally received her meal options. Preda also mentions that Hanna has "missed or delayed production obligations" and was "verbally abusive" to staff.[10]

Cancellation and sequel

After a year from its fourth season premiere, YouTube Premium confirmed and declined to renew the series for a fifth season. In the summer of 2021, Graceffa stated in a vlog that the streaming service will no longer fund and distribute further seasons of the series, but has stated that he has full ownership of the intellectual property.[11]

In October 2023, Graceffa released a couple of teasers for an upcoming project through the series' social media platforms. Later on, the creator announced an upcoming film for the series; a fundraiser was set up through Indiegogo.[12] In November 2023, Joey had five previous Escape the Night cast members compete to be in the movie: Manny Mua, GloZell Green, Tyler Oakley, Teala Dunn, and Rosanna Pansino. Rosanna ended up winning.[13]

Other media

Attraction

With the release of the fourth season, an immersive escape room was set up for a limited event that ran exclusively from August 9 to August 27, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California. The escape room had multiple rooms to venture through, with surprise guest appearances from Joey Graceffa, Jack O'Connor as Mortimer, and Eva Augustina Sinotte as The Sorceress.

Board game

In June 2020, Graceffa announced that due to COVID-19's impact on Hollywood and television, their fifth installment was postponed indefinitely, but teased a new interactive fan version. Fans of the series subscribed to a newsletter email list in order to receive updates about the new project. A Kickstarter campaign was started to fund a board game based on the series; their goal of $30,000 was achieved in just three hours. It was formally announced the next day.[14]

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Streamy Awards 2016 Best Costume Design Olivia Hines Nominated [15]
Best Ensemble Cast Escape the Night (season 1) Won
2018 Best Comedy Series Escape the Night (season 3) Nominated [16]
Best Costume Design Olivia Hines Won
Best Ensemble Cast Escape the Night (season 3) Nominated
Show of the Year Escape the Night (season 3) Nominated
Shorty Awards 2018 Best Web Series Escape the Night (season 3) Won [17]

References

  1. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (October 21, 2015). "YouTube to Launch Subscription Service With Original Series From Fine Brothers, PewDiePie". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Weiss, Geoff (May 5, 2016). "YouTube Teases 'Red' Series From CollegeHumor, The Game Theorists, Joey Graceffa In Latest Trailer". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  3. ↑ Cerón, Ella (June 21, 2016). "Watch All Your Favorite Social Media Stars Play an Epic Game of Murder Mystery". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hamedy, Saba (June 21, 2016). "Watch Joey Graceffa bring YouTubers together for 'a dinner party to DIE for'". Mashable. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  5. ↑ Agard, Chancellor (June 23, 2016). "Joey Graceffa, Escape the Night cast perform seance in YouTube Red series — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ Weiss, Geoff (May 25, 2017). "Liza Koshy, Tyler Oakley, Jesse Wellens To Star In Season 2 Of YouTube Red's 'Escape The Night'". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  7. ↑ Hoggatt, Aja (June 1, 2018). "The 'Escape the Night' season 3 trailer is finally here". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 12, 2019). "YouTube Fantasy Competition Series 'Escape The Night' To Return For Fourth Season". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Tenbarge, Kat (June 28, 2021). "Joey Graceffa says Gabbie Hanna was a 'nightmare' on the set of 'Escape the Night'". Business Insider. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ Tenbarge, Kat (June 29, 2021). "Gabbie Hanna called a production assistant a 'dumb f---ing c---,' 'Escape the Night' producer says". Business Insider. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Spangler, Todd (June 25, 2020). "YouTube Cancels 'Escape the Night' but Host Joey Graceffa Has Something Else in Store for Fans". Variety. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (November 2, 2023). "YouTuber Joey Graceffa seeks $250,000 for film adaptation of mystery series 'Escape The Night'". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Escape The Night Cast COMPETE for a Movie Role". YouTube. November 30, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  14. ↑ Spangler, Todd (July 7, 2020). "Joey Graceffa Launches 'Escape the Night' Horror Board Game on Kickstarter". Variety. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  15. ↑ Robinson, Will (October 4, 2016). "Streamy Awards 2016: Full winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  16. ↑ Schaffstall, Katherine (October 22, 2018). "Streamy Awards 2018: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  17. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 16, 2018). "Shorty Awards Nominees: Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe Among Those Recognized For Social Media Excellence". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
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