Netflix's ridiculous I Will Find You is designed for second-screen viewing

Last year, there was plenty of chatter about Netflix’s alleged directive for writers and showrunners to dumb down stories, lest anything too complex or thought-provoking distract viewers from spending time on their phone while the show plays, or worse, make them stop binge-watching altogether. In other words, not all (of course) but enough of the streamer’s originals seem curated for background viewing—surface-level thrillers (The Waterfront, Untamed, His & Hers) with plot points frequently repeated so you don’t miss anything, shockingly silly twists, and subpar work from talented actors who help maintain a facade of prestige. The latest to join this slate is I Will Find You, which, based on the title alone, indicates how plainly it wants to spell everything out for viewers. 

The eight-episode series is Netflix’s 13th (!) adaptation of a Harlan Coben novel; evidently, there’s an appetite to see Coben’s engaging airport reads translated to the screen, even if it comes at the risk of dull storytelling. At least I Will Find You‘s creator, Robert Hull (Quantum Leap), brings a slew of cool stars aboard this mostly sinking ship: The ensemble features Sam Worthington, Britt Lower, Milo Ventimiglia, Madeleine Stowe, Chi McBride, and Logan Browning. It’s just too bad that each of them is saddled with a one-dimensional character who speaks in dialogue that mostly doubles as exposition dumps. 

Everything about I Will Find You comes across as doing the bare minimum, including the acting, direction, and focus on any interpersonal relationships between characters, including the ones who are meant to be the show’s driving force. None more so than protagonist David Burroughs (Worthington) and his former sister-in-law, Rachel Mills (Lower), who team up to hunt for David’s presumed-dead son and evade the feds on their tail, all while David’s ex-wife/Rachel’s sister, Cheryl (Erin Richards), is mostly kept in the dark. Unfortunately, everyone’s phoning it in here, and the leads’ stiff performances just detract further from the plot’s urgency.

I Will Find You opens with David pointedly narrating that for the past five years, he’s been wrongfully incarcerated in a Maine prison for the murder of his three-year-old son, Matthew. When Rachel drops in one day with proof that his kid is actually alive and out there somewhere, they make it their mission to find both the truth and Matthew. David’s able to break out and head home to Boston because the prison’s warden (Peter Outerbridge) is a former cop who once worked closely with David’s dad (Hugh Thompson). David’s best friend, Adam (Jonathan Tucker), is also a police officer who helps him, in case you were wondering if the circumstances of the protagonist’s escape were getting a little too convenient.