‘Found’ Star Shanola Hampton Teases The “Unhinged” Remainder Of NBC Missing Persons Procedural’s First Season

Katie Campione
·6 min read
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Shanola Hampton is excited to finally say the word Found.

She currently stars in the NBC missing persons procedural, from All American showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, but has been unable to openly promote the new series due to the actors strike.

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Now that SAG-AFTRA has struck a tentative deal, she’s ready to tell audiences all about playing Gabi Mosely, a crisis management specialist (and former missing person herself) who is determined to solve the missing persons cases that often slip through the cracks.

So far, this season has told stories about an addict, an undocumented person, a young Black girl, and more. Episode 7, which debuts on Tuesday, will follow Gabi and her team as they try to find an Indigenous person who has gone missing.

“Really, the thing that I’ve been most excited to say about this is it’s such a project with purpose and it goes beyond entertainment,” Hampton said.

Of course, there’s plenty of entertainment too — especially since Gabi has a secret of her own. She’s been holding her kidnapper captive and using him to help solve cases. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before someone finds out what’s been going on.

Hampton spoke with Deadline about what to expect from the second half of the season in the interview below.

DEADLINE: Finally, about halfway through the season, you’re able to talk about Found. What have you been waiting to say about this series?

SHANOLA HAMPTON: Well, there’s so much. I have been so excited just to say the name Found. Really, the thing that I’ve been most excited to say about this is it’s such a project with purpose and it goes beyond entertainment. I think that that’s been the hardest part about not being able to promote before this point is that I feel so passionate about the stories that we’re telling, and I feel so passionate about bridging the gap and the disparities between people of color or underrepresented [people] having the media attention. Look at Ohio. There’s so many missing kids right now, and it’s still not at the forefront of the news. But also the entertainment aspect has been really nice. Gabi having Sir in the basement is crazy.

DEADLINE: What did you think of that plot twist when you first read it?

HAMPTON: That’s when I knew I had to do the show, because prior to that, if you think about the pilot episode, you’re like, ‘Oh, she’s cool. She’s a baddie. She’s finding missing people. This is great. This is a great procedural with a purpose.’ All of that is true. And then you see this flawed, unhealed moment of her walking down and the man is in the basement! Wait a minute, this lady who has on a suit and heels is holding the man captive and throwing him a tray of food? That’s the part I need to play.

DEADLINE: It seems like, by Episode 6, things are starting to catch up to Gabi. Lacey can tell she’s been lying about Sir. What’s going to come of that?

HAMPTON: I mean, this is what I can tell you. You will see GabI become unhinged. It’s a lot. What she’s holding is a lot. The secret is a lot. What she’s trying to do to help these people be found is a lot. The guilt is a lot. What she went through in the past is a lot. There’s only so much a human being can stand before she becomes unhinged, and it is going to be a ride. It is going to be thrilling. Everyone will be at the edge of their seats this last half of the season. Nkechi [Okoro Carroll] is so good at storytelling. She really made sure that this first season is a satisfying buffet of yumminess.

DEADLINE: Tell me about going toe-to-toe with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, especially as the season continues. It seems like his and Gabi’s relationship is becoming more contentious.

HAMPTON: it’s really hard to work with Mark-Paul. Have you seen him? It’s very hard to look at him. So imagine having to shoot 14 hours a day with that face. That’s number one. I kid. Mark-Paul is the ultimate professional. He’s become a very dear friend. He is committed to not judging his character, which is why it works so well. All the subtleties, all the nuances, is all because he has related what he needs to relate to humanize him. When we are shooting together, those days are my favorite shoot days. I love basement days. The reason why I love it is because I’m a child of the theater, and it’s all about playing and making new discoveries. I know that I have a partner that’s going to play, and we played very well in the sandbox together. That’s exciting.

DEADLINE: As you began to figure out how you were going to approach this character, what was the most difficult part?

HAMPTON: the most difficult part is making sure that you don’t judge choices. Would I ever put someone [in my basement]? No. However, really getting into the mental space of how could this come about? What draws a person to have to go — or feel like they need to go — to that extreme? Once you do that, everything else kind of falls into place. But that was probably the most difficult part is taking away any sort of judging and connecting to who she is, to her story and her journey.

DEADLINE: Many of the characters have had candid conversations about handling grief or trauma in different ways. Not passing judgment is a huge part of the narrative. How important do you think those conversations are on broadcast television?

HAMPTON: I think it’s the most important. I really do. This is what was done well, having trauma not have a specific face, gender, or race. To say this is a universal thing. It connects us in a way that we haven’t been connected before. Because generally, most people have had some sort of traumatic experience in their lives. A lot of times even in their close circle. People will say, ‘Well you should be over it now. It’s been a week or whatever.’ And there’s some sort of, ‘Well, I’m here for you, but only for a month after that.’ Sometimes healing has no timestamp. You see with Margaret (Kelli Williams), and you see with Dhan (Karan Oberoi) and Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh) and even Zeke (Arlen Escarpeta), how Gabi says it’s important to try to find your healing, whatever that is, for everybody to go on their journey. That looks different for everyone. We’re hearing more and more about it, but most of the time if someone’s dealing with mental health, they’re ashamed. They don’t want to say that they’re going through this. Now, we have a show where you see all these people who seemingly have it together who are also struggling. So it’s okay to struggle. But let’s let’s try to find that healing for you, because that’s what we want at the end of the day. That’s what Gabi wants for herself. But more importantly, that’s what she wants for her team. And that’s what she wants for every missing person that she finds.

DEADLINE: Which episodes have stuck with you the most, in terms of the missing persons case?

HAMPTON: The one that sticks is finding Camilla in the pilot, because I think that that was so similar to Gabi. It was the most parallel to seeing herself as a young girl. But the one that I think is haunting is finding the boys in the trafficking and being able to save one and the other one still being in a coma, and Gabi not being able to save both, and to also not have found the person who did the crime. So that is something that’s very lingering and it still sticks with me.

DEADLINE: I’ve been really enjoying the flashbacks to Gabi being held captive by Sir, but I am also very interested to know how she came to kidnap him and how long he’s been down there…will we get answers to that?

HAMPTON: Yes. I can definitely tell you that. That’s what’s so great about this show is you get to go back…I can guarantee satisfaction at the end of the season.

Found airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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