September 17, 2024 (2024-09-17) – present (present)
High Potential is an American crime drama television series created by Drew Goddard for ABC. It is based on the 2021 French and Belgian television series HPI.[1] The series premiered on September 17, 2024.[2] In January 2025, the series was renewed for a second season.[3]
Premise
The show centers on Morgan, a single mother with three children who is a cleaning lady for the Los Angeles Police Department. She is also a high potential intellectual, with an IQ of 160. After figuring out a case using her unconventional mind, she becomes a consultant for the LAPD's Major Crimes division.
A subplot involves Morgan using the LAPD's help and resources to find out what happened to her first boyfriend, Roman, the father of her oldest daughter Ava, who disappeared when Ava was a baby.
Cast and characters
Main
Kaitlin Olson as Morgan,[1] a single mother with three children, an IQ of 160, and a wide range of knowledge. Morgan works as a cleaning lady for the LAPD until Selena offers her a consultant position.
Daniel Sunjata as Karadec,[1] a detective who is skeptical about Morgan being an asset to the LAPD but becomes her primary helper
Morgan, a nighttime janitor at the LAPD, accidentally knocks over a murder case file while working. As she picks up the file's crime scene photos, she determines that the case's primary suspect, the victim's wife, is also a victim, and marks it on the LAPD's murder board. Karadec, enraged that she tampered with police evidence, brings her in, but Morgan convinces Selena that she's right about the wife. Selena has Karadec work with Morgan on the case and finding the wife, Lynette Acosta. Selena and Karadec deduce that Lynette's sister was having an affair with one of her clients. The client killed Lynette's husband, then kidnapped Lynette and hid her in her sister's cabin. After successfully finding Lynette, Selena offers Morgan a full-time position as a consultant, but Morgan refuses. However, after trying to have a conversation with her eldest daughter, Morgan accepts the offer on the condition that Selena helps Morgan find her first husband, Roman, who vanished 15 years ago.
Morgan's first official case involves a tap dancer, Damian, who was pushed off a roof onto his car. Lt. Melon of the LAPD's Robbery Division comes to Selena for help on a case involving a string of jewelry store heists. Morgan and Karadec find the tap dancer's partner, Roland. Roland claims that a third person pushed Damian. Morgan proves Roland's claim, and realizes that Roland was the intended target. Morgan and Karadec find Roland too late, killed at a nightclub. After observing the nightclub's security footage, Morgan realizes that the killer used the same gun in Melon's jewelry store heists. The LAPD sets up a sting operation to catch the killer/jewel thief.
At home, Morgan tries to connect with Ava, who wants to know when Morgan will get her car back. After seeing Ava's art project, Morgan shows Ava a series of murals painted by Roman, but it makes Ava upset, as she believes Roman walked out on them. After getting her first paycheck, Morgan uses it to bring her car home, cheering her kids up. Selena tells Morgan that Roman's car was impounded shortly after his disappearance, with a box of diapers inside, implying his intent to return home.
While working on a case involving a con artist/rideshare driver, Karadec gets increasingly frustrated with Morgan not following police protocol or letting him know what she plans on doing. After nearly getting injured by a suspect, Karadec yells at Morgan, leading to Morgan quitting her job. However, she decides to come back the next day and solve the case. At home, Morgan is upset to find Ava alone in her room with a possible boyfriend, despite Ava's insistence that they're only studying. Morgan gets even more upset when she learns Ludo allowed it without her knowledge or permission. She tells Ludo he overstepped his authority with Ava, but Ludo takes it as a reminder that he is not Ava's biological father. Morgan later apologizes to Ludo. Meanwhile, Selena and Melon find a mural that Roman painted just before his disappearance was located in a neighborhood known for illegal activity, and believe he might have been silenced because he was a potential witness to a crime committed there.
Morgan's trust in others is tested when a divorced mother's daughters are kidnapped, and clues lead back to the mother as a suspect. Worried about finding the kids ASAP, Karadec makes a few impulsive decisions without running them by Selena. Karadec and Selena get worried about Morgan when they notice she hasn't been sleeping and stops looking at the case objectively. Morgan believes the mother is innocent and sets out to prove it.
The team investigates the death of a veterinarian, poisoned by a substance on her hands. While investigating the crime scene, Morgan tranquilizes Karadec to prevent him from getting poisoned. While Morgan is with Karadec, Daphne and Oz work the case from another angle, but all four of them end up at an apartment, where they learn the vet was trafficking exotic pets to afford a house for her girlfriend. Oz gets a confession from the girlfriend's husband, but Morgan thinks something is off. While Karadec is on a date, Morgan does some investigating on her own, and realizes the girlfriend adopted the vet's son, whom the vet had been forced to give up due to a teenage pregnancy. The killer is revealed to be the girlfriend, who was worried the vet would steal her son. Daphne and Oz return the trafficked pets to their rightful owners. At home, Morgan discovers Ava has been taking birth control pills. Morgan wants to confront her, but Ludo suggests waiting for Ava to come to Morgan. Morgan eventually tells Ava she found the pills. Ava tells Morgan she's taking the pills for her complexion, easing Morgan's fears.
