A popular crime show that was cancelled last year has become a streaming hit on Netflix, possibly proving that the fans were right. The best thing about streaming services like Netflix is that they can bring back beloved TV shows that network television gave up on too soon and help return them to relevance again. A perfect example was when Netflix began streaming Suits and showed it was still popular enough to warrant a new spin-off series. Now, there is another series, this one a crime drama, that Netflix has begun streaming, and it has already hit the top 10 for the most-watched shows on the streaming giant.
According to FlixPatrol, Found has stuck around the Netflix Top 10 this entire week, peaking at number three on January 5 and still sitting in the seventh spot on January 10. Found was a procedural drama that premiered in 2023 on NBC and followed a public relations specialist and crisis manager named Gabi Mosely, who leads a team to find missing people that law enforcement and mainstream media have ignored or forgotten about. Shanola Hampton, who rose to fame thanks to her role as Veronica Fisher on Shameless, stars as Gabi.
This is a very familiar subject for network procedural shows. It sounds a lot like the classic series Cold Case, which ran for seven seasons and had a police division dealing with solving cold cases that have been filed away and forgotten. In the case of Found, this was a little more optimistic because it was about finding people who were still alive and rescuing them rather than just solving years-old murders. However, unlike Cold Case, Found only ran for two seasons before NBC cancelled the show.
That said, the selling point of the series wasn’t Gabi helping to find missing persons. It was the fact that she was a former kidnapping victim who now uses her new role to help others like her. What makes it stand out, though, is that Gabi is also a kidnapper, as she has captured the serial kidnapper who abducted her years earlier and escaped punishment. She now holds him captive in her basement and forces him to help her solve the missing persons cases.
Could Found Find New Life Thanks to Netflix?
Image Courtesy of NBC
The cast of Found was impressive. Joining Shanola Hampton in the series were Agents of SHIELD alumna Brett Dalton as Gabi’s police liaison and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved by the Bell) as Sir Evans, her former kidnapper. The second season escalated the drama by having Sir escape and then end up found. It also brought in Sir’s vengeful sister, Lena, who came after Gabi. The second season then ended on a cliffhanger with several unanswered questions, including the fact that Gabi finally publicly revealed she had initially found Sir and kidnapped him, relieving herself of the burden, but putting her future in danger.
When Found premiered, it pulled in 10.5 million viewers, and it was the most successful NBC series to also launch on Peacock. By the end of the first season, the numbers were down to an average of 4.99 million viewers in the adults 18-49 demo. The second season of Found was more successful, with an average of 6.2 million viewers, but it wasn’t enough to save it from getting the axe.
Critics praised the series for its acting and serialized storytelling, with a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also received nominations at the GLAAD Media Awards, NAACP Image Awards, Critics’ Choice Television Awards, and Saturn Awards. NBC cancelled Found in May 2025 before the Season 2 finale aired, and offered the series a chance to be shopped around if another network was interested. That shopping process ended without anyone showing significant interest in July. However, with the huge success on Netflix and a large fanbase wanting more, there’s always a chance that the streaming service could step in and order more episodes to at least finish off Gabi’s story.
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