Shanola Hampton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar are coming to primetime in the 2023 TV schedule as stars of NBC's chilling new drama Found, which centers on specialist Gabi Mosely and her search for the missing people who have been forgotten. Best known for Shameless prior to landing the new show, Found promises to showcase Hampton playing a kind of character that won't be found anywhere else on television. In fact, an exclusive episode clip from the series premiere (seen above) shows what Hampton will bring as Gabi Mosely, and how the Found team uniquely approaches missing persons cases. Take a look!
Gabi Mosely leads a team that focuses on missing people who have fallen through the cracks rather than the kinds of cases that get high-profile thoughts, prayers, and press conferences. In the clip, Margaret (Kelly Williams) had to determine the honesty of a young boy whose sister disappeared from where they were in a foster home together. Gabi was ready to jump into action once they learned he was telling the truth, and it remains to be seen whether or not she'll wish she had some of that plausible deniability about the hacking. Sign me up for Shanola Hampton in this role already!
The leading lady also dropped a comment in the clip about when she had been a missing person some time ago, but the previews for Found have already revealed that Gabi quite literally hasn't left her abductor in the past. Mark-Paul Gosselaar plays Sir, the man who held her captive as a child and motivated her to devote her career to finding the missing and forgotten... while she secretly keeps him locked in her basement.
It should be interesting to see not only how an actor usually as likable as Gosselaar plays a much darker character, but also how Shanola Hampton plays what looks like two very different sides of a complex character. Fortunately, Found is one of a small number of new scripted shows that were able to complete episodes before the WGA writers strike that has kept many of TV's biggest scripted shows off the air this fall.
In addition to Shanola Hampton and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Found stars The Practice's Kelli Williams as Margaret Reed, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Brett Dalton (who recently appeared elsewhere on NBC thanks to Chicago Fire) as Mark Trent, 9-1-1's Gabrielle Walsh as Lacey Quinn, David Makes Man's Arlen Escarpeta as Zeke Wallace, and The Flash's Karan Oberoi as Dhan Rana.
Tune in to NBC on Tuesday, October 3 at 10 p.m. ET for the series premiere of Found, following a new episode of The Voice with Reba McEntire as the newest Coach. If you miss the premiere live on October 3, you'll be able to catch up (or rewatch) next day streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription. I'm already on board with what Shanola Hampton brings to the lead role as Gabi Mosely, and with seeing how Gabi's interactions with Sir compare to her work with her team.
