This just in: Audiences want quality original content. Who knew? In a world where nostalgia, reboots, and remakes rule, it’s rare to find a show with a new angle.
Naturally, when it does happen, fans flock to fresh series with a unique spin on the classics. Procedural shows have dominated network TV for decades, but new ones with creative twists are refreshing palate cleansers.
It’s no secret that network TV has struggled to maintain audiences in the streaming era. However, for two seasons, the NBC show “Found” turned the tables on what to expect from the tried and true genre. As a result, the show found (pun intended) a large and dedicated following on broadcast TV and streaming alike.
It wasn't enough — unfortunately, NBC canceled "Found" far too soon. This procedural drama had a lot of life left in it, but it won't get a chance to continue its creative storytelling.
Redefining the procedural setup
“Found” centers on former kidnapping victim Gabi Mosely (Shanola Hampton), whose crisis management firm M&A specializes in missing persons cases. The twist? Oh, Gabi just has her former kidnapper locked in her basement to pick his brain on kidnapping cases.
As someone who’s more OK with vigilante vibes than I probably should be, I was all over the show the minute it dropped. There’s something truly fascinating about turning the tables on a kidnapper and giving him some just desserts. Maybe I just listen to Taylor Swift too much in my plight for karmic justice, but there’s a reason I write about it instead of getting into that “Vigilante Sh--” myself.
While “Found” has a police angle, the premise goes beyond simply solving crimes. Not only is M&A a separate entity from law enforcement, but it focuses on one specific kind of crime: kidnapping. Sure, that may seem like a boxed-in concept, but “Found” allows viewers to connect deeply with each story. The emotional and intense plotlines hit different, as each character has some kind of personal history with kidnapping, allowing them to compellingly connect with kidnapping victims differently.
If you’re an emotional trainwreck like me, you’ll probably cry at least once per episode. Getting fans to cry is one of the best compliments you can give. Connecting with audiences in that way is half the battle, and “Found” does it effortlessly.
'Found' had a refreshing approach to mental health and representation
As difficult as it is trying to keep up with streaming success, it takes something special to appease fans and critics alike — especially given the fact that episodic releases are rarer than full season drops these days.
In the era of short-form content and instant gratification, we collectively have significantly less patience and attention spans than, say, a decade ago.
Through it all, “Found” features a slew of mental health struggles and trauma that the main characters contend with. Zeke (Arlen Escarpeta) has agoraphobia, Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh) struggles with PTSD, Dhan (Karan Oberi) is recovering from addiction, Margaret (Kelli Williams) has a form of OCD and Gabi’s trauma has turned her into the very thing she despises the most: a kidnapper.
On top of mental health representation, “Found” features queer characters, strong leading women and a heavily POC cast — something that’s also a rarity on network procedurals.
To boot, Gabi and her team tackle the systematic racism that causes so many cases to fall through the cracks. M&A specializes in overlooked cases, and the results speak for themselves (basement kidnapper consultant notwithstanding). It was enough to carry the series ... until it wasn’t.
Plot twists and shake-ups that actually work
Though “Found” is only two seasons, the show reinvented itself multiple times. That’s incredibly rare for a procedural, especially early on. It’s easy for series like this to get stale, and it often feels out of left field when they try to shake things after a few years when viewers begin losing interest.
By establishing this formula so early, “Found” doesn’t lock itself in a box, offering rare twists and turns that stand out among police-adjacent shows. This way, the constant reinvention feels natural instead of a last-ditch effort to save a sinking ship.
Another popular network show is “9-1-1” and its spinoffs, which also make bold choices and offers a clever and often surprising intro for each episode. While that one is a bit more formulaic, it’s packed with surprises and outrageous premieres and finales that are, again, refreshing.
These procedural dramas have proven that this tactic is the first stepping stone that networks need to take to beat the broadcast TV bust. It didn’t work for “Found” long-term, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from it.
Procedurals are far from dead — but let them be creative
With the never-ending swarm of streaming releases, network shows have to battle a staggering amount of competition that didn’t exist a decade or two ago. It also doesn’t help that a lot of young audiences don’t even have access to network TV or the patience and attention span to wait a week for new episodes.
“Found” was a refreshing addition to network TV that offered an intriguing blueprint for more network procedural shows to follow. TV can’t survive on prestige dramas alone!
While "Found" may not have survived beyond its sophomore season, at least you can still stream the entire series on Peacock. I promise you that it's worth finding the time for this procedural.
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