# High Potential

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. The series stars Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, an intellectually gifted cleaning woman who becomes a police consultant. Also starring are Daniel Sunjata as Morgan's partner Adam Karadec and Judy Reyes as Selena Soto, the head of their department. The series premiered on September 17, 2024. In January 2025, the series was renewed for a second season.

## Premise

The show centers on Morgan Gillory, a single mother with three children who works as a cleaning lady for the Los Angeles Police Department. She is also a high potential intellectual, with an IQ of 160. After solving a case using her unconventional mind, she becomes a consultant for the LAPD's Major Crimes division, where she is paired with no-nonsense detective Adam Karadec.
A subplot involves Morgan using the LAPD's help and resources to find out what happened to her first husband, Roman, the father of her older daughter Ava, who disappeared 15 years earlier when Ava was a baby.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, 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 Adam Karadec, a detective who is skeptical about Morgan being an asset to the LAPD but later becomes her dedicated partner
* Javicia Leslie as Daphne Forrester, Major Crimes investigator and Oz's partner
* Deniz Akdeniz as Lev "Oz" Ozdil, Major Crimes investigator and Daphne's partner
* Amirah J as Ava Gillory, Morgan's rebellious teenaged daughter whose father, Roman, disappeared 15 years before the series begins
* Matthew Lamb as Elliot Radovic, Morgan's son with her second ex-husband Ludo. He seems to have inherited his mom's high-potential intellect
* Judy Reyes as Selena Soto, head of the LAPD's Major Crimes Division, where Morgan serves as a consultant

### Recurring

* Taran Killam as Ludo Radovic, Morgan's second ex-husband, Ava's ex-stepfather and Elliot and Chloe's father who is a driving instructor. Despite their divorce, he and Morgan are on friendly terms, and he takes care of all three of her children as a "manny" salaried by the LAPD.
* Garret Dillahunt as Lieutenant Melon, the head of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division
* JD Pardo as Tom, a janitor at LAPD who is in nursing school and whom Morgan briefly dates

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | Alethea Jones | Drew Goddard | September 17, 2024 (2024-9-17) | 3.59 |
| Morgan Gillory, 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. Detective Adam Karadec, enraged that she tampered with police evidence, brings her in, but Morgan convinces Lieutenant Selena Soto that she's right about the wife. Selena has Karadec work with Morgan on the case and finding the wife, Lynette Acosta. Morgan and Karadec deduce that Lynette's husband was killed by one of her clients, who then kidnapped her to keep her quiet. 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, Ava, Morgan accepts the offer on the condition that Selena helps Morgan find her first husband, Roman, who vanished 15 years ago. ||||||
| 2 | "Dancers in the Dark" | Marc Webb | Todd Harthan & Marc Halsey | September 24, 2024 (2024-9-24) | 3.68 |
| Morgan's first official case involves a tap dancer, Damian, who was pushed off a roof onto his car. Lieutenant 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 is also Lieutenant Melon's jewel thief. The LAPD sets up a sting operation to catch the killer/jewel thief. Morgan tells Selena that she last saw Roman when she sent him out to get diapers for Ava. At home, Morgan tries to connect with Ava over her and Roman's art talent, 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. ||||||
| 3 | "Dirty Rotten Scoundrel" | Rebecca Asher | Dennis Saldua | October 8, 2024 (2024-10-8) | 3.78 |
| 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. ||||||
| 4 | "Survival Mode" | Pete Chatmon | Andrea M. Scott and Marc Halsey | October 15, 2024 (2024-10-15) | 3.36 |
| 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. ||||||
| 5 | "Croaked" | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Diane Ruggiero-Wright | October 22, 2024 (2024-10-22) | 3.60 |
| 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. ||||||
| 6 | "Hangover" | Rebecca Asher | Kassia Miller & Myung Joh Wesner | October 29, 2024 (2024-10-29) | 3.09 |
| 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. ||||||
| 7 | "One of Us" | James Roday Rodriguez | Teleplay by : Marc Halsey Story by : Marc Halsey and Jordana Lewis Jaffe & Dennis Saldua | November 12, 2024 (2024-11-12) | 3.36 |
| 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. ||||||
| 8 | "Obsessed" | Rob Corn | Andy Berman & Nicole French & Marc Halsey | January 7, 2025 (2025-1-7) | 5.69 |
| 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. ||||||
| 9 | "The RAMs" | Alethea Jones | Rob Thomas | January 14, 2025 (2025-1-14) | 5.79 |
| The team investigates an intentional hit-and-run of a famous Los Angeles sportscaster, which involves figuring 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 gets 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. ||||||
| 10 | "Chutes and Murders" | Eric Dean Seaton | Kassia Miller | January 21, 2025 (2025-1-21) | 5.75 |
| 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 Oksana, a Russian nanny who harbored intense resentment toward Tara because she was friends with the nanny she replaced. Oksana created a fake Facebook account to impersonate the "concerned mother" and fuel the conspiracy. Karadec cleverly manipulated the nannies into exposing Oksana by implying their workplaces had nanny cams. ||||||
| 11 | "The Sauna at the End of the Stairs" | Viet Nguyen | Kat Sieniuc | January 28, 2025 (2025-1-28) | 4.77 |
| On his deathbed, George Donovan, a wealthy Beverly Hills patriarch, confessed on camera to murdering his son-in-law, Barry, by pushing him down the basement stairs, breaking his neck. However, Selena, who had initially investigated the case 10 years ago, 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" | Jennifer Getzinger | Todd Harthan & Marc Halsey | February 4, 2025 (2025-2-4) | 4.84 |
| Morgan works with Karadec and the team to investigate the death of tech mogul Anson Pierce, who collapsed after being poisoned. They have to work with the FBI and Ronnie, Karadec's former partner. Morgan clashes with the FBI, but Karadec convinces Ronnie to let Morgan look at the evidence the FBI collected, and Morgan finds a clue that leads them to Kenneth Sutton, a toxicologist whose daughter committed suicide after being cyberbullied on Anson's app. When Morgan and Karadec question Kenneth, he tries to flee, but dies from a fall. Morgan helps Karadec and Ronnie figure out that one of Anson's security guards was Kenneth's accomplice − he was dating Kenneth's daughter when she died. Karadec tells Morgan about how Ronnie left after they were set up as corrupt cops, but Karadec cleared their names. The two make amends and Ronnie offers Karadec a position at the FBI, but he declines, saying Morgan is his new partner. Ludo becomes overwhelmed with his childcare duties and collapses in exhaustion, scaring Elliot. Morgan comforts both of them, then she and the kids surprise Ludo with Mexican food and a movie to thank him. ||||||
| 13 | "Let's Play" | James Roday Rodriguez | Todd Harthan & Marc Halsey | February 11, 2025 (2025-2-11) | 5.16 |
| A psychopath kidnaps people from a grief counseling group, including Oz, and wants the LAPD to "play" with him, using various games as clues to the victims' locations. Meanwhile, Conforth returns, and tells Morgan that he only plans on working directly with her, not the LAPD. Morgan accepts the terms, but Karadec wants to be the one who talks to Conforth. Conforth tells Morgan that before he disappeared, he was working for a woman named Lyla. Karadec, using Ronnie's connections, learns that Lyla was an FBI agent who died around the time Roman disappeared, and had Roman working for her as an informant. Conforth calls for Morgan to meet him at a hotel for some info, but Karadec goes instead. Conforth is hesitant to trust him, but gives Karadec the information. Meanwhile, Morgan is getting groceries with her kids, and a stranger helps her. When she gets home, she finds a message from the kidnapper, and Morgan realizes that the kidnapper was the stranger she met earlier. Morgan then gets a call from Karadec, who tells her that he knows Roman's location. ||||||

