Found is an American procedural drama television series created by Nkechi Okoro Carroll that premiered on NBC on October 3, 2023. The series focuses on public relations specialist and crisis manager Gabi Mosely and her team of associates who work to find missing people that have been ignored or forgotten by law enforcement and the mainstream media. It stars Shanola Hampton, who also serves as a producer. The series is produced by Berlanti Productions and Rock My Soul Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television. In November 2023, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on October 3, 2024.
Gabrielle "Gabi" Mosely, a public relations specialist and crisis manager, works alongside her team of associates to find missing people who have been overlooked by the system. Her team of experts consists of those who have either been kidnapped themselves or have a loved one that has been kidnapped. A kidnapping victim herself as a teenage girl, Gabi later secretly kidnaps the man who abducted her, Hugh "Sir" Evans, as revenge and keeps him locked up in her basement. Gabi uses Sir's knowledge as a kidnapper and criminal to help her solve cases.[1][2]
Cast
Main
Shanola Hampton as Gabrielle "Gabi" Mosely, a former kidnapping victim who manages a crisis management firm named Mosely & Associates (M&A). The firm specializes in finding missing people that have been ignored or forgotten by law enforcement and the mainstream media. 20 years after her initial kidnapping, Gabi abducts her kidnapper, Hugh "Sir" Evans, as revenge and holds him captive in her basement in order to get into the minds of kidnappers and understand their patterns.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Hugh "Sir" Evans, a former high school teacher and serial kidnapper who kidnapped Gabi and held her captive for one year and eight days. After Gabi's escape, Sir disappears and evades police and punishment for 20 years. Sir is eventually found and abducted by Gabi, who locks him in her basement and uses him to help solve some of her missing persons cases (though he would escape the basement at the end of the first season).
Kelli Williams as Margaret Reed, an associate investigator at Mosely and Associates (M&A) with excellent observational and deductive reasoning skills that she has obtained while searching for her missing son Jamie, who disappeared from a local bus station 13 years ago. Every night after work, she returns to the bus station in hopes of finding Jamie or any information regarding his disappearance. Margret's obsession with finding Jamie has led to a strained relationship with her two daughters Taylor and Rachel.
Brett Dalton as Detective Mark Trent, a DC detective and Gabi's police liaison.
Gabrielle Walsh as Lacey Quinn (formerly Bella), a law school student who works at M&A as an intern. She was also kidnapped by Sir as a child and held in captivity with Gabi, where the two formed a close bond. After Gabi and Bella's escape from Sir, Bella changes her name to Lacey.
Arlen Escarpeta as Zeke Wallace, a tech expert whose own past experience of being abducted by his uncle as a child has given him a debilitating case of agoraphobia. He provides Gabi with surveillance and hacking techniques and helps fund M&A with money from his trust fund.
Karan Oberoi as Dhan Rana, a military veteran who was MIA and held captive for three years. He now acts as the association's security expert and enforcer when needed. He lives with his husband Ethan, who is a mental health professional.
Recurring
Dionne Gipson as Gina, Lacey's mother (season 2)[3][4]
Michael Cassidy as Christian, Sir’s brother, a grief counselor (season 2)[5]
Mark-Paul Gosselaar directed one episode of the season.[29]
Production
Development
On August 23, 2019, It was announced that ABC had given a pilot commitment on Found, a drama from Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions.[30] In January 2022, it was announced that NBC had given a pilot order with the production company Rock My Soul Productions. Later in April 2022, it was announced that DeMane Davis would direct the pilot.[31] On July 20, 2022, it was announced that NBC officially ordered the series. Greg Berlanti serves as an executive producer.[32] On November 29, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a second season[33] that will have 22 episodes.[7]
Casting
On March 2, 2022, it was announced that Shanola Hampton would be starring in the pilot in the role of Gabi Mosely.[34] On April 29, 2022, it was announced Mark-Paul Gosselaar had joined the cast as Sir.[35] On May 18, 2022, Kelli Williams joined the cast.[36] On July 20, 2022, alongside the series order, it was announced that Arlen Escarpeta, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh and Karan Oberoi were all cast.[32] On March 29, 2024, Dionne Gipson was cast in a recurring role for the second season.[3] On May 15, 2024, Michael Cassidy joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.[5] On June 14, 2024, Danielle Savre was cast in a recurring role for the second season.[6]
Filming
After the show was ordered to series, the rest of the first season began shooting in October 2022[37] and wrapped in March 2023.[38] The first season of the series was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, and consists of 13 episodes.[39] Filming on the second season started at early March 2024.[40]
Music
On September 13, 2023, it was announced that Sherri Chung would compose the show's score.[41]
Release
The series premiered on NBC on October 3, 2023.[1] It was originally set to premiere as a midseason replacement on February 19, 2023, but was delayed to fall 2023 by then NBCUniversal chairperson Susan Rosner Rovner. The series is available on the streaming service Peacock the day after it airs on NBC. The series airs on Citytv in Canada, the same day as it is simulcast in the United States. The pilot episode of Found then premiered on October 7, 2023, on USA Network.[42] The second season premiered on October 3, 2024 on NBC.[43]
As of October 11, 2023, the series premiere of Found was watched by 10.5 million viewers across all platforms and earned a 1.9 rating in the adults 18–49 key demographic. Within six days of release, Found became NBC's most successful series launch on Peacock.[46] By November 2023, the series premiere was watched by over 20 million viewers with subsequent episodes averaging 7.4 million viewers after seven days of viewing across all platforms.[47] In Live+7 Day Nielsen ratings, which exclude streaming numbers, the first season of Found averaged 4.99 million viewers and a 0.55 rating in the adults 18–49 key demographic.[48]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 10 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Anchored by a very watchable Shanola Hampton, Found is an uneasy marriage of procedural and serialized storytelling that's slick enough to get lost in."[49]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 49 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[50]
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