The CEO of a healthcare device company is found dead in her office the day after a company party. The prime suspect is the CEO's assistant, who was found passed out in the same room, but woke up hung over and with no memory of the previous night. Despite all signs pointing to the assistant, Morgan strongly believes in her innocence. Morgan and Karadec eventually find a video showing that the CEO tried but failed to kill the assistant, allowing the assistant to go free due to self-defense.
While working on the case, Tom, a janitor at the LAPD, starts a conversation with Morgan. After solving the case, Morgan leaves a phone number for Tom to see.
While visiting the LAPD bullpen on Morgan's day off, Morgan and Ava are held hostage by two military soldiers who claim their friend and fellow soldier was wrongly accused of murder. While Morgan works on the case from inside, Karadec works from outside to locate the true killer. The next day, as thanks for saving everyone, Melon gives Morgan her own desk.
A woman is attacked on a beach, presumed dead, until Morgan notices she's still breathing. While trying to figure out who wanted to kill her, the team discovers that the woman was investigating a two-year-old cold case involving the murder of her boyfriend, who was found dead on the same beach. Morgan gets frustrated dealing with a lack of leads, and gets reminded of her own cold case involving Roman.
While working on the case, Morgan had a dinner date with Tom, but she decides to postpone it and spend the night working the case with Karadec. After solving the case, Morgan enjoys her dinner date with Tom, but Selena later calls her. Selena tells Morgan that she found a black market dealer named Gio Conforth, who was in contact with Roman before his disappearance.
The team investigates an intentional hit-and-run of a famous Los Angeles Sportscaster, as well as figure out who owned the British racing car that was used as the murder weapon.
While working on the case, Morgan runs into Tom, who is moving to San Diego to become a nurse, thus ending their relationship.
Meanwhile, Selena is able get in touch with Conforth, who offers to provide info regarding Roman, in exchange for reducing his nephew's sentence. Selena brings Karadec into Morgan's case, by having Karadec convince the DA to reduce the sentence.
Later, Conforth reaches out to Morgan, telling her that he'll be out of town for a few days, promising to contact Morgan with information about Roman. Morgan is skeptical, as she doesn't believe Conforth knew Roman to begin with. Conforth tells her that Roman called his family the "RAMs" (Roman, Ava, Morgan), something that only Roman and Morgan knew.
The investigation into a nanny's death began when her body was discovered at a playground. Initially, authorities believed she died in an accident on a child's slide. However, further examination revealed blunt force trauma to the head, indicating a homicide. Witnesses reported a suspicious man, later identified as Chuck, a private investigator and former colleague of Karadec, following Tara. Chuck revealed he was hired by Brent Lewis, one of her employers, to monitor Tara due to concerns about her behavior toward their child. These concerns stemmed from Facebook posts by a "concerned mother" alleging Tara posed a threat. The posts were later traced to Oxana, a Russian nanny who harbored intense resentment toward Tara, partly due to religious differences. Oxana created a fake Facebook account to impersonate the "concerned mother" and fuel the conspiracy. Karadec cleverly manipulated the nannies into exposing Oxana by implying their workplaces had nanny cams.
George Donovan, a wealthy Beverly Hills patriarch, seemingly confessed to murdering his son-in-law, Barry, by pushing him down the basement stairs, leading to a broken neck. However, Detective Soto, who had initially investigated the case, always suspected a drug deal gone wrong and regretted not following her instincts. As she and her team, particularly Morgan, delved deeper, they uncovered that Barry had actually been electrocuted in the shower before his body was disposed of down the laundry chute, staining George’s clothes with blood. This revelation unraveled a tangled web of family conflicts, revealing Barry’s history of domestic abuse against his wife, Heather. The night of his death, a heated argument at the Donovan residence had led Barry to storm off, setting the stage for the real crime.
Further investigation exposed an unexpected twist: Cody, Barry’s son, was the real killer. In a desperate attempt to protect his mother, Cody used a hair dryer to electrocute his father in the shower, dropped his body down the laundry chute, and later staged the scene to throw off authorities, making it appear as though Barry had been drinking in the sauna. Given Cody’s age at the time of the crime, he would be tried as a minor, ensuring a reduced sentence.
12
"Partners"
TBA
TBA
February 4, 2025 (2025-02-04)
TBD
13
"Let's Play"
TBA
TBA
February 11, 2025 (2025-02-11)
TBD
Production
Promotional poster from the first season.
