Summary
- NBC’s freshman shows, Found and The Irrational, have both been renewed for a second season before even airing their season 1 finales.
- Found is a procedural drama about a woman who works on missing persons cases with her captor, while The Irrational follows a behavioral psychologist dealing with various cases, including a potential domestic terrorist.
- Found‘s season 1 was completed before the Hollywood strikes, while The Irrational‘s season 1 production was cut short due to the strikes. The remaining episodes of the latter will air in January.
Found and The Irrational will be returning to NBC. Found is a procedural drama about Gabrielle (Shanola Hampton), who works on missing persons cases with the help of Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), the man who kidnapped her in her younger years and who she keeps imprisoned in her basement. The Irrational follows behavioral psychologist Professor Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin), who squares off against a potential domestic terrorist amid other cases.
Per TVLine, both shows, which are freshmen at the network, have been renewed for season 2. Neither show has yet aired their season 1 finale, as both premiered in the fall as part of the 2023-2024 season. While the 13-episode Found season 1 was completed before the beginning of the dual Hollywood strikes, in which writers and then actors fought for fair pay, The Irrational season 1 was only able to shoot seven episodes before shutting down production. The final four episodes of the 11-episode season are set to return in January 2024.
Could Found & The Irrational Be NBC’s Next Long-Running Hits?
Both titles are joining a lineup that includes additional seasons of iconic long-running NBC crime dramas. The network previously renewed all three titles currently running in the Law & Order universe, including the Law & Order revival and Special Victims Unit, which has already run for 24 straight seasons. While it will be some time before either freshman crime show could establish a footprint on the scale of Law & Order, the network’s confidence in both could reveal that they are on their way toward similar success.
The newer show Law & Order: Organized Crime was also renewed for season 4.
At first glance, it seems that The Irrational has a better chance of longevity. Although the show has an overarching storyline, it has a strong procedural hook that could allow episodes to be infinitely replicated with new adventures each week. Martin also has experience with long-running shows after appearing on Law & Order for 198 episodes and joining The Flash for 177 episodes.
On the other hand, Found has a storyline that seems to have a built-in endpoint, as it seems probable that Gabrielle can’t keep her captive hidden forever. However, NBC recently concluded The Blacklist, a show about a criminal captive that lasted for 10 seasons, proving that the concept could indeed have longevity. It remains to be seen whether it or The Irrational ultimately run longer, but both have the opportunity to become genuine hits for the network.
Source: TVLine
