Escape the Complex Wiki

Escape the Complex is an American reality competition show on RLV Network based on the global phenomenon of escape rooms. The competition involves a group of contestants, known as Escapists, battling against one another with the intent of navigating themselves out of an elaborate structure in an isolated location. The contestants compete in solving various scenarios, testing the contestants' mental abilities like accuracy and cognizance, for advantages and immunity from elimination, and social abilities like strategy and interpersonal relationships to gauge their longevity in the escape. The filming of the show typically takes twenty-four days. Contestants are progressively ejected from the game after each flight and eventually form the jury to determine the winner of the escapade between two contestants and is awarded the grand prize of US$350,000.

The show was created by Greene Gantly, Scotsman Starter, and Mai Thellaroniki who also serve as executive producers. The show is produced by Chico Reid Productions Inc. and distributed by RLV Studios. The series has been hosted by Broadway actor and dancer Mikal Vexborough since its inception.

Format
Contestants maneuver through The Complex, a habitable escape passage comprised of three themed Chambers and an Egress revealed progressively through the show. Each Chamber gives four missions, known as flights, corresponding to a clue or piece of tech to unlock a route out of that Chamber.

Before starting the competition, contestants are required to fill a 12.5 inch by 17.85 inch (31.75 centimeter by 45.34 centimeter) crate with their belongings including a limited supply of wardrobe, hygiene essentials, and other approved paraphernalia they wanted to bring into The Complex. Upon the order to transfer Chambers, Escapists have five minutes to gather their belongings and move to the next stage. Items left behind are declared "destroyed"; however, Kandace Moressey (who had misplaced her hairbrush in the first chamber) in the first season revealed her lost item was mailed home.

Prior to each flight, Escapists are delivered an objective, usually represented in a cryptic message. When the crawlspace unlocks into their current Chamber, Escapists must deduce clues and tips around the environment to uncover the route of retreat to one of two containment zones.
 * Along the main objective, a side quest involved locating hidden objects (e.g. a key, a candy tin, a coin) or playing a minigame, which once properly utilized or won, activated a safety position known as the Penthouse. These activities are red herrings from the main objective. Once the eligible number of Escapists claim this power, they become safe from ejection and are ineligible to solve the main objective. They must then retreat back to the Guest Room where an adjacent luxury living space is unlocked for their accommodation for the remainder of the flight. Any trailing Escapists in the side mission are to resume the main objective.
 * The main objective involved solving the grand scheme of the flight (e.g. a puzzle, an access door, an answer) where Escapists submit their keycard into a port with the solution to receive a higher power position during that flight, known as The Committee, in which the eligible number of Escapists win a key to the Antechamber. Escapists who trailed behind the secured Committee positions had to solve the objective within a predetermined amount of time to retain their vote in the flight. Starting from the sixth season, Escapists who failed a main objective twice were promptly ejected from the game.

When the Antechamber is unlocked, the Escapists in The Committee must create a shortlist of potential Escapists to eliminate. When there are two or more Committee members, they are separated by soundproof dividers to submit their individual shortlists. The first Committee member who locks in their shortlist relinquishes the second member from shortlisting the same Escapists.

After a shortlist is finalized, all Escapists convene at the Ejection Hall usually raised at least five stories high where the shortlisted Escapists are named off on a jumbotron and must sit in the drop bungee system used for ejection. During the ejection ceremony, the Escapists could comment on, inquire, and question the shortlisted Escapists for no more than thirty minutes before they must privately cast their vote to eject by scanning their keycard to the coded name of the Escapist they want to eject. The Committee is only allowed to vote in the occurrence of a tie. If a tie results on flights involving two Committee members, a lifesize rock paper scissors duel takes place between the members to cast the sole eliminating vote. This flight-ejection protocol recycles until the final flight, known as the Egress, is reached.

In the Egress, the finalists must complete an obstacle course of puzzles consisting of the three previous themed Chambers to secure themselves in the final two. Escapists placing out of the final two are eliminated and immediately sent to the jury through a trap door. The final two would then travel to separate elevated platforms on the exterior of the complex where they must convince the jury through a two-way radio their reasons to be voted as the winner of the escape. The jury would then privately vote by a remote control to lower the platform of the finalist they wish to see win. The platform to stop on the concourse first had its gate unlocked, signifying the Escapist on it won the competition and could claim the $350,000 grand prize from Vexborough.

Origin
Gantly and Thellaroniki illustrated concepts for escape room puzzles while collaborating as set designers on the 2014 indie sci-fi film Hallucinogens. They drew from action-disaster movies such as Armageddon and San Andreas, and Gantly's travels through Asia "immersing into Japanese love hotels and interactive pop-ups" to create the climactic fight scene in the movie. Following the film release, Gantly and Thellaroniki met with Starter at Olive Garden where they pitched a television show inspired by their artistry. Within a few weeks, the trio developed a framework for a reality competition.

