‘Found’: Shanola Hampton Addresses Gabi & Sir’s Chemistry, Teases Their Connection in Season 2

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There is no such thing as a relaxing episode of Found on NBC, but things will get even more intense when the kidnapping drama returns for Season 2 in October. Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is on the loose and has Lacey (Gabrielle Walsh) in his sights. Sir being on the run means there won’t be any more negotiations with Gabi (Shanola Hampton) in her basement. While that changes the fabric of the show, Gosselaar doesn’t think that fans will be disappointed.

“I’m very, very, very pleased, very excited for our fans and our audience to watch the second season because everything that we built up in the first season, there is going to be a payoff,” the actor told journalists during the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “I feel like shows find themselves in a position where it’s hard to maintain, but I feel like we’ve maintained and excelled from where we were last season.”

Hampton, meanwhile, admitted that it has been hard for her not to share as many scenes with Gosselaar in the new season.

“Because of where the characters are right now, we did not have those days together. It was very, very hard,” she revealed on the press tour stage. “He is my place of release, those scenes were, and creatively, there’s a release that happens in those scenes as well as a personal, so that was difficult.”

TV Insider followed up with Hampton after the Found press conference to find out more about that connection and why Gabi can’t seem to let Sir go. She revealed that the palpable chemistry between Gabi and Sir stems from the fact that she and Gosselaar have become so close offscreen as well.

“Mark-Paul and I are such dear friends. I don’t know how to describe that moment of bonding with someone when it’s instant and not forced. It’s organic. It just happens, and that’s what happened for us,” she told TV Insider. “The reason why we became so close is because we have the same moral fiber when it comes to family first. We both commute back-and-forth from Atlanta to LA to be with our family. Once I saw that, especially in a man, especially to see a dad be so intentional about parenting, I was like, ‘I love.’ We give each other crap… We both have thick skin with each other’s banter and that makes [the chemistry] happen.”

Hampton remains firm that whatever chemistry the audience feels between Gabi and Sir, it will never become a romantic relationship. However, the connection between the characters is integral to Found, and Hampton won’t give that up.

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“I do not do this show without him,” she said affirmatively.”There is no show without Sir.”

While Hampton doesn’t want Sir to leave the show, she also confirms that Gabi is on a warpath when the show returns for Season 2 and she realizes that Lacey is in danger. There won’t be any hesitating when it comes to calling the police or going after Sir where Lacey is concerned.

“Listen, Lacey is Gabi’s sister. Now that he has crossed that line, she is on a mission,” Hampton said. “There will be no hesitancy at all for doing anything to stop him. There is a fear there of what he may do. He is always lurking somewhere in her, but him paying for what he [might do] to Lacey is at the top of list to make happen.”

Can Gabi save Lacey without Found losing Sir in the process? Tune in to Found Season 2 to find out.

Found, Season 2 Premiere, October 3, NBC