Image via ABC
Published Oct 6, 2026, 8:36 AM EDT
Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.
She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 137 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.
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Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) might not be a cop, but she's darn good at solving crimes in ABC's new drama High Potential. The single mother of three is working as a night cleaner at a police station when she happens to glance at some crime scene photos. She notices some discrepancies in a case having to do with a man who was murdered in his home. The police claim the wife did it and is on the run, but Morgan realizes that the woman is actually another victim, not the suspect. Morgan casually makes an edit to the "murder board," but the police haul her in, thinking she was just trying to create some mayhem. Right away, Morgan is able to point out several things that investigators missed (or just misunderstood) while looking into the murder. Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) is immediately impressed with Morgan's powers of deduction (especially since she's a mere civilian), even though Detective Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) is less amused by someone interfering in his case.
Soto hires Morgan as a consultant on the case (which perfectly sets up the premise for the show). Karadec isn't happy with this development, but Soto can see that there's something incredibly special about the way Morgan's mind works. When she pushes Morgan to explain how she was able to so easily locate various clues, Morgan explains that she has been diagnosed as someone who has "high intellectual potential." But is this condition actually something that exists in real life? And how will this diagnosis impact Morgan's ability to solve crimes? High Potential, based on a French series called HPI or Haut Potentiel Intellectuel that began airing in 2021, has now raised plenty of questions regarding Morgan's brilliant mind.
The 'High Potential' Diagnosis Is a Real Condition
Morgan's condition is not just a plot device for television but is actually a real-life diagnosis. The term is generally used to describe people with an above-average intellectual ability (or an IQ over 130). Morgan lists her IQ at 160 (which would land her firmly in the genius, or exceptionally gifted, category), while most people fall somewhere within average intelligence with an IQ score between 85 and 114. That means that people who have HIP are generally in the top 2.3 percent of the population when it comes to intelligence. They typically have impressive cognitive skills, such as photographic memory , increased logic, and better visual-spatial skills. Individuals with HIP are also extremely curious and tend to be able to problem-solve in a more creative way.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Iconic Fandom Should You Join? Harry Potter · Lord of the Rings · Star Wars · Star Trek
Eight honest questions about how you actually are: what you put on when you need cheering up, how deep you go into the things you love, what you argue about, what you keep on your shelf. Answer them and we will tell you where you belong. Four of the biggest fandoms on earth are taking new members, and they could not be more different from one another.
⚡Harry Potter(Wizarding World)
💍Lord of the Rings(Middle-earth)
⚔️Star Wars(A Galaxy Far Away)
🖖Star Trek(The Final Frontier)
FIND YOUR PEOPLE →
01
What do you put on when you need cheering up? Nobody is brave about this one.
AThe same thing I have watched a hundred times. BSomething long, slow and beautiful. CSomething big and loud with a great score. DOne clever episode of something hopeful.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
How deep do you go into something you love? There is no shallow end here, only different deep ends.
AI know every character and all the gossip. BI have read the appendices and studied the maps. CI have a ranked opinion on every instalment. DI want to know how the world actually works.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What do you and your friends actually argue about? Every fandom has one argument it has been having for years.
AWhich one of us is which type. BWhether the adaptation got it right. CWhether the new stuff ruined the old stuff. DWhether the right thing was actually done.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you feel about a room full of strangers? Every one of these comes with a very big room.
AGreat, and I will know everybody by the end. BFine, as long as they take it seriously. CBrilliant, especially if there is something to dress up for. DHappy, provided the conversation is interesting.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
Where would you rather spend a week? Pick on instinct rather than on budget.
AAn old castle somewhere rainy. BMountains, long walks, no phone signal. CA desert with an unbelievable night sky. DA city built around a university.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What do you believe about people, mostly? All four of these stories have an answer, and they disagree.
AMost of them turn out better than expected. BThe smallest ones decide the biggest things. CAnybody can change, even very late on. DWe work it out if we keep talking.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
What is actually on your shelf? Look over at it before you answer.
AEverything I owned when I was twelve. BHardbacks, in order, read more than once. CFigures, posters, and a few things still boxed. DBooks about how things work, plus a model or two.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What do you actually want from a story? Eight questions in, this is the one that picks your fandom.
AA place I can go back to whenever I need it. BA world complete enough to get lost in. CSomething huge I can share with everybody. DAn idea that changes how I think.
REVEAL MY FANDOM →
Membership Confirmed Your Fandom Is…
Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you would be having within a week.
Harry Potter
You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting you.
- You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within about five minutes and has never stopped.
- This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every single person in your life would be.
- The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you do with things you love.
- The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the arguments are about to start all over again.
Lord of the Rings
You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.
- You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it.
- This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly alarming, and it has good reasons for that.
- Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all, which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes.
- Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make that argument.
Star Wars
You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.
- You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that.
- Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly 1980 with no sign of resolution.
- The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score and the look of a used and dented galaxy.
- You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good time.
Star Trek
You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.
- You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major franchise still willing to say the future might be better.
- The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else.
- Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar.
- You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you will always find somebody willing to have it.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
Some people with HIP also have a subset diagnosis of High Emotional Potential (HEP). This refers to superior emotional intelligence. People with HEP can exhibit a great deal of empathy for others. They also have emotional hypersensitivity and tend to be able to pick up on how other people are feeling very easily. Some people are also very hypersensitive to their environment. Not everyone with HIP has the traits of HEP, but it does seem like Morgan does. She's eager to help the police solve the case in Episode 1 because she feels for the young girl who's tied up in the investigation. Because of Morgan's HEP, she is a protagonist with a very big heart (who just happens to also be super smart).
People with HIP or HEP don't need to receive a specific diagnosis or treatment of any kind, but many are labeled with these conditions in childhood when it becomes obvious that their brain works a little differently than their peers. Young children with HIP are often bored in traditional school (and may even fail their classes or drop out) because they're not being challenged enough. Those with an HIP diagnosis can flourish in a number of different careers (everything from IT professions and sales to art and science). This type of neurodivergence can very much lead to a high-functioning, healthy life.
Morgan's 'High Potential' Condition Will Help Her Solve Lots of Crimes
There is a stereotype that people who live with HIP struggle with a lot of mental health issues or tend to isolate themselves. For the High Potential writers, they're playing this up with Morgan's character. She tells Soto that her mind has been more like a curse than a gift. She is obsessive (which tracks since many people with HIP have strong perfectionistic traits), and can't ever turn her mind off. She struggles to have healthy relationships and can't typically hold down a job for very long. Although there is no clear evidence that people with HIP actually do have more mental health problems than people with average intelligence, it makes sense for the show to have Morgan's abilities seem like an obstacle to her. Her mind has made her feel different for so long that it's hard for her to think about the many benefits it also provides her with.
There will definitely be fictional aspects to Morgan's condition, but incorporating the real diagnosis of HIP as part of the show makes the plot even more intriguing. The series is also likely to bring more awareness to this type of neurodivergence, which is always a positive thing in the world of television. Morgan doesn't feel confident yet that her brain is something to be cherished, but her work on future cases will likely help her discover how impressive she truly is. It will also be fascinating to see how High Potential incorporates all the many different facets of Morgan's HIP mind into the series. Whether it's her extraordinary deduction skills or her heart-warming empathy, Morgan is a crime fighter who is using her remarkable intelligence to bring down the bad guys.
New episodes of High Potential air on ABC on Tuesday nights and are available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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