BY: Walker
Published 1 year ago
NBC is making some early renewals.
The network has renewed both first-year dramas — one of just a handful of original scripted series to air on a broadcast network this fall — for second seasons. Both shows were developed off-cycle at NBC and thus had a full complement of episodes in the can before strikes by writers and actors led to dozens of productions shutting down in the summer and early fall.
The two series have also performed solidly for NBC: The Irrational, starring Jesse L. Martin, is averaging 6.34 million viewers per episode after seven days of linear viewing, while the Shanola Hampton-led Found clocks in at 5.18 million viewers (not including streaming for either show). They are also the top two broadcast series of the season so far among Black viewers, with Found ranking first.
“These shows are a testament to the incredibly passionate work of our showrunners Nkechi Okoro Carroll (Found) and Arika Lisanne Mittman (The Irrational), both of whom have executed their visions flawlessly,” said Lisa Katz, president scripted content at NBCUniversal Entertainment. “A huge thank you to the talented casts, producers and crews for their tireless commitment and dedication, which has clearly paid off with audiences making these series must-see television on both NBC and next day on Peacock.”
Found centers on a PR specialist (Hampton, who’s also a producer on the series) who leads a team dedicated to finding and publicizing the cases of forgotten missing people. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Kelli Williams, Brett Dalton, Gabrielle Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Karan Oberoi also star.
Carroll (All American) created the series and executive produces with Sonay Hoffman, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman and Lindsay Dunn. The show comes from Berlanti Productions and Carroll’s Rock My Soul Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television.
The Irrational is based on Dan Ariely’s nonfiction book Predictably Irrational and stars Martin as a behavioral scientist who uses his expertise in an array of high-stakes situations involving government, justice and business. The cast also includes Maahra Hill, Travina Springer, Molly Kunz, and Arash DeMaxi.
Mittman executive produces the Universal TV series with Mark Goffman, Sam Baum and David Frankel.
Found will air new episodes each of the next two weeks and will return Jan. 9 for its final two episodes of the season. The Irrational is on hiatus and will begin its final four episodes of the season on Jan. 29.