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Warning: Contains SPOILERS for the season finale of High Potential.The season finale of High Potential ended on a double cliffhanger, with big implications for the show’s promised return. Seconds after Morgan realizes she's the killer's new target, Karadec reveals that Roman is alive. Season 1, episode 13, "Let's Play" lives up to its name, with Morgan now trapped in a game of life or death. The stakes feel higher than ever, but audiences can rest easy knowing that season 2 has already been greenlit by ABC.
While the series was created by The Matrix 5 director Drew Goddard, producer and showrunner Todd Harthan has led the writers room and shepherded the show’s vision to completion. Harthan is a network TV veteran, having worked on an impressive list of series which includes The Resident, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Rosewood. The show stars It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Kaitlin Olson as Morgan Gillory, a genius who is enlisted by the police force to help solve unsolvable crimes.
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ScreenRant interviews Todd Harthan about the biggest character developments of the High Potential season 1 finale. The showrunner dove deep into Morgan’s life and relationships, talked shocking character moments, and explored the thought behind the show’s overarching villain. Harthan also teased what viewers can expect from High Potential season 2.
Harthan Wants High Potential's New Villain To Remain True To The Show's DNA
"I couldn't let it dip too close into that level of darkness and brutality."
ScreenRant: First, we need to talk about the terrifying game the team had to play throughout this case. It felt very Jigsaw, so what inspired you to put that together for the finale?
Todd Harthan: Right when I was coming onto this show, I was sketching out episode ideas that I liked, and there's other procedural series that I've loved that [have] had that serialized villain, but I didn't know what it was because I didn't quite have my arms around the tone and what the DNA of this show was really going to look like week to week.
Once I got my arms around that, when we got to talking about the finale, I thought, “Well, if we're going to do it, it has to be somebody really, really smart that's playing a game.” The challenge was–you referenced Jigsaw, but I couldn't let it dip too close into that level of darkness and brutality because it felt like a tonal departure and too depressing. It was like, “Okay, how can we have our cake and eat it too?”
And then we just cooked up this idea of, “Well, it is dark and it is tricky and it is scary in many respects, but let's give our team victories along the way to offset that darkness,” so it wasn't drifting too deep into serial killer territory. It was tricky. I always wanted to do it because I love a serialized villain, but it was a hard one to nail tonally. This is where we landed, and I think it's a little bit blurry, but I think it worked.
Going off of that, the killer is after Morgan. Is he choosing her because she was able to solve the puzzle, or is there a personal connection that we might find out about?
Todd Harthan: I think it was inspiration. He didn't know, going into this journey, that Morgan was out there–that this unicorn was going to solve these puzzles in the way that she did. It’s like when artists get inspired by other artists, and so this is the person that he has chosen. It's luck. The stars aligned.
“I found this wonderful person to play these games with me.” The promise for the audience moving forward is, “Well, when will he decide to play again, and what will that game be? How will the game change?” So, that was the thinking. As far as a connection to the backstory… wow, you never know. I mean, when that writer's room opens, who knows?
Viewers Will Learn More About Roman's Disappearance In High Potential Season 2
"It's not hopefully something that the audience will predict, but it's something we're going to map out."
Roman is alive. We also know he was working as an FBI informant. How will this new information impact Morgan in season 2?
Todd Harthan: The truth is that when we gather all the writers, it's one of the first things we'll start mapping out. When we ended last season, we had some notions about, “Oh, well, now we've filled in some of the blanks,” but I also love to pull the rug out from underneath your feet when you think, “We're going to meet him, he's going to start answering questions, and in episode 1, season 2, here it comes.”
I think what you'll learn next year is that his disappearance and where he went and why he ended up there was really, really complicated. And it's not hopefully something that the audience will predict, but it's something we're going to map out. I will probably get in trouble for saying this, but sometimes I go, “This is a really compelling, interesting way to end a season, and I'm backing myself into a really terrifying story corner that I have to fight my way out of with some other wonderful brains in the writer's room.”
And I love that challenge. I love that challenge. So, the short answer is I don't really know exactly where we're going to take it next season, and that's terrifying and exciting at the same time, but I would just want to get it right. I want to get it right.
Gio isn't who we thought. It seems like he almost had a kinship with Roman. Is that part of why he's willing to help Morgan?
Todd Harthan: Yes, I think so. And he's one of my favorite actors on the planet–Domenick Lombardozzi. I've worked with him a couple times, and I think that character has a lot more to say and is going to be potentially helpful in the next chapter of the Roman story in surprising ways. It's on the board is one of those things where I go, “I don't know how I'm going to use this key ingredient, the Gio character, again in season 2, but I love it and I think it will play in.”
There’s a moment at the end of one of the episodes where he says, “He was a good guy.” Gio essentially speaks to this man's character, so I think there was a kinship with them before they split. Going back to the writer's room, one of the things we also thought really got Gio to lean in was sitting across from Morgan and seeing the toughness and the spine of this woman, but also the vulnerability and the heartbreak of this woman.
I think it spoke to his humanity, and I think that's why he helped too. So it's just a complicated, interesting relationship. I love those two together. Kaitlin and Dom, the actor, are just wonderful together, so I think you'll see more of it in season 2.
