‘Found’ Star Shanola Hampton Teases ‘Satisfying’ Season 1 Ending: ‘Put Your Seatbelt On’ (Exclusive)

Found has been a big hit for NBC as the series became the network’s most successful launch on Peacock. With the show staying consistent in viewership, NBC recently announced that it has been renewed for a second season. Found‘s lead star, Shanola Hampton, spoke to PopCulture.com to share her reaction to the show’s success and tease what’s left to come this season.

“It’s warmed my heart in a way that I can’t describe, not because it’s any sort of in the accolade kind of way, but because we wanted to tell these stories,” Hampton told PopCulture before learning the news of Season 2. “We never know how people are going to respond to the stories in a world where everybody thinks it’s about choosing a side. And if you say this, that means you don’t believe this, and if you say this… So, it was stories that were important to tell, that we needed to tell, and the response to that has been really great. It meant that it wasn’t just important to us, it’s important to so many people, and also now has become important to other people that it may not have been on the tip of their tongues before.”

Hampton plays Gabi Mosely, the head of a crisis management firm that specializes in finding people who have been abducted. Gabi is a kidnapping victim herself, which has led to her keeping a dark secret that could change her life if anyone finds out. In the first episode, we learn that Gabi kidnapped her kidnapper Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and is keeping him in her basement. In recent episodes, people close to Gabi, including Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh) — whom Sir kidnapped with Gabi when they were younger — are noticing that Gabi is not acting herself. The reason for that is because the police nearly found Sir.

Gabi and Sir have some intense moments on Found, but Hampton and Gosselaar have a lot of fun together while on set. Hampton said, “Working with him has been an absolute dream because he has no inhibition and he has no judgment and he has these subtle nuances that even I will sometimes say, ‘Oh my gosh, what did you just do?’ And he’ll just move his head slightly or move his eyes or do an inflection in his voice, and so it’s been really fun playing with him.”

There are only a few episodes left before Season 1 of Found comes to an end, and Hampton said the series is about to take off. “If you thought the trains left the tracks before, they are fully gone and it is at full speed,” Hampton explained. “You will be at the edge of your seat. Put your seatbelt on, or if you are a daredevil, take it off, and then go for the ride. Because, I am telling you, every episode leading up to the finale, and the finale, is satisfying. You’re going to get to know more about characters and there’ll be breakdowns, and the relationships will be tested. And, ‘Is Sir out of the basement? Is he back?’ All of the things.” 

New episodes of Found air every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.