Conrad Cain (Timothy Hutton) and his wife, Ellie (Dana Delany), seem to have the proverbial everything: untold wealth, high standing in New York society, self-satisfied pretensions (they speak French to one another, at least before reporters), gorgeous views from their big-bucks condo, accomplished progeny.
Yet, in the first eight minutes of NBC's new serialized procedural "Kidnapped," all comes unraveled.
Their precocious 15-year-old son, Leopold (Will Denton), is abducted in an audacious, violent midcity conflagration. (In this, and other, scenes, Manhattanites seem awfully blase, scarcely reacting to flagrant gunfire in public places.) The mastermind's demands are precise yet obfuscating. Nothing left to do but bring in the mysterious Knapp (Jeremy Sisto), a freelance investigator with a decidedly gruff manner, yet a spotless resume in this sort of thing - except for the requisite cast that haunts him to this day (echoing Fox's similar new show, "Vanished"). "You're not very good with people, are you?" Ellie asks him.
"No, but I'm good at finding them," Knapp deadpans. He warns the Cains not to contact the authorities.
Too late: Knapp's former colleague, FBI agent Latimer King (Delroy Lindo), has already caught the mystery's scent, and they'll have to play nice, or compete, or both. "Kidnapped's" story line is designed to run through the entire season, and while it's not as overheated and over-the-top as "Vanished," it's serviceably absorbing, boasting both excellent work from the respected cast and nice dialogue from series creator Jason Smilovic. Characters in shows like these invariably have dark secrets, and in two episodes, "Kidnapped" has planted clues that Cain and his wife are able to harbor more than a few. It's plenty intriguing; it's up to viewers to decide whether, in a season glutted with serialized programs, this is one of them to which they want to be addicted.
