‘Langdon’ Drama Based On Dan Brown’s ‘Lost Symbol’ Gets NBC Pilot Order From Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie & Imagine

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NBC has given a formal pilot order to Langdon, a drama based on Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller novel The Lost Symbol, as the network is wrapping up its pilot pickups.

The project, from Imagine Television, CBS TV Studios and Universal Television, had been on track for a pilot order, having scored a big production commitment from NBC last summer.

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The pilot green light was given to a script by The Crossing creators Dan Dworkin & Jay Beattie. Originally Daniel Cerone had been attached to write the adaptation and penned a draft before departing the project during the development process last year, I hear. Brown, the producers and the network then brought in Dworkin and Beattie, who did their take on the material.

Langdon follows the early adventures of famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a chilling global conspiracy.

Dworkin and Beattie executive produce with Brown and Imagine’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Samie Falvey and Anna Culp. CBS TV Studios, where Imagine TV has a first-look deal, and Universal TV co-produce.

2020 NBC Pilots & Series Orders

The Last Symbol is the third Brown novel featuring the character of Langdon, following Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code, and is set after the events of Da Vinci Code.

The Langdon TV series is a natural extension to the Robert Langdon universe Imagine Entertainment had built on the feature side at Columbia Pictures with three movies produced by the company and directed by principal Ron Howard, which starred Tom Hanks as Langdon: The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Inferno, based on the fourth book in the series. The company also had developed a movie adaptation of The Lost Symbol at Sony as a follow-up to Angels & Demons before the studio went with Inferno instead.

Just like the Angels & Demons movie took place after the events in The Da Vinci Code, opposite to the chronological order in the books, Langdon has been conceived as a prequel, focusing on a younger Robert Langdon to change the timeline in the novels.

Brown’s full Robert Langdon thriller novel series includes Angels & Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003), The Lost Symbol (2009), Inferno (2013) and Origin (2017).

Imagine TV’s series portfolio includes Fox’s Empire, Nat Geo’s Genius and Why Women Kill on CBS All Access, Swagger on Apple, Wu-Tang: An American Saga on Hulu and 68 Whiskey on Paramount Network.

The Crossing creators/executive producers Dworkin and Beattie also co-created/executive produced Matador. They most recently served as consulting producers on Star Trek: Discovery and American Horror Story.

At NBC, Langdon joins drama pilots At That Age, Debris, Echo, La Brea and Ordinary Joe.

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