Unhinged And Fascinating || Review Of Series - Found (2023)
I have watched quite a good number of procedural shows in the past and it's a breath of fresh air to find this recent release by NBC, Found (2023). It's an action-packed drama show that focuses on missing people that the society and authorities overlook and ‘finding’ them.
The opening scene of the first episode reveals a young lady who knocks on a door, pretending to need a phone to make a call. The house owner lets her in and she clubs him on the head. It's shown he's behind the abduction of a boy. A quick flashback reveals two brown-skinned girls, a teenager and the other, a preteen, in a secluded apartment. They are shown to be held against their will by a tall white man.
Who is the mystery man holding the two girls captive? Who is the young lady responsible for finding missing children and why does she do it?
The first thought that crept into my head while watching was - this overarching storyline is brilliant, mostly because of a twist most people would not expect to see. A show about a crisis management team led by a former victim and survivor of kidnapping focused on finding missing persons that the society wouldn't give a second look and bringing them home. It's ingenious but the storytelling could do with some work.
The team called Gabi Mosley and Associates brings much interest into this show as they've all experienced direct or indirect abducting trauma at some point in their lives. Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosley is bold, smart and empathic but can be a lot to handle at some points which I think is unrealistic in the real world. Margaret (played by Kelli Williams) is brilliant for her deductive reasoning and it almost feels like I'm watching a superhero show. The visuals and editing brings her acting into focus, letting us know she's using this ‘power’.
How can a team like this survive without a computer whiz? Zeke (played by Arlen Escarpeta) is the tech expert but with a trauma that keeps him indoors. I like how they interface their scenes together showing the benefits of advanced tech.
This show is brilliant because it focuses on a prime problem in the world — human trafficking. It raises an awareness about it and how issues of race matters when deciding how seriously the cases should be treated. The show creators stress “all victims are important” but mess up later on in the show.
They address an issue that is hugely significant but their methods of handling this issue are unrealistic. Gabi and her team work with the police but they do most of the job. This part always feels unreal because in reality, the police wouldn't give Gabi's team that much leeway like they do in this show. In fact, the society wouldn't be aware of their existence or else, they would be considered vigilantes. Eventually, it all feels exaggerated like a fictional show.
Also, a few red herrings here and there would be nice to keep the audience in suspense. Instead, everything is showy and predictable. Once an episode starts, I already figure out who the victim is and the person responsible for the abduction! I thrive on suspense but the creator of this show, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, did not deliver on this. The concept or plot is great though and the performance of the cast is impressive.
The visuals are great also especially when it comes to displaying Margaret's ‘superpower’ of deductive reasoning.
Overall, Found, a thirteen-episode crime drama, is a fine show worth watching. The rating online is positive and this is good. I'm not sure if there will be a second season but the first season ended well. If you enjoy action-packed procedural dramas, you'll want to watch this one.
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All images are screenshots from the series
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Added to my list.
Thanks for the review ✨
You're welcome! 🙂