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High Potential tl;dr: Everything you need to know about ABC's hit crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson

Want to know everything necessary about ABC's new breakout crime series before it returns to our screens? We've made a High Potential cheat sheet just for you

Guides by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Sat Jan 04 2025

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One of 2024’s buzziest new television series was ABC’s High Potential, and just watching one episode, it’s easy to see why. Even if you can ignore the charm of Kaitlin Olsen in the lead role — or the actors playing her adorable three kids as the back-up behind the back-up — then you’re still left with something that combines the comedy/drama of a Monk with the crime of the week workplace vibes of a show like Castle. That’s procedural TV gold right there, friends. How could you pass that up?

It’s a busy world, and you don’t have time to read, watch, or even listen to everything that’s out there. Sometimes, all you need is a cheat sheet to help you with the basics. That’s exactly what you’re about to read: a quick, no-nonsense guide to everything you need to know about High Potential. Want to learn everything you need to about the drama? We’ve got it all for you in four easy steps... but we've also included some extra-credit FAQs at the end to help broaden your horizons.

The Pitch: What is High Potential?

Kaitlin Olson — surely one of television’s most beloved actors after her turns on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the dear, departed The Mick, and her turn on Max’s amazing Hacks — plays Morgan, an overworked and underappreciated cleaner who just so happens to have an IQ of 160 and a skill at seeing what other people don’t. That comes in particularly handy when she accidentally solves a crime while cleaning the LAPD offices, leading to her being hired as a consultant to the department, much to the displeasure of some of the cops working there.

There’s more to the series than Morgan solving crimes, however; as with all the best procedurals, Morgan has a mystery of her own that she’s never been able to solve, and part of her arrangement with the LAPD is that she doesn’t just get paid to be their consultant — she also gets their assistance on tracking down her first husband, who mysteriously disappeared years ago. As might be expected, this isn’t a straightforward mystery, and there’s a conspiracy that may be at the root of everything that’s going on… but is Morgan smart enough to see it?

The Backstory: Where did High Potential come from?

High Potential is, technically, a remake of a European TV show. HPI — which stands for Haut Potentiel Intellectuel, French for “high intellectual potential” — has been running since 2021 in Belgium, France, and Switzerland; it follows the same basic set-up of the US version with Audrey Fleurot playing Morgane, a cleaner who becomes a police consultant because of her high IQ and ability to see details others miss. She, too, is searching for her first husband, who disappeared years earlier — but because European and US television formats differ so greatly, High Potential has to stand on its own feet beyond that set-up. After all, US network shows can make anywhere between 13 and 26 episodes every year, and HPI has only managed just over 30 in four seasons.

High Potential was in the works for a couple of years before it debuted; ABC ordered the pilot back in 2022, with Drew Goddard — who’s written for everything from Lost and Daredevil to the movies The Martian, The Cabin in the Woods, and Cloverfield — responsible for coming up with the spine of the US version. He wrote the pilot episode, and serves as executive producer on the show; for awhile, Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas was in line to be the showrunner on the series, but he stepped away months before its debut, and Psych veteran Todd Harthan took his place. The series premiered in the US on ABC September 17, 2024 and then streaming on Hulu; internationally, it streams on Disney+.

The Essential: What is the one key High Potential story to understand the series?

With the series so new (It’s only been on the air since September 2024!), it’s very easy to catch up with the entire thing as I type these words. (In fact, as of writing, only seven episodes have even aired.) However, if you’re looking for just one episode to unlock the whole thing, the best bet might be ‘Dancers in the Dark,’ the second episode of the show. Freed of having to introduce and set up the entire world of the series, ‘Dancers’ brings a novel crime, plenty of opportunity for Morgan’s natural gifts — not just her smarts, but her empathy, as well — to shine, and also develops the relationships between the main cast in a way that feels relatively organic. As a procedural, it’s a sharp example of why High Potential works, and what it can do really well.

(I mean, if you have time for a couple of episodes, watch the pilot as well; it's a lot of fun, and it literally introduces the series for new viewers.)

Extra credit question #1: What does High Potential mean?

Traditionally, the term “high potential” refers to something or someone who is likely to succeed in specifically set goals or meet a specified criteria. More generally, it can also refer to someone who is seen as being highly capable and able to adapt to new scenarios quickly, without losing the attributes that made them successful in the first place. Obviously, the latter applies very much to Morgan, but there’s a further element to the show’s title that might have deeper meaning for the character: Morgan is also someone who never had the opportunity to fulfill the potential others saw in her because of circumstance — something that is changing in her new position with the LAPD. It’s a twofer.

Extra credit question #2: How many High Potential episodes are there?

As of January 3, 2025, High Potential has aired seven episodes on ABC. How many episodes will High POtneital have? Two further episodes are already scheduled, for January 7 and January 14, respectively. The first season will run 13 episodes. ABC has not as of yet announced High Potential season 2, but there's a high potential it'll happen (pun intended).

Extra credit question #3: Is High Potential doing well in ratings?

To say that High Potential is a hit for ABC is an understatement; the pilot got more than 20 million viewers across multiple platforms, and it’s been ABC’s most-watched new show in six years, according to reports. It’s not just a hit; it’s a smash.

Extra credit question #4: Where is High Potential streaming?

Depending where you are in the world, High Potential can be streamed via Hulu in the US or Disney+ internationally. New episodes debut on ABC in the US.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.