The cast of "The Finder"

How many times have you searched the whole house looking for your keys? Wallets, cash, toys, shoes -- so much of our lives is spent looking for things that we have lost.

We need Walter Sherman.

Sherman (Geoff Stults) has an innate ability to track down anything that has been misplaced. He uses seemingly irrelevant details, combined with even the most vague memory, to help his clients find anything -- ranging from lucky socks to dead bodies. "The Finder" airs Thursdays on Fox.

The series technically premiered last week, but the characters were introduced in a late-season episode of "Bones" last spring. Known as a back-door pilot, networks put new characters and plot lines into a series that already has an established fan-base, hoping to draw the same crowd. It has proven to be a successful tool in the past, since it's the same way that both of the "CSI" spinoffs were launched. ABC's "Private Practice" was also the product of a back-door pilot, though it took a current character into a different setting with new characters.

Back in April, "Bones" fans met Sherman when he was consulted to help Booth (David Boreanaz) and Brennan (Emily Deschanel) track a killer. Booth and Sherman served together in Iraq, and Sherman was left with brain damage that gave him his location abilities.

While Booth is irritated by Sherman's odd questions and weird observations, Brennan is intrigued by his unusual way to solve crimes. When they solved the crime, Bones and Booth went back to Washington, D.C., and left Sherman to his own devices in Florida.

The only person keeping Sherman out of trouble is his legal adviser, Leo Knox. Knox (Michael Clark Duncan) follows Sherman as he's doing his thing, only chiming in when he sees Sherman about to break a law or infringe on someone's rights. Unfortunately, he can't force Sherman listen to him, and he is often the only one who can help Sherman dig himself out of a problem.

The female lead in "The Finder" belongs to Mercedes Masohn, who plays U.S. Deputy Marshal Isabel Zambada. This is a new character from the "Bones" episode that aired in the spring. The pilot instead featured a bartender named Ike (Saffron Burrows), who provided most of the comic relief for the episode. Burrows has since been replaced by Masohn, whose straight-talking, by-the-book attitude is sure to get in the way of Sherman's unorthodox methods.

Last week's premiere got the series off to a good start, especially for those who like to keep an eye out for guest stars. John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival guest starred as himself, and Brett Davern (MTV's "Awkward") played a key role. Davern's character recruits Sherman to help him find his father, who has gone missing in Iraq. Meanwhile, Leo worries about his new hire at his bar -- a teenager who must serve community service instead of going to a detention center, and she seems more interested in the alcohol than doing her job.

Stults, who plays Sherman, has had trouble getting a stable role on television. He's had several major roles, but the series were all canceled before they could really take off. "October Road" had two seasons, and despite its unique premise, "Happy Town" only had eight episodes. Hopefully, Stults is looking at a solid following with "The Finder."

Duncan is probably the most recognizable character of the cast, being a tall, black man with a booming voice. In his role in "The Green Mile" (1999), camera tricks made him look much taller than he actually is -- he is really only a few inches taller than co-star Tom Hanks. Duncan also starred in "The Whole Nine Yards" (2000), "The Scorpion King" (2002) and "Green Lantern" (2011), in which he provided the voice for Green Lantern Kilowog. Duncan has made several appearances on the small screen as well, including "Chuck," "Two and a Half Men" and "CSI: NY."

Masohn is a relatively unknown name -- for now. She has had small roles on "The Closer," "NCIS" and "Castle," as well as minor parts in "The Break-Up" (2006) and "All Signs of Death" in 2010.