ABC’s hit comedy proceduralHigh Potentialhas shown another side of comic actor Kaitlin Olson, and now the series has scored a season 2 renewal. Based on the French seriesHPI, the show follows Olson’s Morgan, a woman with an IQ of 160 who works as a janitor for the Los Angeles Police Department to support her three children.
After using her superior intellect to crack a case, Morgan is brought on as a consultant to help the detectives solve other crimes. Mixing the usual police procedural elements with a healthy dose of comedy,High Potentialshakes up the formula while remaining grounded.
One of the big reasons the show succeeds is the performance of Olson, who transitions well from her years on the over-the-top comedy,It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Despite being a more grounded and conventional series,High Potentialscored rave reviewsfrom critics (viaRotten Tomatoes) in its debut outing, and there’s no reason to think it shows any signs of stopping.
High ratings were the first indication that Morgan’s gig with the LAPD isn’t up yet, and ABC was quick to order a second season of the popular new comedy.
High Potential Season 2 Latest News
A New Captain Joins High Potential
The latestHigh Potentialseason 2 news is that there is a new cast member joining the series.Steve Howey is reportedly joiningHigh Potentialas a series regular.Howey will play police Captain Jesse Wagner.That would be the highest-ranking officer the show has featured so far.
Howey is a familiar face for TV fans. He became a household name after playing the titular character’s son-in-law on Reba. Howey is best known for his comedic roles, like that inReba, but he is equally adept in dramatic roles, like that inShameless.
Howey will fit right in with the rest of the cast. Although the show is technically a dramatic procedural, they also get to relay plenty of snappy one-liners and offer up a comedic tone.
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Those who have comparedHigh Potentialto crime proceduralPsychwill enjoy learning thatPsychseries star James Roday Rodriguez has a connectionto the show. He previously directed episodes of the first season ofHigh Potential.Rodriguez is returning to direct the season 2 premiere, and potentially more episodes.
Rodriguez is in a unique position to understand the series since his character inPsychutilized many of the same skills asHigh Potential’sMorgan, and both series maintain a similar light tone despite investigating murders. Rodriguez’s point of view will likely be welcomed by fans in the new season.
High Potential Season 2 Is Confirmed
ABC Quickly Renewed High Potential Season 2
High Potentialscored big when it first debuted on ABC, and though those numbers seemed unsustainable at the time, the freshman program somehow increased viewership. Bumping up to an average same-day audience of over 5.7 million people,ABC had no choice but to renewHigh Potentialfor a sophomore outing.
The renewal was only the second that ABC gave out in early 2025 and speaks to the overwhelming popularity of the quirky procedural.
High Potential season 1 debuted on June 19, 2025, and concluded on August 24, 2025.
The latestHigh Potentialseason 2 news is thatproduction is underway. The cast went back to work in May 2025withJavicia Leslie and Daniel Sunjata sharing the newson High Potential’s official TikTok. Their videos only featured the actors in costume and did not offer up much for fans of the show to theorize about concerning the upcoming season.
While not much information has been revealed from the cast members on set, it is known that they’re back to work so early because the series will not be a midseason replacement show for ABC like the first season was. Instead,High Potentialseason 2 will be part ofABC’s fall 2025 lineup, airing on Tuesday nights.
High Potential Season 2 Cast Details
Will Kaitlin Olson Return As Morgan?
Filling the void left behind by shows likePsych,High Potential’s strongest aspect is the performance of star Katilin Olson as the brilliant single mom, Morgan. With the show renewed for a second season,Olson’s return is all but guaranteed, and she’s the glue that could help turn the series into a long-running hit.
Joining her, Daniel Sunjata is back as Detective Karadec, and Morgan still has a long way to go to convince the skeptical cop of her fitness for the LAPD. Likewise, Javicia Leslie is back as Daphne, one of the detectives in Karadec’s unit, as well as Deniz Akdeniz as Oz, Daphne’s partner on the job.
Another likely return is that of David Giuntoli’s mystery character, who was introduced in the season 1 finale. The mastermind behind the evil plot in season 1’s conclusion was revealed to Morgan in the grocery store, where he left a message that they will meet again.
