Kaitlin Olson, Judy Reyes Have “High Potential” for a New Hit Mystery-Comedy Series

Writer/director Drew Goddard plays to his Portland-born star’s strengths without asking her to venture far from familiar territory.

Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) reviews a case file in "High Potential" (IMDB)
By Andrew Jankowski

Kaitlin Olson doesn’t shake off Sweet Dee Reynolds in her newest TV show, High Potential, ABC’s remake of the French high-concept mystery-comedy series HPI. She’s not being asked to venture past her comfort zone, but Olson does wade into more emotionally nuanced territory as an abrasive dysfunctional genius. Olson opens High Potential’s pilot episode, which aired Sept. 17, dancing to fellow Portlander Beth Ditto’s voice on “Heavy Cross,” begging the question if Gossip is now mom rock.

Olson plays Morgan, a single mother of three kids by two men who, despite possessing an IQ of 160 and encyclopedic knowledge of nearly every documentary on anything, cleans a Los Angeles police office at night. Morgan knocks over a police file and compulsively points out the case’s mistakes. Selena, the department’s captain (Judy Reyes, playing her tough nurturer strong suit), hires Morgan as a consultant who proceeds to break the law and trample on the feelings of her case’s witnesses-turned-suspects. Morgan is kept in check by sourpuss Detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata, Rescue Me) and his partner Daphne (Javicia Leslie, Batwoman), emotionally intelligent detectives who care about the law.

Plausibility strain aside, Olson’s famously irreverent, off-kilter comedic sense is on full display, thanks to material from writer/executive producer Drew Goddard (The Martian, The Cabin in the Woods, Lost). Olson’s turn as a stressed-but-supportive mom to teenage Ava (Amirah J), who doesn’t share her brother’s IQ or dad, is believably tender, while Karadec’s constant annoyance with Morgan is bubbling into will-they-won’t-they chemistry. High Potential will immediately appeal to high-concept fans who need a fun, engaging comfort show to loop beyond documentaries, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Scrubs. The first two episodes offer enough intrigue for a devoted fan base to find the series (what happened to Ava’s possibly hot dad?) but doesn’t ask too much of its cast or audience. TV-14. ABC (KATU), Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Sling and YouTube.

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