

I'm not talking about parents who left and the other biological parent raised them. Whether the child spent their childhood in the foster system or was adopted by someone else, it's an important plot point for these characters.

  
1) Randall Pearson, This Is Us. All Randall knew his whole life is that he was left on the steps of a fire station. He was adopted into a loving family, but he was still curious about his biological family (especially as his adopted family is white and he is black). On his 36th birthday, he finally tracks his biological father down (biological mother is dead), ready to give him a piece of his mind...only to end up asking him to move in by the end of the conversation.

2) Punky Brewster, Punky Brewster (2021). The first episode of the short-lived reboot of the 80s sitcom ends with Punky getting a call from the mom who abandoned her in a parking lot when she was little. She grapples with whether to reunite with her all season >!and ultimately decides to in the last episode. They have a cathartic talk that is realistic and empathetic. It doesn't give the biological mom any outs, but it does give Punky closure.!<

3) Jo Wilson, Grey's Anatomy. Similar to Randall, she was left on the steps of a fire station as a baby. However, she was never adopted and bounced around an extremely abusive system. As an adult, she manages to find her biological mother. They have a talk over coffee, but it isn't pretty. Jo is combative and understandably hurt. Her mom then reveals that Jo is a product of rape. She tried to raise her anyway but after a few days, it became clear she couldn't. She says she didn't have it in her to find a family. There's no real closure for Jo either as her bio mom makes it clear that she wants absolutely nothing to do with her as she's still a painful reminder of that time. You feel horrible for both of them at the end of it, because there are no true villains. It's just a shitty situation.

4) Lux Cassidy, Life Unexpected. Cate and Baze were high school sweethearts who found themselves pregnant in high school. Baze's parents wanted the problem to go away, so he assumed she got an abortion. Cate instead carried to term and gave the baby up at the hospital, being told someone would adopt her. And to be fair, a family did claim Lux, but she had a heart defect. So, she was placed into the system. It took 3 years to fix the problem and after that, Lux struggled to find a family. Shortly before her 16th birthday, she tracks down her biological parents to sign off on emancipation. They initially agree, but the court denies it and she's put back in their (split) custody, which is the premise of the show.

5) Audrey Sullivan, Joy Ride. Audrey was adopted from China as a baby. When she's young, her parents meet a Chinese-American family and she becomes friends with their daughter. As adults, the two plan a trip to China where Audrey hopes to meet her biological mother. There's quite a few twists and turns. >!Sadly, it's revealed her biological mother died a few years back, and the father wasn't able to be found. But, Audrey meets her bio mom's husband, who is able to give her a video that her bio mom filmed before her death in the event something like this happened. !<

6) Henry Mills, Once Upon A Time. Again, a huge part of the pilot. Henry steals his teacher's credit card to use a website to find a way to open up his adoption records. He tracks down his biological mother and drags her back to town, as she's the only one who can break the curse. Unlike the other characters on this list, Henry doesn't have many questions. He gets why Emma gave him up for adoption and never resents her for it. Emma tries to stay closed off but eventually opens her heart to him.  

7) Mariana & Jesus Adams Foster, The Fosters. This is a show where the central premise is fostering and adoption. Mariana and Jesus were abandoned by their birth mom at a gas station when they were young. A few years later, they were adopted by Stef & Lena. As teenagers, Mariana ends up tracking their birth mom down and trying to have a relationship with her. It's very complicated as Ana is still hooked on drugs. Jesus initially doesn't want one. >!Over time, Ana gets sober. The twins have somewhat of a relationship with her, but it's overall bittersweet.!<

Child given up go looking for their biological parent