David Giuntoli
Unknown Villain
One return that is a bit more up in the air for theHigh Potentialseason 2 cast is Taran Killam as supporting character Ludo. Ludo is the father of two of Morgan’s children and is her “manny” while she consults with the police.
Killam, however, booked a role in an NBC comedy pilot as one of the lead characters. If the show is picked up to series, the audiencecould see less of Ludo inHigh Potentialgoing forward.
The only new cast member announced forHigh Potentialseason 2 so far is Steve Howey, who joins the show as Captain Jesse Wagner. He will be the first series regular to have that rank among the police officers in the show so far, but little else has been revealed about the character.
High Potential Season 2 Story Details
A New Big Bad Could Torment The LAPD In Season 2
Throughout the triumphant debut season,High Potentialsaw Morgan crack case after case with relative ease and a little help from her colleagues. However, the finale pulled a bit of a twist and introduced a potential ongoing villain who could return to challenge Morgan’s crime-busting brain.
David Giuntoli’s mystery villain is being set up as the big bad for season 2, and he could present an ongoing challenge for Morgan and the LAPD. Season 2 could explain a bit more about who this Moriarty-like character really is.
On another front, Morgan got the shock of her life when Karadec revealed that Roman is not only alive, but that his whereabouts are known. This puts her in a tough spot because she must choose between chasing him, or accepting what she’s already faced for years.
Judy Reyes revealed to ScreenRantthat themystery behind Roman will create tension between Morgan and Selenagoing forward:
She said, “You work with me, I’ll find your husband.” So she has to live up to that promise. That’s all I can say. And that will have an impact on their relationship. It’ll bring them closer. It’ll create some drama, but we are a drama.
Behind-the-scenes informationfrom the production ofHigh Potentialseason 2indicates that Morgan is still hard at work with the LAPD a few episodes into the season. That would indicate that whatever information Morgan finds out about her ex does not completely solve the mystery of him leaving her.
It also means that even if Roman is found safe and sound, Morgan is not likely to leave her consulting job any time soon.
High Potential’s Best Replacement Show Can Also Spoil Roman’s Fate Ahead Of Season 2 (And It’s Available To Stream)
High Potential season 2 won’t premiere until fall 2025, but fans can watch a great replacement TV series that possibly contains spoilers.
With so much mystery to cover,fans should not expect romance to be a major focus of the procedural in season 2.Akdeniz and Leslie joked with ScreenRantabout not being able to stand one another when asked if their partnership on the force could become romantic.
Likewise, Olson has saidMorgan currently views Karadec as more like a brotherthan a romantic interest. If there is romance coming between any of the main characters, it is likely to be much more of a slow burn.
High Potentialshowrunner Todd Harthan has also been candid about how the work on the first season exhausted him. He has promised a different approach to the second season, saying specifically:
…once you have a first season under your belt, you sort of learn some things good and bad … you go in with a different mentality, different game plan.
While Harthan has not been specific about what that “different game plan” might be for the second season, fans are hopeful the changes will notbegin the downfall ofHigh Potential, but will instead only give them more of what they loved about the first season.
As anticipation builds for the return of 2024’s biggest new series, moreHigh Potentialnews comes in the form ofan episode count tease from star Kaitlin Olson. Though the actor/producer couldn’t give away any specifics, she did make it clear thatseason 2 will have “a little more” episodes than its predecessor.
As network TV episode counts continue to dip, Olson’s update is a heartening one, and proves that ABC is truly invested in the show’s future. Since season 1 had only 13 episodes,season 2 will likely have anywhere between 15 and 18.
That means the overarching mysteries will have more room to breathe in the new season as well, allowing the series to continue to build those mysteries alongside its cases of the week. Whatever happens inHigh Potentialseason 2, it could top its predecessor.
High Potential
Cast
Morgan, a single mother of three with a brilliant but unconventional mind, partners with a methodical detective after solving a crime during her job as a cleaner. Together, they form an unlikely but effective duo, blending her unique problem-solving skills with his by-the-book approach to tackle challenging cases.
