[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for High Potential.]

Summary

The ABC series ‘High Potential’ follows a single mom that partners with detectives to solve crimes using her unique skills.

Blending drama and comedy, the series maintains a grounded tone and takes its crime-solving seriously.

Actress Kaitlin Olson enjoys playing a complex, mouthy character with interesting family dynamics.

Based on the French series Haut Potentiel Intellectuel (HPI) and created for American TV by Drew Goddard, the ABC series High Potential follows single mom of three, Morgan Gillroy (Kaitlin Olson), whose genius ability for solving crimes and sharp wit establishes a partnership at an LAPD station, alongside Detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata). Helping to close cases also provides Morgan with the unique opportunity to try to figure out what happened with the disappearance of her oldest child’s father, 15 years prior.
During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Olson talked about playing a scrappy character that doesn’t love authority, how the wardrobe and fingernails inform her performance, getting everyone on the same page over the tone, how cathartic it is to play a smart ass, Morgan’s admirable qualities, why she loved her character’s introduction in the pilot, the family dynamic, and trying to solve Morgan’s own mystery.
‘High Potential’ Gives Kaitlin Olson the Opportunity To Play a Smart Ass Who Uses Her Skills for Good

Image via ABC

Collider: Obviously, with any new TV series, you can’t fully know what you’re signing up for because you’re really only given the very beginning of the story. What sold you on this?
KAITLIN OLSON: I got really excited about this character, just the fact that she is scrappy, she’s a single mom, she’s making ends meet and always has, she doesn’t rely on anyone else, and she doesn’t love authority. And then, she gets thrown into this situation where she has an opportunity to use all the skills that she has, but she’s never really seen as benefits, for the most part. She gets to use those skills and be appreciated for them, and it doesn’t make her a weirdo, it makes her valuable. It’s just a very complex character that’s very well-rounded and complicated. It was a very exciting opportunity to play that.
From The Mick to Hacks to High Potential, it seems like you have a real knack for playing characters that are defined by interesting family dynamics. Is that something you’ve noticed that you seem to be drawn to?
OLSON: Not consciously, but I’m definitely drawn to characters who are trying to prove their worth, and that has to come from some sort of messed up childhood. I find that fascinating. People with a chip on their shoulder, even when I meet them in real life, I’m like, “What happened? Let’s talk about what happened when you were growing up. What are you trying to prove to me and why?” They just wanna pretend that everything is fine, and there’s something about that that’s so fun to play. They’re like, “I’ve got this covered. I don’t need you. I’m fine.” And literally everybody is more complicated than that.
How did you approach figuring out who this character is? Were there any real people that you spoke to? What was most helpful for you?
OLSON: No real people. I’m just a big people watcher. I find that I’m pretty sensitive, so if I’m speaking to somebody I don’t know, I’m a big fan of asking questions and figuring out what’s really underneath. There’s always a point in a conversation where somebody drops their facade and starts being who they really are, and I’m fascinated by the psychology of what part of themselves people want to present to the world. I learn a lot about people in that way. To me, it’s pretty obvious that somebody who dresses like this and walks around with her head held high in situations where maybe it’s awkward for her to be dressing like that, doesn’t care at all because she’s a fighter and she’s definitely been through a lot. That just makes me want to dig deeper and figure out why.

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How do you typically approach characters that you’re going to play? Is there one thing you like to figure out first, or is it different for each character?
OLSON: I always start with what’s really going on. People usually have an inner dialog that they’re really thinking when they say something, so what’s really under what I’m saying and why am I answering in this way? And definitely, the wardrobe, hair and makeup makes a big difference. I really like collaborating with the people who do that, in order to figure it out. Personally, in my real life, I don’t wear heels very often and I don’t wear very short skirts very often. I prefer to just be comfortable. She is constantly in heels and very, very short skirts with ridiculous nails where I can’t even put my hands in my pockets without worrying that they’re gonna pop off. That’s something that’s fascinating to me. Is this woman who’s a mother of three, working jobs that are manual labor, still gonna wear these nails every day? There’s something to that. All the departments are very important. It all blends together, which is why I like to be there from the beginning and have my hands in all the different parts of it.
What has it been like to figure out the tone of the show? It’s part drama and part comedy, but it’s not jokey comedy. You’re dealing with the world of crime, so there’s a certain level of darkness to that. How has that been to figure out?
OLSON: The toughest thing to pull off is the tone that you’re looking for and getting everybody from every department on the same page. We’re definitely not unique, in that we have our Season 1 issues of figuring out, “Okay, we could go this route, but that would set us up for this.” It’s a lot of trial and error. I’m so proud of and happy with where we are. This is a very real world and there’s real stuff going on. People are being murdered. That is the show. It is a crime procedural. But Morgan’s not a cop. She is a big, boisterous, loud, unapologetic, fun, quirky character. She can still do all this stuff and be a fun, funny, loving mom. She also just doesn’t respect authority that much, so there’s a lot of room for comedy there. I can’t help but be a smart ass in situations like this. There’s lots of humor to it, but the world is very grounded.
How much fun is it to play someone who is so mouthy? Are there ever times when you feel like you need to dial it back a little?
OLSON: It’s very fun. It’s very cathartic. Going too far would be making things ridiculous or big. I don’t ever want it to cross into silly or goofy or cartoony. There’s a way to be big and loud and serious and funny. The character is serious, but what she’s saying is funny to watch. As long as it’s grounded and a truthful reaction for me as her, it’s not too far. I like pushing things to the limit.
Kaitlin Olson’s ‘High Potential’ Character Doesn’t Care What Anyone Thinks About Her