## Production
### Development

On September 20, 2022, High Potential was given a pilot order by ABC. The pilot was written by Drew Goddard. 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. On June 5, 2024, Thomas exited as the showrunner for the series. On June 21, 2024, Todd Harthan was announced as the new showrunner who would also serve as an executive producer, replacing Thomas. High Potential is the last series from ABC Signature before the division was folded into 20th Television on October 1, 2024.
On January 21, 2025, ABC renewed the series for a second season.

### Casting

Upon the series pickup announcement, Olson, Daniel Sunjata, Javicia Leslie, Deniz Akdeniz, Amirah J, Matthew Lamb, and Judy Reyes were cast in starring roles. On July 1, 2024, Garret Dillahunt joined cast in a recurring capacity. On August 21, 2024, Taran Killam was cast in a recurring role.

## Release

High Potential premiered on September 17, 2024 on ABC. The series was later made available to stream on Hulu. Due to the show’s initial atypical production schedule and Kaitlin Olson’s commitment to her other series regular job on FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, ABC only ordered 13 episodes for the first season instead of a longer 20-episode season.

## Reception
### Critical response

The series holds a 96% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10. 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
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.
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.

### 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. 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. 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. 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). 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.
Viewership and ratings per episode of High Potential :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Pilot" | September 17, 2024 | 0.35/6 | 3.59 | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | "Dancers in the Dark" | September 24, 2024 | 0.31/5 | 3.68 | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | "Dirty Rotten Scoundrel" | October 8, 2024 | 0.34/5 | 3.78 | — | — | — | — |
| 4 | "Survival Mode" | October 15, 2024 | 0.33/4 | 3.36 | 0.26 | 3.28 | 0.59 | 6.60 |
| 5 | "Croaked" | October 22, 2024 | 0.29/4 | 3.60 | 0.27 | 3.23 | 0.56 | 6.83 |
| 6 | "Hangover" | October 29, 2024 | 0.26/3 | 3.09 | 0.31 | 3.41 | 0.56 | 6.50 |
| 7 | "One of Us" | November 12, 2024 | 0.25/4 | 3.36 | 0.29 | 3.40 | 0.54 | 6.77 |
| 8 | "Obsessed" | January 7, 2025 | 0.50/6 | 5.69 | 0.29 | 3.28 | 0.78 | 8.73 |
| 9 | "The RAMs" | January 14, 2025 | 0.49/6 | 5.79 | 0.28 | 3.29 | 0.77 | 9.08 |
| 10 | "Chutes and Murders" | January 21, 2025 | 0.47/6 | 5.75 | 0.27 | 3.17 | 0.74 | 8.91 |
| 11 | "The Sauna at the End of the Stairs" | January 28, 2025 | 0.35/5 | 4.77 | 0.20 | 3.11 | 0.63 | 7.88 |
| 12 | "Partners" | February 4, 2025 | 0.35/5 | 4.84 | 0.34 | 3.51 | 0.69 | 8.35 |
| 13 | "Let's Play" | February 11, 2025 | 0.43/6 | 5.16 | 0.32 | 3.45 | 0.75 | 8.61 |

### Accolades

High Potential was nominated for Best Action/Thriller Television Series at the 52nd Saturn Awards.