Development
RLV Network greenlit the series in early 2015 as Escapada, the original title and former namesake of the escape passage, before Gantly renamed the show to Escape the Complex after consulting with Starter and Thellaroniki about clarifying "the end game of the competition". The passage was thereafter called "The Complex" in press meetings and promotional content. Broadway actor Mikal Vexborough was hired as the host in late 2015.

Each chamber is equipped with over 60 high-definition cameras and 300 overhead microphones in order to monitor and record the contestants, and a digital power-over-Ethernet clock to automate pathways and rooms to unlock for subsequent events. Escapists had to don necklace microphones during the entirety of filming. Cameras and microphones are reinstalled into new areas after each quadrant concluded.

The stylistic approach to automate The Complex after introducing the Escapists into the game was worked to set a 24-day operating schedule when and where flights and ejections would be carried out without the need for a physical presenter until the end of the season. Vexborough teased this feature in a pre-show interview with Morning Crashers Morning Show. This is also the first reality competition without the use of in-game confessionals.

The Complex arrangements
For the first season, the location of the set was at an abandoned garment factory outside of Victorville, California. Crews arrived about five months before filming to renovate the premises for the escape passage. For seasons two and beyond, a permanent complex was constructed on Agua Dulce Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita. The overall schematics and design for these rooms reflect the themes for each season.

Chamber
The Chamber is the main competition space for each flight. Temporary walls and removable installations are used to create boundaries between the space, and scaffolding and concrete pillars with quick-fit steel trusses are assembled to add elevated floors after each flight. In some flights, the space becomes an open exhibit for novelty missions (a lifesize aquarium, a commercial jet, e.g.). Three chambers are built to signify each phase of competition. Challenge designers Jenni Parker and Ernesto Brigada worked with Derider & Frank Structural Engineering Firm to create the set design for each flight.

Concourse
The finalists reach an expansive multi-level competition space infused with elements of the past three Chambers which they had to maneuver through to claim two elevator shafts in a semi-outdoor space. Vexborough described this space on the first season as an "over-the-top obstacle course".

Guest Room
Escapists reside and interact with each other as roommates in the Guest Room, a holding space intertwined with the main escape route. The sleeping quarters and communal bathroom is accessible from the Chamber by a remotely locking doorway. Minimal furniture is placed within the space. The room is also the dining space for the Escapists where they are served two portioned meals between flights. There are three Guest Rooms built, one per Chamber. Vexborough described the environment of this room was inspired by the "oneness of military barracks".

Penthouse
The Penthouse is accessible from all three Guest Rooms and contrasts the quality of the initial sleeping quarters, accommodating a lounge area, California king bed, private bathroom, a hot tub or sauna, a mini wet bar, and access to a personal chef. In season one, Escapists who win this prize could only interact with other Escapists for fifteen minutes after each mission has officially concluded before they were ordered to go back into the Penthouse until the ejection ceremony. From season two onward, other Escapists could enter the Penthouse as long as the reward winners are in the room and have invited them, but only for a maximum of one hour.

Antechamber
The Antechamber is a narrow room hidden in the hallway between the Chamber and Guest Room. The room is decorated to fit the theme of the current Chamber and holds a digital table surface displaying the names of available potential nominees. The room, whenever entered by the Committee to compile their shortlist, is stocked with an antipasti platter and a meal made courtesy of the personal chef from the Penthouse.

Ejection Hall
In each season, the ejection hall is located on a five to six-story-high elevated floor equipped with bleachers for the escapists and a unique drop bungee system suspended over the edge of The Complex. The escapists who make the shortlist would sit in the bungee system controlled by mechanical technicians behind scenes. The ejection method changes every season (dynamite plunger, slot machine, etc.).

Controversies and criticisms
After the series was greenlit by RLV Network in 2015, the format of the show was criticized for taking elements of Big Brother and Survivor on its American sister station CBS, and Race to Escape on the cable network Science Channel which was then airing to a smaller audience turnout. Some viewers believed Escape was a "cash grab" over current trends, though many viewers were quick to praise the format for its originality.

Escape has been criticized following reports of (HIB) "harassment, intimidation, and bullying", obscene language, acted scenes, and the physical and mental strain of competing on the series. A couple of seasons have also been criticized for discrimination, racism, misogyny, and ageism, particularly Season 4.

Vexborough has been criticized for his use of racy euphemisms during the competition. On February 2, 2020, it was reported that Vexborough was under investigation for sexual harassment allegations brought about by two former crew members from the show and a former contestant. As a result, the show suspended production and returned to a cooloff phase as allegations were dropped in spring of 2021. The fifth season would resume filming following the coronavirus pandemic in early spring of 2022.