TV’s forgotten golden age is making a comeback thanks to ABC‘s two-part crime thriller hit. The way people consume entertainment has significantly changed in the last decade. Streamers’ increasing popularity has dampened the public’s enthusiasm for traditional broadcasting, which was once an industry fan-favorite. Despite being overlooked, there are some network shows that are quietly making a mark with their weekly cases and compelling overarching narrative, not to mention entertaining characters.
Adapted from the French series, HPI, High Potential debuted in 2024 and immediately shot to popularity, becoming one of the most-watched new shows of that cycle. Led by It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s Kaitlin Olson, it follows Morgan, a high-potential individual cleaning lady-turned-police consultant in Los Angeles. Her arrival initially raised eyebrows, but she didn’t waste time proving naysayers wrong. ABC built on High Potential‘s initial success in season 2 by leaning more into a trope that once dominated TV.
Procedurals never really lost their appeal on network TV. Shows like NCIS and the longest-running scripted series, Law & Order: SVU have remained popular for years. However, what separates High Potential from its peers is how it brings back the odd pairing trope with Morgan and Karadec — a forgotten storytelling trick that dominated the late 2000s and 2010s with shows like Bones, Castle, White Collar, and Psych. These shows all tackled dark and twisted cases, but the dynamic of their main pairings balanced it all out. The tandems didn’t consist of characters being both from the same background, but were from different worlds.
Unlike shows like The X-Files or Miami Vice, these projects had one character rooted in a law enforcement agency and the other totally removed from it. Despite their differences, they found a way to work well together. This approach has been largely forgotten in the last several years, with procedurals mainly focusing on large ensembles rather than just pairings. New generation procedurals such as ABC’s The Rookie and Will Trent, as well as Dick Wolf’s FBI and Chicago PD, all boast a big cast, wherein everyone mingles around. While High Potential also has a strong ensemble to back it up, at the center of it is Morgan and Karadec’s partnership. True to the tried-and-tested trope, the show is also simultaneously developing the pair’s relationship beyond their professional partnership. This is where ABC dials things up by also adding another classic storytelling element in High Potential with Morgan and Karadec’s slow-burn romance.
Proof of how much the odd pairing procedurals are misses is High Potential‘s success, both critically and commercially. ABC has already renewed the series for a third year, allowing the project to continue developing Morgan and Karadec’s dynamic. Hopefully, however, they pave the way for more shows that follow the format.
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