After 97 years of television, a new show doesn’t happen without artistic DNA. With predecessors like Profiler (1996), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (pick one), and Reina Roja (2018, 2024), the French series HPI (Haut Potentiel Intellectuel) had good bones from its inception. Revolving around a genius who cleans the police station but ends up working with a grumpy detective to solve crimes—HPI worked for me. A woman with a 160+ IQ, a photographic memory, a problem with authority, and boots taller than her skirts who makes cozy mysteries happen is a good watch
That’s what made me skeptical when ABC announced an American version premiering…tomorrow. Set in Los Angeles, the trailers for High Potential seemed off—despite a multicultural cast—almost a mix of Carl Hiaasen and HPI that missed on both. Those were the trailers, and trailers, like book covers, can be misleading. Now that I’ve seen the first three episodes, High Potential is a ‘bag of chips’ type of show—salty, crunchy, and makes you want to keep going.
This new version is an Angeleno twin for the French original. The two series play out similarly, with the same setup, same types of crimes, and mirrored relationships. High Potential follows Morgan (Kaitlin Olson), a single mom juggling three kids and a brain that won’t quit until it figures out every puzzle. She also can’t forget anything she’s ever learned: the habits of certain birds, which direction churches face, local weather patterns, ancient history—it’s all stuck in her head. On her body is a series of outfits that could’ve been borrowed from a 1970s showgirl. With fur jackets, animal prints, and metallic boots, Morgan seems to have stepped out of Legally Blonde and into “Investigator Blonde.” Meanwhile, her genius mind, her polar opposite male counterpart, and the personal cold case she needs to solve or die trying are giving Girl With the Dragon Tattoo vibes.
That grumpy detective is Daniel Sunjata playing the straight-laced, hard-boiled detective Karadec. The two make a perfect cozy pairing—not just because Sunjata is perennially pretty. With Judy Reyes as their boss, Selina, Javicia Leslie back to fighting crime as Daphne, Deniz Akdeniz as Oz, and Amirah J as Morgan’s oldest daughter, Ava, this crew has a depth that lends a “cult of personality” to the show in the best ways.
High Potential is an enjoyable buddy-cop–cozy-mystery series, especially for those who miss shows like Castle, and Bones. It has humor, creative crimes, and a sassy kind of sauce.
Premieres Tuesday September 17 at 10PM ET on ABC and the next day on Hulu
