SinceHigh Potentialseason 1 was a huge success, I’m so glad that ABC wisely accepted star Kaitlin Olson’s terms to star in the series. Adapted from the French TV showHPI,High Potentialis an offbeat crime comedy that focuses onIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiastar Kaitlin Olson’s heroine, Morgan. A quirky cleaner with a super-high IQ, Morgan ends up helping out as a consultant for her local police department when her keen eye for detail helps her uncover clues that the rest of the detectives have overlooked.
Thanks to the success of season 1,High Potentialseason 2is highly anticipated. However, especially in earlier episodes before the rest of the team was introduced, the show’s success was initially reliant almost entirely on Olson’s central role.High Potential’s Morgan could have been too outlandish to be believable, but she also ran the risk of being too bland and forgettable to make an impression on viewers. Fortunately, Olson managed to bring a singular charm to the role, thus elevating the series as a whole.
Kaitlin Olson Wanted High Potential To Be Filmed In Los Angeles
Kaitlin Olson Insisted The Procedural Was Not Shot Outside Her Home City
WhileHigh Potentialseason 2’s Morganmight try to present herself more professionally, a big part of the season 1 heroine’s appeal was her unabashed quirkiness and her unique personality. Olson’s character balanced a playful, unpredictable attitude with realistic, relatable responsibilities, as Morgan had to work out how to raise her three children while also partaking in high-stakes police investigations.
Interestingly, Olson herself faced the same dilemma when she began working onHigh Potential. Speaking at ABC’s FYC panel (viaGoldderby),Olson revealed that she was only willing to makeHigh Potentialif the show was filmed in LAas she refused to spend time away from her family for the sake of the series. Per the star, “I said, ‘My kids live in L.A. and I’m not doing it unless it’s shot here.”
Olson’s firm approach paid off, asHigh Potentialdebuted to an audience of 3.59 million viewers and had built this viewership up to 5.16 million by the end of season 1.
Olson went on to say, “If I’m signing on to the show and I know who’s running it, I know who’s directing it, I know who created it, I know what I’m going to bring to it — it’s going to be successful. I’m not moving across the country for the entire year, so we’ll do it here or get someone else, respectfully.” Olson’s firm approach paid off, asHigh Potentialdebuted to an audience of 3.59 million viewers and had built this viewership up to 5.16 million by the end of season 1.
High Potential’s Success Makes ABC Obliging Olson Worth It
High Potential Owes A Lot of Its Success To Olson’s Starring Role
WhileHigh Potentialseason 1’s lingering mysteriesmight be resolved fast in season 1, the show is still likely to keep viewers hooked, thanks in large part to Olson’s engaging central role. As such,the decision to shoot in LA was well worth it to secure Olson’s acting services.High Potentialis one of the 2024/2025 TV season’s biggest breakout shows, and a huge part of its success comes down to Olson. ABC could have saved money by filming the series elsewhere, but it wouldn’t be the same without Olson.
High Potentialreturns with season 2 in the fall of 2025, airing new episodes on Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on ABC.
By refusing Olson’s demand, the network would have shot itself in the foot for the sake of short-term financial savings. Opting to invest in Olson instead allowedHigh Potentialto become a huge hit thanks to her likable performance in the lead role.High Potential’s most underused charactersprove that the show has more stars than just theIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphiaalum, but Olson’s role in its success still can’t be overstated.
What To Expect From High Potential Season 2
High Potential Season 2 Will See Morgan Take On More Cases
AsHigh Potentialreturns, the show’s biggest storyline will be Morgan’s attempts to hunt down the psychopath who took Oz hostage in the finale. Although Deniz Akdeniz’s character escaped safely, the kidnapper was never detained and his considerable intelligence makes him one of the show’s biggest potential threats to Morgan.
There will be plenty of other problems forKaitlin Olson’sHigh Potentialheroineto face later in season 2, but wrapping up this unfinished season 1 plot will be the show’s main priority. It is not yet clear how many ofHigh Potentialseason 2’s episodes will focus on specific cases and how many will be devoted to a season-long arc, but this will all be revealed when the popular series returns to screens later this year.
