Kaitlin Olson isn’t just acting — she’s detonating the screen. From the first frame, her performance is pure electricity — fierce, unrelenting, and impossible to look away from.
This isn’t your average detective story. It’s darker, sharper, and utterly addictive. Olson’s character is unpredictable and fearless, walking the razor’s edge between brilliance and obsession.
Critics are already calling it “a career-defining turn” and “the boldest network drama in years.” Every twist hits harder, every secret cuts deeper — and as the world around her unravels, one question remains:
How far will she go for the truth?
Kaitlin Olson Unleashes Her Inner Genius in ABC’s High Potential: A Crime Thriller That Redefines the Procedural
In the glittering yet gritty underbelly of Los Angeles, where the city’s pulse races with unsolved riddles and hidden agendas, ABC’s High Potential bursts onto the scene like a bolt of unfiltered brilliance. Premiering on September 17, 2024, this crime drama—created by Drew Goddard and inspired by the French-Belgian hit Haut Potentiel Intellectuel (HPI)—stars Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, a single mother and LAPD janitor whose 160 IQ turns her from mop-wielding underdog into an unstoppable force of deductive fury. Forget the cookie-cutter cops-and-robbers formula; High Potential doesn’t just raise the stakes—it shatters the genre’s glass ceiling, blending razor-sharp wit, emotional rawness, and pulse-pounding mysteries that leave viewers questioning everything. As Olson’s Morgan dives headfirst into a labyrinth of deception, the real thrill isn’t the whodunit—it’s watching a woman reclaim her power, one chaotic clue at a time. Critics are buzzing: this isn’t a show; it’s a seismic shift, with Olson “redefining the genre” through a performance that’s equal parts chaotic genius and heartbreaking vulnerability.
Olson, best known for her iconic turn as the unhinged Dee Reynolds in FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—a role that’s spanned 16 seasons and cemented her as comedy royalty—steps into dramatic waters with the ferocity of a storm. Here, she’s no longer the gang’s hapless wildcard; she’s Morgan, a fiercely protective mom juggling three kids (Ava, Elliot, and baby Chloe) while scrubbing floors to make ends meet. But beneath the scrubs lies a mind that spots the invisible threads connecting chaos to clarity. The pilot episode hooks you instantly: during a late-night cleaning shift, Morgan accidentally topples a case file box, only to reorganize the evidence in a way that cracks a stalled murder investigation wide open. Recruited as a civilian consultant for the LAPD’s Major Crimes Division, she’s thrust into an “unusual and unstoppable partnership” with the by-the-book Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), whose rigid protocols clash spectacularly with her intuitive leaps.
From her explosive debut, Olson commands the screen with an intensity that’s as electric as it is unpredictable. Every glance—sharp and assessing—every line laced with sardonic edge, every breath heavy with the weight of unspoken pain, drips with a raw authenticity that feels lived-in. She’s not just playing a detective; she’s embodying one: fearless in the face of forensic dead-ends, dangerously brilliant when piecing together alibis that crumble like sandcastles. Variety’s Aramide Tinubu praises her for injecting “quirky charm” into the role, noting how Morgan’s genius-level eccentricities offer “a unique spin on the crime genre.” Olson’s physicality amplifies it all—strutting through crime scenes in sky-high stilettos and miniskirts that scream defiance against underestimation, her wardrobe a deliberate rebellion against the “practical” cop uniform. It’s a visual metaphor for her character: overlooked until she strikes, then impossible to ignore.
What elevates High Potential beyond standard procedurals is its refusal to treat Morgan as a gimmick. She’s chaos incarnate—a whirlwind of trivia-spouting deductions, impulsive risks, and maternal ferocity—but Olson layers her with profound depth. Beneath the bravado simmers the ache of personal loss: a subplot threads through the season as Morgan uses LAPD resources to hunt for Roman, her ex-husband and Ava’s father, who vanished 15 years ago amid whispers of foul play. This isn’t filler; it’s the emotional engine, forcing Morgan to confront how far she’ll go for truth—not just in cases, but in her fractured family. Olson, a mother of two in real life, draws from that authenticity, telling Deadline at the premiere that the mystery “spoke to me as a mother,” blending vulnerability with grit. Her scenes with Amirah J (Ava) and Matthew Lillard (Elliot) are heart-wrenching gold, turning domestic banter into poignant reminders that genius doesn’t shield you from heartbreak.
