TL;DR: High Potential Season 2 cranks up the suspense without losing its sense of humor, delivering a procedural that’s both twisty and wildly entertaining.

There’s a particular ritual I fall into with network procedurals. I’ll roll my eyes at the trailers, convince myself I’m “too busy” for another weekly mystery, and then—against my better judgment—I’ll watch one episode “just to see what the fuss is about.” Cut to three days later and I’m mainlining cliffhangers at 2 a.m., muttering “just one more” like I’ve joined a support group for sleep-deprived detectives. ABC’s High Potential did that to me in its first season. Against all odds, it took the tired police-procedural framework, slapped Kaitlin Olson into the center of it, and gave me a protagonist who felt so alive, so messy, and so sharply written that I couldn’t not care.

Season 1 was about introductions—Morgan Gillory proving she wasn’t just another “quirky genius consultant” trope while Daniel Sunjata’s Karadec learned how to work with her without either throttling her or falling hopelessly in love. It ended, as procedurals love to do, with cliffhangers sharp enough to leave teeth marks. A serial killer calling himself the Game Maker slipped through their fingers, Morgan’s ex was revealed to still be alive, and I found myself yelling at my TV in that very specific way that only mid-budget network dramas can summon.

So, how do you follow that up? That’s the big question Season 2 shoulders—and honestly, the answer is: with swagger.

Picking Up the Pieces

The season kicks off like a series that knows its audience is already strapped in. There’s no need for hand-holding; the writers assume you remember the dangling threads, the serial killer menace, and Morgan’s fragile balancing act between her job and motherhood. The premiere unfolds across two parts, both centered on the Game Maker, and it plays like a network drama with something to prove.

Here’s what makes it work: the Game Maker isn’t just another villain-of-the-week. He’s the rare foil who’s actually worthy of Morgan’s attention. The show makes a point of reminding us that Morgan is smarter than most people in the room—sometimes dangerously so—and yet here’s a nemesis who isn’t just running from her brilliance, but dancing with it. Watching Olson’s Morgan puzzle through his layered traps, knowing full well he’s leaving breadcrumbs just for her, is the closest High Potential has come to feeling like a psychological thriller.

It’s tense, yes, but it’s also deliciously fun. Because if you’re going to play “cat and mouse” with a consultant who thrives on chaos, you better make sure the mouse is cheeky enough to bite back.

Raising the Stakes Without Losing the Laughs

Procedurals have a reputation for tonal whiplash. They’ll go from grisly murder to sitcom banter in the space of a scene change, and it usually feels jarring. High Potential, though, embraces its dual identity. Season 2 leans darker, with more palpable danger for Morgan, her kids, and her team. The Game Maker’s obsession with her personal life makes the show feel scarier than anything Season 1 attempted. But just when things feel too heavy, the writers lob in absurdist humor like a pressure valve.

Take Ludo and Elliot’s subplot in the premiere—it’s silly bordering on slapstick, but it works because Olson grounds the series in such emotional reality that the comedy feels like oxygen rather than distraction. By Episode 3, we even get one of the show’s signature fantasy cutaways, this time involving Karadec, and it lands perfectly. It’s these little tonal flourishes that keep High Potential from collapsing under its own serialized weight.

The Olson-Sunjata Effect

Let’s talk chemistry.

Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata are magnetic in completely different registers. Olson’s Morgan is unpredictable, sharp-tongued, and chaotic, but Sunjata’s Karadec plays her straight man with warmth rather than rigidity. Their dynamic could have been another “oddball genius vs. buttoned-up detective” cliché, but instead it feels lived-in, full of respect, and just enough unresolved tension to keep you leaning forward. Watching them grow as partners this season—still bantering, still frustrating each other, but slowly deepening into something resembling trust—is one of the best reasons to keep tuning in.

It also helps that Olson is delivering one of her best TV performances outside of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Morgan is still messy, still wildly inappropriate at times, but Olson shades her with vulnerability that makes the stakes land. Whether she’s panicking about her kids’ safety or sparring with the Game Maker, there’s weight behind the smirk.

Where the Season Trips

Not everything in Season 2 is a slam dunk. The ongoing mystery of Morgan’s ex, Roman Sinquerra, risks slipping into repetitive territory. The “is he dead, is he alive, is he trustworthy?” beats echo last season a little too closely, and for now, it doesn’t feel as compelling as the weekly mysteries or the Game Maker arc. There’s also a tendency for certain plot threads to resolve too neatly—like the writers suddenly realized they only had 42 minutes and hit the fast-forward button.

But here’s the thing: none of these flaws sink the show. They’re just the kinds of bumps you notice when a series is clearly shooting higher than the average network procedural.

Why This Season Works

What’s remarkable about High Potential Season 2 is how confident it feels. It’s no longer a scrappy adaptation trying to prove itself against its French-Belgian source material. It’s its own show now, with its own rhythm, tone, and identity. The characters feel richer, the cases are twistier, and the stakes are higher without losing the levity that made Season 1 so watchable.

The premiere alone—two episodes of fast-paced, twisty cat-and-mouse games—would be enough to hook me. But by the third episode, I realized I wasn’t just invested in Morgan versus the Game Maker. I was invested in Morgan as a person, Karadec as her partner, Oz as her friend, and even the lighter supporting characters who orbit them. That’s the difference between a disposable procedural and one worth coming back to week after week.

Final Verdict

High Potential Season 2 proves that lightning can strike twice. It raises the stakes with the Game Maker arc, deepens its character relationships, and still finds space for the weird, whip-smart humor that makes it unique. There are a few repetitive beats with the Roman storyline, and not every thread is handled with grace, but the overall package is sharper, funnier, and more addictive than before.