Like a tornado, High Potential fiercely tore its way through the 2024-2025 broadcast television season. The show quickly rose to the top of everyone’s “Watch” list.
From its impeccable writing to casting talented actors to play likable characters, the series has rewritten the book on how to make a police procedural exciting without reverting to over-the-top drama.
So, how in the world could High Potential improve itself when the show is already a hit across the board?
First, we are using the term “improve” rather loosely. If anything, there’s nothing to take away from the series. It’s more about adding to what makes High Potential such a fantastic series.
To start, as great as it is to see Miss Mama Morgan looking like a pro at juggling work and family, it would be even better to see how she was before becoming a fierce mama bear.
ABC Is Just Leaving Money on the Table by Not Exploring Morgan’s Undoubtedly Colorful Past
What amazing things can we even say about Morgan Gillory that aren’t glaringly obvious from every second she spends on the screen? I’m so glad you asked, but we’d be here all day if I attempted to list them all.
Suffice it to say, Morgan is the kind of character that almost every person can relate to on one level or another. For instance, she’s an amazing mother who relishes every moment with her family.
Still, there is so much more to Miss Gillory than fans of High Potential may even realize. More specifically, we have almost no clue what Morgan’s life was like before the show.
Sure, the info dump concerning her dad on High Potential Season 1 Episode 13 gave us a little insight right there at the end of the season.
However, all that did was make it evident that we know nothing about the character because we’re far more interested in what she already knows — i.e., that big brain of hers.
It takes a special kind of writing to make fans oblivious to the fact that they know virtually nothing about their favorite character other than that she loves mini-skirts and animal prints.
The character may have dropped little tidbits about her parents throughout High Potential Season 1, but they’re so far and few between that it would take an analytical genius to keep track of them.
Now, where could we find someone with advanced cognitive capabilities?
We know a little about Morgan’s (Kaitlin Olson) cold father, but what about her mother? Or, even more recently, how did she meet Roman or Ludo? Did she take to being a mom right away, or was there a learning curve?
At the very least, High Potential would benefit by expanding on how Morgan’s high intelligence hindered her growing up. That’s just money that ABC is leaving on the table.
Then again, Kaitlin Olson has a hectic schedule due to still being a major character on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So, hopefully, she’ll have the time to allow for even more episodes when High Potential returns.
No One Is Going to Mind Seeing Detective Adam Karadec In A Few More Scenes, But It Would Be Nice If Captain Selena Received the Same Treatment
Normally, I would ding a show for being too lax with character development, but High Potential keeps the plot so tight that we don’t even notice how little we’ve seen of the main characters.
Take Detective Adam Karadec, for example. We know he likes to workout, watch baseball, and drink whiskey. He also had a partner who is now in the FBI, and, finally, Karadec is apparently a bit of a lady’s man.
We know all these random little things, but they do not equate to understanding the character’s life. Granted, it’s more than we know about Morgan, but still.
It’s fair to say that Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) is almost as much of a protagonist as Morgan. So, it’s not like we’ll be mad at a few more scenes with that tall drink of water that is LAPD’s Adam Karadec.
Are real detectives that hot and handsome? If so, I may have gone down the wrong career path. Just saying.
Anyway, High Potential Season 2 should definitely think about peeking into the more personal aspect of Adam’s life.
At least with Karadec, we have the building blocks for learning more about the character. We don’t even know where Captain Selena’s starting line is.
Seriously, it’s almost a ding with how the show has placed Judy Reyes‘s Selena on the back burner so many times.
The actress is phenomenal and has been honing her acting chops for decades. She has multiple TV Shows under her belt, including Devious Maids, Claws, and Jane the Virgin.
We just need something about the character — anything at this point — to show us what she’s like when she’s not dodging Detective Melon.
She’s not the last character who needs this same treatment, either. If you’re starting to notice a theme here, you’re on the right track.
High Potential Has More Than One Dynamic Duo with Great Chemistry Who Haven’t Even Begun to Show What They Are Capable of
This one is a no-brainer, but we really need far more than we’ve seen of Oz and Daphne. That dynamic duo has fantastic chemistry and gets such little screen time.
At least we finally got some insight into Oz with the revelation that he has been dealing with his father’s passing for about a year now.
On top of that, Deniz Akdeniz hasn’t even gotten the chance to show off what he has hiding underneath those suspenders. Before you get the wrong idea, I’m talking about his hot body.
Look, I just call hard work like I see it, and Deniz Akdeniz has put the time and effort into his abs.
For your own research, check out Ghosts Season 3 Episode 7, where the actor does a striptease for a ghost while using a sexy voice to talk about dinosaurs.
It’s a scene no one asked for, but was very well received by audiences — It’s me. I’m “audiences.”
All joking aside, Deniz Akdeniz has done an amazing job as Oz, and we are itching to know more about this handsome devil. Like, is there something between Oz and Daphne?
Now, I don’t want to relegate Daphne to just being a male character’s romantic interest, but given the two actors’ great chemistry, it’s a solid starting point.
What I personally want to see more of and think could really help High Potential is if there were more scenes of Daphne kicking ass.
Lord, that woman could take down a linebacker with how quickly she tackled Jeremy, one of the hostage takers in High Potential Season 1 Episode 7. More of that, please.
She could give Karadec a run for his money with how fast she jumps into action. Then again, the actress is no stranger to stunts, having appeared on both The Flash and Batwoman on The CW.
If the cases on High Potential weren’t such brain-twisters, Selena, Karadec, Daphne, and Oz could handle them on their own.
Thankfully, for Morgan and her paycheck, the need for her big brain only seems to be rising, especially after the events of “Let’s Play.”
One Improvement High Potential Could Make Might Be a Non-Starter, but It Would Help Many Viewers Who Have Issues with This Aspect of the Series
All the die-hard High Potential fans knew the Season 1 Finale would be incredible, but no one could have anticipated an entirely new arc to be introduced at the last minute.
Not to mention the introduction of the ridiculously handsome David Giuntoli (Grimm) as the kidnapper.
Sure, finales are all about cliffhangers and twists that keep us coming back for more, but “Let’s Play” had us at the edge of our seats from beginning to end.
Still, there are aspects of the cases that could use just the tiniest bit of tweaking to add to the fun.
For one, High Potential Season 1 Episode 1 introduced us to crime recreations through Morgan’s POV. Why this hasn’t been common place in every episode is beyond me.
It adds to the light feel of the series and helps balance out some of the more gruesome murders that have occurred so far.
On top of that, it helps explain what’s going on in a way that doesn’t leave us scratching our heads.
That brings me to my last point of where High Potential could make a small change that would be a vast improvement.
The only catch is that I don’t know how this issue could be resolved as I am not one of the genius writers on the High Potential team.
Basically, the series could enhance the viewing experience by simplifying the clues and explaining how one event leads to another in the case.
Now, if you can follow along without taking notes, I applaud you because that is definitely not me.
And I’m not saying the clues need to be spoon-fed, but something to help the cases feel less like an info dump.
However, Morgan’s whole schtick is that she speeds up the process of cracking the case, so I don’t know how the show could make following the clues and insights any easier.
So, ultimately, all ABC‘s High Potential needs for Season 2 is to expand more on the foundation it built with its freshman season.
The show should explore more of how Morgan became the woman she is, dive into the personal lives of the rest of the main characters, and find a way to make following the clues less confusing. Easy as pie, right?
What improvements do you think High Potential can do to make Season 2 even better?
Do you think trying to make the clues more straightforward to follow would be a lost cause for the show?
Please drop a comment below to let me know what you think, and join me again when I bring you more fun questions and opinions about High Potential!
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