The ensemble bolsters Olson’s tour de force without stealing her thunder. Sunjata’s Karadec is the perfect foil—a disciplined widower whose skepticism evolves into reluctant admiration, their chemistry crackling with banter that’s equal parts combative and charged. Judy Reyes shines as Selena Soto, the no-nonsense unit head who sees Morgan’s potential when others dismiss her as a liability. Javicia Leslie’s Daphne Forrester brings tech-savvy edge to the forensics game, while Deniz Akdeniz’s Oz Ozdil adds comic relief as the team’s resident optimist. Recurring guests like Taran Killam as Morgan’s ex and Garret Dillahunt as the grizzled Lieutenant Melon inject fresh dynamics, with Killam’s charm hinting at unresolved sparks. Directed by Alethea Jones in the pilot, the show’s visuals pop: sweeping LA skylines juxtaposed with cluttered evidence boards that mirror Morgan’s mind, all scored to a tense, pulsating soundtrack that amps the urgency.
As the mysteries deepen, so does the unraveling world around Morgan. Season 1’s cases range from a hotel overdose masking identity theft and vengeance to corporate scams and ritualistic killings, each laced with twists that subvert expectations. But the real genius is in the escalation: by mid-season, Morgan’s unorthodox methods—like staging mock crime scenes in her living room—draw federal scrutiny, blurring lines between ally and adversary. The finale detonates with a cliffhanger tying Roman’s disappearance to a shadowy “Game Maker,” a serial manipulator whose taunts force Morgan to question her own sanity. It’s here that Olson’s range explodes: terror flickering behind her eyes, her voice cracking as she whispers, “How far will I go?” The question hangs like smoke, not just for the plot, but for her character’s soul.
Fans and critics alike are hooked. Rotten Tomatoes boasts a 96% approval rating, with the consensus hailing Olson’s “ineffable” presence as the spark in a “solid procedural with plenty of upside.” On X, posts explode with fervor: one user raves, “Kaitlin Olson is utterly charming as Morgan… complete hokum, but elevated completely,” while another calls it “today’s Castle—so good.” Reddit threads dissect her wardrobe (that mesh bomber jacket from Season 2? Iconic), and semantic searches reveal a chorus of “unstoppable” and “revelation.” The numbers back it: High Potential shattered records as ABC’s most-watched new series in seven years, with 13.19 million cross-platform viewers for its January 2025 finale, pulling a 2.44 rating in the 18-49 demo. Renewed swiftly for Season 2 in January 2025, it returns September 16, 2025, introducing Steve Howey as the slick new captain Nick Wagner—a potential love interest who oozes charm and complication. Mekhi Phifer joins in a secretive role, possibly as Roman, while the trailer teases escalating threats: “While shielding her family from the Game Maker, another crime drags Morgan back in.”
Slate dubs it “proof we need more of a certain kind of TV”—episodic, comforting escapism amid prestige overload, akin to Psych or White Collar but with sharper emotional hooks. The AV Club echoes this for Season 2, lauding Olson’s “fantastic reactions” and warm rapport, though urging deeper side-character arcs. Rumors of Olson exiting? Baseless— she’s “absolutely terrified” in the premiere but committed, pushing for messier, more flawed Morgan.
Yet High Potential‘s alchemy is in its honesty: Morgan’s brilliance comes at a cost—alienating colleagues, straining family ties, and dredging buried traumas. Olson spins pain into propulsion, genius into grit, making every unraveling thread feel personal. In a genre bloated with brooding antiheroes, she’s a revelation: a woman who weaponizes her “mess” into mastery. As Season 2 looms with ghosts (literal and figurative) in episodes like “Chasing Ghosts,” one truth endures: in Morgan’s world, guilt is secondary. The real crime would be looking away.