We learned that Oz lost his father not too long ago, and he's having trouble coping. Are we going to learn more about that and his personal life in season 2?
Todd Harthan: We will. It’s one of my… not biggest regrets. It would've been had we not gotten renewed. I have this ensemble and they're all wonderful, and we barely scratch the surface of who they are, where they came from, their past traumas, and all that. We gave the audience a little glimpse of that with Oz, and yeah, of course we are [going to learn more about him]. I think that we will learn a lot more about him in season 2.
Judy Reyes is a revelation–she’s amazing–and so we’re going to dig into Lieutenant Soto’s, life a little bit deeper. Javicia [Leslie] is incredible… the ensemble's great. [Oz’s story] was a little gift to the audience of, “Look how amazing this actor is, and this is the promise of even more revelations about these people's lives and backstories.” And now we have however many episodes we do next year to explore that.
Karadec Will "Desperately Need" Morgan In High Potential Season 2
"The nice thing about having a season 2 is seeing them together and seeing how they have each other's backs in the darkest of times."
Karadec and Morgan, our new favorite procedural ship, share a pretty intimate moment when he tells her, “I want to take on this burden for you. It matters to you, so it matters to me.” What did it mean for Morgan to hear that from him?
Todd Harthan: She doesn't trust easy, and I think that she's been probably stabbed in the back more than people have wrapped their arms around her unconditionally. [If] you think about where they started out at the beginning of the season and where they end up, I think we're building towards that kind of loyalty and trust that she welcomes, but is unfamiliar with because she hasn't experienced it a lot. So, I think it meant a ton.
The nice thing about having a season 2 is seeing them together and seeing how they have each other's backs in the darkest of times because the tables are going to turn at some point, and Karadec’s going to desperately need her. I love the relationship. I love the friendship that's built up, and yes, they're two gorgeous people that there's an attraction and all that stuff, but first and foremost, I think it's a wonderful partnership.
I also want to talk about Ava because she went from thinking her father abandoned her to making this photo album in case he comes back. What kind of pressure does that put on Morgan to bring him home?
Todd Harthan: I think you've seen it in multiple episodes. It weighs on her heavily because she, in many ways, has moved on with her life. She started another relationship. She had two more children with Ludo and all that, but the dark cloud hangs directly over her daughter's head, and will until they get the answers that they need. It’s one of the main things that keeps her up at night, so it'll be a huge driving force in season 2, but she's horrified by it going badly.
Even when you find him, you don't know what that looks like and you’re potentially dropping a bomb into your daughter's life. In many respects, you have to think that there are days where Morgan goes, “Wow, as hard as it would be, maybe it would've been better if we never started looking,” right? Because with time and distance, maybe the pain and trauma of him being gone gets to be a little bit less and less. So, it's a complicated journey for her, but that's the fun thing to write to, and hopefully the audience is on that ride with us.
In shows like this where you have a protagonist who's so skilled and so good at outsmarting everyone, what do you find is the best way to challenge them?
Todd Harthan: A prime example is the episode “Gone Girls”, when, as brilliant as Morgan is, she's an emotional being and emotions can sometimes get in the way of how brilliant you are, [your] common sense in many respects, and it can get in the way of your health. In that episode, she had crippling insomnia and was burning the both ends and ultimately snapped on the cops at some point.
I think it's [about] putting her in situations that test her mettle, test her emotions, and pull at her heartstrings. But look, it's not easy. I'm not a genius, it turns out, but when you're writing for a genius, it's quite tricky to put certain challenges and obstacles in their way.
One of the big things is people in positions of power that are obnoxious, and that underestimate her. Those are tough situations for her because, again, sometimes she just snaps. Here’s a prime example: Elliot didn't get invited to the birthday party and that kid was being so mean to him, and she almost blacked out and just started laying into this kid. She gets triggered, so “What are the things that will trigger Morgan?”, I think, are really fun to write to. But it’s hard. It’s challenging. It’s not easy to break these episodes of TV. It’s aged me.
Lastly, we did learn a little bit about Morgan's father, and how she was made to feel bad for participating in simple activities. Will we also dive into Morgan’s childhood and the struggles of being an HPI?
Todd Harthan: Oh my gosh, of course. And by the way, Kaitlin has a big appetite for that too, the darker side of HPI, her struggles, how she grew up, and how it made her feel isolated and alone in many respects. I think that with more real estate and more stories to tell, we're going to dive deeper into the relationships with her parents, with her adolescence, what that looked like, and all those things.
You look at her relationship with Elliot–she's so hyper-protective of him in this world because it's an unkind place for people like them in many respects. So, yeah, we're going to dig really deep into her past and hit all those notes in season 2 and hopefully beyond.
About ABC's High Potential
High Potential Follows A Single Mom With An Exceptional Mind
Written by Drew Goddard (The Good Place, The Martian) and starring Kaitlin Olson, High Potential follows a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective (Daniel Sunjata).
Check out our other interviews with the High Potential cast:
High Potential season 1 is available to stream on Hulu.
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