“There Are Some Big Things Coming”

[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Season 2 of High Potential.]

Summary

In Season 2 of the ABC series ‘High Potential,’ Game Maker escalates, targeting Morgan’s family and testing her and the team.
An extended 18-episode season allows for serialized arcs and supporting characters to breathe.
The new, enigmatic Captain Wagner shifts dynamics while Morgan and Karadec’s bond deepens.

The ABC series High Potential returns for Season 2 with the spotlight turned on the Game Maker’s (David Giuntoli) threats directed at Morgan (Kaitlin Olson). Putting her family directly in the line of fire knocks the LAPD consultant off-kilter, leaving the team of detectives to question whether she’s seeing connections that aren’t really there. As the calculated killer taunts Morgan and Selena (Judy Reyes), who oversees Major Crimes, wonders if she’s pushing herself too hard, the initially wary Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) is now fully on board with his partner.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, showrunner Todd Harthan discussed what he learned from the first season that they were able to build on with Season 2, being able to tell more story with 18 episodes instead of 13, the dedication Olson brings to the show and character, why James Roday Rodriguez was the perfect director to kick off the season, kicking off the episode with a Lady Gaga song, what a true adversary for Morgan needs to embody, whether there’s any romance to come for Morgan and Karadec, how Roman will play into things in Season 2, and what viewers can expect from the new boss, Captain Wagner (Steve Howey).

‘High Potential’ Season 2 Is Leaning Into the Chemistry of the Cast

“They’re always rooting for each other.”

Collider: After a very successful first season, what do you think the show did best, that you wanted to build on with Season 2? What did you learn about the show once you had the characters and the relationships up and running? What did you want to do in Season 2 that you couldn’t have done with the first season?

TODD HARTHAN: Good question. With first seasons, you learn so many lessons, good, bad and ugly. You go, “Why did I do that? Why didn’t we do more of this and that?” There’s always that postmortem digestion period. We got lucky that the chemistry with the cast was already really syncing up and healthy. That was working from the jump. So then, it became about, what kind of cases do we want to tell and what kind of layers do we want to peel back for the various characters? The thing that worked that we continue to lean into is that these people, and not just Morgan with her kids because she loves them unconditionally, but this found family, and the loyalty and trust that continues to bloom between them is something that is real and infectious. It never gets catty and there’s no backstabbing. They’re all each other’s receptors and there’s a charm to that. We’re leaning into that even more this season. Not that there isn’t conflict and obstacles and adversity, but they’re stronger for it and get each other through. They’re always rooting for each other and that is something that we are continuing to strengthen and build around in Season 2 because it felt like the audience really appreciated that aspect of the show.

Did the extra episodes change how you wanted to approach anything this season, with the pacing of it or with things that you wanted to do, because you knew you’d have extra time?

HARTHAN: The thing that it gives us is more real estate to spread the wealth to other characters, which is something that we’re trying to be much better about. Last year was a little bit fast and furious, we didn’t really know what we had yet, and we didn’t have as many episodes. That’s probably the biggest gift of more episodes. We’re able to let the serialized, interpersonal storylines breathe. They don’t feel rushed. I don’t love too slow of a burn, but I also don’t like to cram things down the audience’s throat either. I think we’re able to move at a healthy pace this season, which has been nice.

What have you most enjoyed about the experience of collaborating with Kaitlin Olson? What is she like to work with as the lead and the number one, who’s also a producer? What does she bring to this character and this world?

HARTHAN: She brings dedication and specificity. Those are the two that come to mind right away. She’s so zeroed in on every aspect of the character, in the best of ways, and she has really good instincts. My job, oftentimes, when I put something in front of her like a new script or pitch or something, is to listen. She can hear the sour note in any scene. She just has really good instincts, as it relates to taking what we’ve given her, and helps us shape storylines, scenes, and everything. It’s lots and lots of communication and collaboration with her because she’s very hands-on and helps us build every one of these episodes.

James Roday, who I adore from Psych, directs your first episode this season and he directed the finale last season. Was he always going to do the first episode back after doing the finale with the cliffhanger?

HARTHAN: James and I have known each other for 30 years and have been collaborating for 20 or 25. Unquestionably, he was the guy that was going to kick us off this season. I adore him. He’s ridiculously talented. Kaitlin also just had an immediate creative click with him. He was the guy. We knew we wanted to do something big and ambitious, and to me, there’s just nobody better. He’s just incredible. Anytime he’s around, we’re happy to have him. I check his availability every week.

It was fun to see David Giuntoli on the show because they did A Million Little Things together.

HARTHAN: Yeah, that was James’ idea. We were talking about that character and James was like, “I’ve got the perfect guy.” That’s how that happened.

How cool was it to snag a Lady Gaga song (“Abracadabra”) to kick off the season?

HARTHAN: That was James’ idea. When we were figuring out that teaser and he was coming up with the opening shot and was figuring out how we were going to open the season and the vibe that we wanted, he was like, “I think I’ve got the perfect song.” And then, you brace yourself and go, “How much is that going to cost?” But in the end, it wasn’t that bad.

