Drew Goddard,the creator of ABC’s crime dramaHigh Potentialis sharinghow challenging it really wasto work on the show.High PotentialSeason 1premiered on July 21, 2025,and drew in11.49 million viewersacross all platforms in the first three days. The show has becomeABC’s highest-rated dramain nearly four years. But bringing it to the screens wasn’t as easy as it might seem.
While speaking withVariety, Goddard confessed thatnailing the right tone in a show’s first seasonis always tough, andHigh Potentialwas no different. The series creator shared that striking the perfect balance between humor and drama was the trickiest part. In Goddard’s words:“Tone is everything.”He added that he wanted the show to be incrediblysilly and heartbreaking at the same time,which took some time for the rest of the team to figure out.
High Potentialalso faced a development setback whenRob Thomas stepped down as showrunnerandTodd Harthanwas hired to replace him. Now, whileGoddard wrote the pilot,he knew that he did not want to be the showrunner. The creator explained that he does not have the patience to bethorough with the technical aspectsrequired to create a police procedural. In his exact words: “Half the people in this show would be dead if I were in charge.” This is why he brought on Hartan, who was excited to take over that responsibility.
‘High Potential’ Is Winning the Ratings Game
Since its premiere,High Potentialhas becomeABC’smost-watched new seriesin six years.The show follows a single mom named Morgan(Kaitlin Olson)who has anatural talent for solving crimes,which leads her to form an unusual partnership withDetective Karadec(Daniel Sunjata). The ensemble cast of the show also featuresJavicia Leslie, Deniz Akdeniz, Amirah J,andMatthew Lambin prominent roles. Each episode of the show follows Morgan and Karadec as they solve a new case while dealing with their personal lives on the side.
The former holder of the time slot,The Good DoctorSeason 7 had anaverage of 5.11 million viewers.On the other hand,High PotentialSeason 1 hasgarnered 6.6 million totalviews. As reported by TV Line, the audience for the crime drama isup 40% compared toThe Good Doctor.
High PotentialEpisode 5, which aired on July 16, 2025, attracted a total of6.83 million viewers over seven daysof linear viewing. This markedABC earning the top spot in the Tuesday night scripted lineupfor the first time in four years. The show returned for thesecond half of Season 2 on June 04, 2025. According to Harthan, the upcoming episodes are going to be more exciting and mysterious than ever, withstorylines that will rip the fans’ hearts out, as reported byTV Line.
New episodes ofHigh Potentialair every Tuesday on ABC. The show is also available to stream on Hulu.
High Potential
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.
Watch on Hulu