Are there any aspects of how this character thinks and sees the world that you wish you had?
OLSON: Yeah, absolutely. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. Her house is a mess and it doesn’t bother her at all. Her kids are loved and well taken care of, and that’s the most important thing. Morgan’s brain is so full that she really is forced to just let go of everything that doesn’t matter, and I love figuring out what those things are. One of them is a very lived-in and loved, messy household. When she gets around to cleaning it, then great, that feels good. But it’s totally fine the way it is because her kids are good and she’s good. I would like to learn a little bit of that from her, just being able to let go of all the stuff that doesn’t matter. She’s not trying to keep up appearances. She really doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her. Those are admirable qualities.

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I love that our introduction to this character in the pilot was seeing her dance around the police station, just being free. When you read that, how did that help shape the character for you? What did that scene tell you about her? What was that scene like to shoot?
OLSON: That was just really fun. I thought it was a great cold open. I read this pilot, and pilots are tough, but I thought this was just such a good one. (Show creator/executive producer) Drew Goddard did such a wonderful job at having that be the cold open. And the way that it ends was at the opposite end of the spectrum. I just thought it was so great. We shot the pilot in Vancouver and Alethea Jones, our glorious director, is just a genius. I love her so much. She was like, “You have a choreographer and you’re meeting with him every Saturday. We shot that for a couple of days, and it was just so much fun. I love how it was cut together, and I love how it ends. It just really wraps Morgan up. It’s carefree. She’s doing her job, but she’s barely doing her job. She’s entertaining herself. She’s exhausted and cold and tired, but she’s a fighter. She’s a survivor. She’s just like, “Might as well enjoy it.” And then, when she knocks over the crime scene photos and puts it all together, and then goes back to business as usual, it was just so cool to me.
With the way her brain works and the way that it can’t seem to stop sometimes, how difficult is it for her to have friendships and form romantic relationships and even deal with her own children?
OLSON: Her son has an incredibly high IQ, like her, but he hasn’t been damaged yet. I think that it’s very important to her to not have him see it as such a burden, even though it’s made her life very challenging. I didn’t wanna lose sight of that, as we went through the series. Obviously, it ends up working, with her helping the police and it being a really positive thing. But I wanted to remember to incorporate all the ways that it’s torture for her, so we’ll see a little bit of that too. She doesn’t want that for her son. She wants him to just be the weird, smart kid, and that’s great because she loves him just the way he is.
The Heart and Soul of ‘High Potential’ Is Morgan’s Relationship With Her Family

Image via ABC

The kids and the relationship that you all have just feels so real and natural.
OLSON: Yeah, I’m really, really proud that the heart and soul of this series is Morgan with her family. I love the scenes that are at home. Normally, you’re dreading the scenes with the kids because you just don’t know about kids and animals. We got so lucky with Matthew Lamb and Amirah J, who are fantastic. I am so grateful to them for just showing up with their A-game, every single time. We’ve got some really powerful family stuff that happens throughout the season that I’m very excited for people to see.

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While she’s helping the police, Morgan has also asked the police to help her. How much of that will we learn about this season?
OLSON: A big part of that is the trust that she builds with Lieutenant Soto, played by Judy Reyes, who’s an absolute genius and a dream scene partner. There’s a definite throughline and it is an arc that we are exploring. It’s a big part of the series. It’s for Morgan, but really, it’s for her daughter. She doesn’t want her daughter to believe that she was abandoned by her dad because she truly believes that she was not and that something has happened. There’s a lot at stake, in figuring out what happened to Roman.

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A single mom with a brilliant but unconventional mind becomes an unlikely crime-solving partner to a by-the-book detective. Her unique ability to piece together clues that others overlook makes her indispensable to the LAPD Major Crimes unit, leading to an unorthodox but highly effective investigative duo.

Release Date

September 17, 2024

Cast

Javicia Leslie
, Kaitlin Olson
, Deniz Akdeniz
, Amirah J
, Matthew Lamb
, Judy Reyes
, Daniel Sunjata
, Garret Dillahunt
, TJ Lee
, Kayvon Esmaili
, Ariella Amar
, Michelle C. Bonilla
, Kerry O’Malley
, Graham Rogers
, Maia Jae Bastidas
, Pamela Roylance
, Rosslyn Luke
, Sebastien Roberts

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

1

Creator(s)

Drew Goddard

Network

ABC

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

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High Potential airs on ABC and is available to stream on Hulu. Check out this clip:

Watch on Hulu