’High Potential’s Game Maker Crossed a Line by Threatening Morgan When She Was With Her Family

“She’s going to pull out all the stops.”

Kaitlin Olson as Morgan in a grocery store lot with her son as David Giuntoli approaches in High Potential

I always find it especially interesting when you use a case to target the cast directly in a show like this because it always throws them off a little bit, and the Game Maker definitely throws Morgan off. She’s finding her footing again, she’s questioning herself, and the team is questioning her a bit more than usual. Is it just harder for Morgan to keep her cool the more she feels like her family is threatened?

HARTHAN: Especially this guy who bumped into her at the grocery store with her kids. That’s crossing a line. That’s hitting a nerve. She’s going to pull out all the stops. It may throw her off kilter a little bit, but then when she refocuses and zeroes in on you, good luck winning that one. We’re always looking for ways to challenge the character. It’s fun to write those scenes that are a little bit more emotionally charged and erratic and fun, and all those wonderful things. Kaitlin Olson can do anything, so we’re always looking for ways to find those different colors.

There’s something very Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty about Morgan and the Game Maker. How hard is it to figure out what a true adversary for Morgan can be?

HARTHAN: They better be pretty darn smart. How do you challenge somebody like Morgan who’s so brilliant in an almost otherworldly, superhero kind of way? Well, they better be pretty inventive and detail-oriented because any tiny little mistake, she’s going to catch. The other thing was that I also didn’t have a huge appetite to do was a traditional sadistic serial killer. We needed someone smart and sadistic without being too over the top or too dark. It was tricky for us. We wanted to have our own identity. It’s not like we’re reinventing the wheel here. With these shows, when you want to create one of those big villains, you have to decide how you’re going to give them their own identity. It was challenging to crack the code on that one.

Without spoilers for how the storyline wraps up, did you always know what you wanted the ultimate outcome for the Game Maker to be, or was that something that kept evolving as you figured out exactly what you wanted to do with that character?

HARTHAN: I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted at first blush, but then you bring it to the writing staff and it starts to evolve and get richer and better and more interesting, and then you add layers and complexities. Even on the day, we were still going, “What if we do this?” To me, the wonderful thing about series television is, unlike a movie that you’ve got to wrap up in a couple of hours, it’s like, “What if we do this? What if this is the twist or if that’s the turn? What if this gives us more interesting story? Let’s not leave great episodes on the table by wrapping it up.” It’s an ongoing conversation. You go into these seasons, and you think you’ve got it all plotted and planned, but then it goes out the window when you dig in and other people throw ideas into the mix. So, I had a general idea, but it’s constantly blooming and growing and moving in different directions.

When actors have great chemistry, obviously viewers want to see more of the characters together and they get invested in possible romance between them. What can you say about what we’ll see between Morgan and Karadec this season? Is there a possibility for romance between them?

HARTHAN: I never say never. We’re early in our run of this show, I hope. I still love the bond and the friendship and the partnership that continues to bloom. Of course, we’re going to feed in those wonderful soapy moments. Anything can happen on this show. We’re a wild card. Anything can happen.

It also feels like she needs to solve her own past a little bit before she can figure out what the next thing could be.

HARTHAN: Agreed. Morgan has got a lot on her plate. But we’ve got some surprises this season. There are some things coming, some unexpected flares, if you will.

At the start of this season, we’re learning a little bit about Roman, but we’re doing so through Mekhi Phifer’s character. What can you say about all of that? When you’re dealing with a character like Roman, who’s been MIA for a while but we’ve heard about him all this time, did you want to have layers upon layers that everyone would have to keep working to peel back?

HARTHAN: Yeah. He’s been gone for 15 years, so we want to keep him alive and keep filling in the blanks of who he was through different characters while he’s not in our orbit. That was part of the plan, so that you’re not always reading about him in a file or hearing about him second or third hand. That’s been our approach. The Roman story is a big part of Season 2. There are some big things coming. Mekhi has been amazing. He’s lovely to work with. He doesn’t take up a lot of real estate in these episodes, but when he’s in the episode, you can’t take your eyes off him because he’s got such gravitas and presence. He’s been a wonderful addition.

‘High Potential’ Season 2 Is Introducing a New Police Captain to Shake Things Up

“It’s very hard to put your finger on what makes him tick.”

Steve Howey as Captain Wagner reaching out to shake hands with Kaitlin Olson as Morgan in High Potential

What can you say about the new boss this season? Who is the new captain, and what made Steve Howey the right actor to bring him to life?

HARTHAN: He’s hopefully not your down the middle, traditional, expected new captain. He’s a little bit of a mystery. It’s very hard to put your finger on what makes him tick. His past is a little bit gray. His relationship with Morgan is quite different than you’d expect. He doesn’t come in with the point of view that she is this outsider that doesn’t deserve to be there. He has this fixation on, “What is this unicorn and is this a secret weapon?” However, his relationship with the rest of the detectives is a little bit more adversarial and intense. It’s just been fun to write because he really is an enigma. And Steve is wonderful. He’s very versatile. He can play comedy and drama. He jumped right in and immediately started to click with the rest of the cast, and it’s been really fun to write.