Found continues to elevate the network procedural

Going to an evildoer for expert help on a week-to-week basis isn’t a new concept for procedurals. But in the case of NBC’s Found, its particular twist—that recovery specialist Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton) has been holding Hugh “Sir” Evans (Mark-Park Gosselaar), the man who kidnapped her when she was a teenager, captive for months and using him to help solve her cases—immediately turned what could’ve been a by-the-numbers, glossy procedural into something far more intriguing. It was a twist that was just bonkers enough of a hook to make you want to see how things would turn out, officially making Found the closest thing to a “procedural that fucks” that network television had produced in quite some time.

Outside of the high-concept hook, Found’s strength as a show was already in its ability to fill a hole left by Scandal. With an ensemble and workplace dynamic stretching out to become a found family, the series’ title worked on multiple levels, not just on the surface one of Mosely & Associates finding missing people. That found-family component clicked immediately, with Gabi and her colleagues all functioning as misfit toys (each with their own personal stories of abduction) who’d come together for a greater purpose. There’s plenty of story potential in the concept of finding your tribe, but part of what made Found stand out in season one was its decision to also depict what a warped version of that could look like, as Sir’s obsession with teenage Gabi (as her teacher) came from the idea that he’d also found his person, his family, his soulmate, his other half.

Naturally, Found’s second season continues to dig into Sir’s warped mindset and toxic relationship and obsession with Gabi. As season one ended with Sir escaping Gabi’s basement and Gabi on the outs with her team after revealing what she’d done, season two (of which five episodes were made available for review) picks up where things left off—with a panicking Gabi trying to get in touch with her colleague and surrogate sister Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh), who Sir blames for Gabi’s escape 20 years ago.

With Sir on the loose and out for blood, the premiere is completely removed from the typical case-of-the-week format. Instead, Found’s return is far more of a character study than just about every episode of the show up to this point. It’s immediately clear that Found understands the draw of the  series—its ensemble and these characters’ relationships—and has the confidence to immediately deviate from the norm. And upon returning to said norm, this season goes on to treat the cases more as the appropriate thematic backdrop for the series’ plots and characters than as the driving, central force. That balancing act of procedural and character is what often separates the more interesting, risk taking procedurals from the standard fare, and considering creator and executive producer Nkechi Okoro Carroll’s credentials, it’s clear the series comes from a place of both understanding the format and what elevates it.  

In terms of the ensemble, with both Hampton and Gosselaar, Found has two dynamic leads who can shoulder so much. But it’s a difficult needle to thread, especially in the case of the latter. Hampton remains one of the strongest (and most unsung) leads in television today. While Gabi keeping Sir locked away in season one was clear a sign that she hadn’t fully processed her trauma or healed, this season doesn’t shy away from the fact that the always put- together Gabi Mosley is perhaps even more broken than the audience even realized. There’s both a strength and fragility that Hampton has to play with this character, and she continues to nail it.

Gosselaar also continues to nail it as Sir, clearly reveling in playing this fastidious villain and making a meal out of every scene—especially with Sir out of his cage and engaging in a true cat-and-mouse game with Gabi. However, there’s still room for concern that the series could also potentially revel in the very idea of Sir, as his abilities to evade, capture, and outsmart others are arguably amplified. It’s something we’ve seen before with Joe Goldberg and Dexter Morgan, and it’s the type of thing that could easily turn the character and the show into a parody of itself. But in the process of seemingly highlighting Sir’s intelligence and evasiveness, this season at least also doubles down in acknowledging just how deranged Sir really is. In fact, this season arguably confronts those viewers (who very much exist) that are into the idea of a Gabi/Sir romance head-on, as it officially leans into Sir having far more than paternal desires for Gabi, repeatedly referring to her as his “soulmate” and only going deeper into his obsession.

While the rest of the supporting cast contributes to the total piece—with Zeke (Arlen Escarpeta), Dhan (Karan Oberoi), and Trent (Brett Dalton) also in Sir’s’ crosshairs because of their connections to Gabi—this season thrives in finding more to give both Gabrielle Walsh and Kelli Williams. Where season one’s flashbacks focused on teen Gabi’s year-long captivity, this batch focuses on the aftermath of the ordeal from young Lacey’s perspective. While Lacey wasn’t in captivity for as long as Gabi, we learn just how much the situation traumatized her from that young age—as well as how much that’s continued to affect her as an adult (besides all the locks on her doors). And with Williams’ Margaret, her reaction to what she considers Gabi’s betrayal allows Williams to be the commanding presence she’s always been as an actor—and in a way the character didn’t allow her to be in season one.

Even with a much darker start to this season, Found still remains on just the right side of the sappy spectrum with its cases-of-the-week, which is a feature, not a bug. At its darkest, what could be considered the series spoon-feeding topical issues—in terms of discussions of the erasure of people like M&A’s clients, from the unhoused to sex workers to minorities—is still a part of the show’s DNA. It’s arguable that that’s what keeps this series from becoming too dark, despite how it addresses the less appealing sides of humanity. That sappiness—often seen in the moment when the M&A family can finally say, “Welcome home!” to the latest person they’ve found—ultimately provides the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. 

But in terms of features of the show (and in this case, one that should be considered a bug), Found continues to fall into the habit that, unfortunately, so many contemporary series (both scripted and non-scripted) do in terms of music supervision: Each song choice is specifically curated to explain what is happening in the scene and what emotions the audience should be feeling. The final moments of season one featured a song with the lyrics “So sleep with one eye open” alongside the reveal that Sir was in Lacey’s apartment, waiting to strike. For as competent of a procedural as Found is, the aggressively literal song choices work their hardest to set things back. It can be amusing after a while, as this season features songs with lyrics such as “Coming out of the shadows,” “I’m coming for you,” and “Time is running out,” but ultimately, it’s a symptom of a much larger problem in television (and in network directive shows) that’s all related to lack of attention spans and media literacy. Which, truth be told, leads to far more spoon-feeding than any of that sappiness.  

Found season two premieres October 3 on NBC