Development
On September 20, 2022, High Potential was given a pilot order by ABC. The pilot was written by Drew Goddard.[19] On May 16, 2023, High Potential was picked to series by ABC. The series was created by Goddard who was expected to executive produce alongside Sarah Esberg, Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, Pierre Laugier, Anthony Lancret, Jean Nainchrik, and Alethea Jones. Jones also directed the pilot. Thomas also was expected to serve as the showrunner. Kaitlin Olson was expected to serve as producer. Production companies involved with the series are Goddard Textiles, Spondoolie Productions, Itinéraire Productions, Septembre Productions, and ABC Signature.[1] On June 5, 2024, Thomas exited as the showrunner for the series.[20] On June 21, 2024, Todd Harthan was announced as the new showrunner who would also serve as an executive producer, replacing Thomas.[21]High Potential is the last series from ABC Signature before the division was folded into 20th Television on October 1, 2024.[22]
On January 21, 2025, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[3]
High Potential premiered on September 17, 2024 on ABC.[2] The series was later made available to stream on Hulu.[23]
Reception
Critical response
The series holds an 95% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 22 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "With the ineffable Kaitlin Olson on hand to inject some spiky personality into a familiar formula, High Potential is a solid procedural with plenty of upside."[24]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[25]
Aramide Tinubu of Variety asserted that High Potential is a solid police procedural, praised Kaitlin Olson's performance, noting her ability to bring quirky charm to the role. Tinubu found the show's premise to be engaging, with Morgan's genius-level IQ and eccentricities offering a unique spin on the crime genre. Tinubu stated that while High Potential does not break new ground in the genre, it remains a perfectly adequate and formulaic watch. Tinubu appreciated the supporting cast, especially the chemistry between Olson and her co-stars, and highlighted the intriguing dynamic between Morgan and Detective Karadec.[26]
Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter said that High Potential is a show with a promising star but a shaky premise, praising Olson for her strong performance as Morgan. Fienberg found the exposition in the pilot, particularly Morgan's unsolicited revelation of her IQ, to be off-putting and distracting, noting it undermines the character's likability. He stated that the show struggles with its central premise, particularly around the question of how much Morgan's "high potential" actually contributes to solving cases, which leaves other characters feeling superfluous. Fienberg appreciated Olson's ability to ground the show and make the absurd moments enjoyable, but noted that the series as a whole is still finding its balance, with the chemistry between Olson and her co-stars, especially Daniel Sunjata, still developing. He concluded that while Olson represents the series' "high potential," the rest of the show needs to catch up.[27]
Ratings
The premiere of High Potential saw a 220% increase in viewership, reaching 11.5 million viewers across platforms within three days. Initially, the episode garnered 3.6 million viewers on ABC. After including Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, and other digital platforms, the viewership increased. The show's rating among adults aged 18-49 rose by 354%, from a 0.35 to a 1.59 in Multiplatform + 3 ratings. On Hulu, the series ranked in the Top 15 and held the No. 1 spot for three consecutive days starting September 22.[28][29]High Potential later became the most-watched new series on ABC in six years, surpassing The Conners' record from the 2018-2019 season. The episode that aired on October 22 was watched by 6.83 million viewers in the Live + 7 Days Nielsen ratings, marking ABC's top spot in the Tuesday night scripted lineup for the first time in four years. After including streaming data from Hulu and Disney+, the episode's viewership rose to 10.49 million viewers, showing a 191% increase from its Live + Same Day ratings of 3.6 million, with steady viewership retention since the pilot.[30][31]Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, revealed that High Potential ranked as the No. 12 show of the fall among adults 18–49 in Nielsen live+7 ratings, with a 0.57 rating. Including seven days of streaming, the show rose to No. 1 in the demographic with a 2.33 rating, reflecting a 309% increase driven by its performance on Hulu. It also became the most-streamed broadcast entertainment series of the fall, with 4.3 million streaming viewers, which boosted its total viewership from 6.5 million in live+7 to 10.8 million across platforms, making it the third most-watched show in total viewers.[32] The January 14, 2025, episode of High Potential set a series high with 13.19 million cross-platform viewers over seven days and a 2.44 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic (about 3.27 million viewers).[33] The episode also drew 9.14 million viewers in Nielsen's seven-day linear ratings. Streaming accounted for about 31% of the audience, with 4.05 million viewers, particularly skewing younger, with more than two-thirds of the 18-49 viewers (about 2.22 million people) watching via streaming. This performance marked the largest audience for an ABC drama in over four years, since Grey’s Anatomy episodes in fall 2020.[34]
Viewership and ratings per episode of High Potential
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