Kaitlin Olson arrived on network TV in 2024 as the star of High Potential, an ABC crime drama that’s about as far from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as possible on the small screen. The actress returned for Season 2 in the 2025 TV schedule as Morgan, a brilliant cleaning woman-turned-consultant for the LAPD. The character has had to rattle off obscure facts and figures from the very first episode, and the actress recalled the one time that she “fully cheated” to get through a scene that involved a lot of numbers.
Speaking with Esquire, Olson shared that she had been enjoying It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia as her main TV gig for “part of the year and then being a mom the other part of the year,” until she read the script for High Potential and wanted to play the lead character with her complicated past, high IQ, and wild card tendencies with the LAPD. She reflected to the outlet on the time very early on in High Potential before it became a massive hit for ABC, when she had to cheat:
The pilot episode with all of the numbers—with the groceries that I was adding up—fully cheated. There are just tiny Post-it notes with numbers everywhere. If you look closely, my eyes are looking at the ham to figure out what the next number is going to be. And I don’t regret it for a second. No goddamn way I would’ve been able to memorize all those numbers. You can’t improvise your way through math.
If you’re anything like me, you definitely didn’t notice Olson glancing around that particular scene in the ABC pilot for any post-its, and the trick was still hard to spot when I revisited the episode with my Hulu subscription. The scene served as a great introduction to Morgan as 1) a genius, 2) a woman on a budget, and 3) a mom with three very different kids. All in all, it kicked off a pilot that proved the actress isn’t exclusively skilled at comedy (even though she did bring those comedic skills to ABC for the Abbott Elementary/Always Sunny crossover).
Kaitlin Olson also established that even when she does memorize facts for Morgan to rattle off while working with Karadec and Co., it’s “immediately gone from my memory about 20 minutes after we’re done with the scene.” She said:
There’s just no room in there. But I feel like I’m probably never going to develop dementia. You know how people do crossword puzzles to keep their brains active? There’s no risk of Alzheimer’s for me.
Unfortunately, High Potential is currently in the midst of its winter hiatus, with the midseason finale’s cliffhanger airing in late October on ABC. The hit drama won’t return from its two-month break in the 2026 TV schedule until Tuesday, January 6 at 9 p.m. ET. For the new year, High Potential will air between new episodes of Will Trent Season 4 at 8 p.m. ET and The Rookie Season 8 at 10 p.m. ET, all on ABC. You’ll be able to stream the latest episodes of all three next day on Hulu as well.
Other than anything concerning that midseason finale cliffhanger, the question on my mind at this point is whether Taran Killam will be back as Ludo. The character was a key part of the first season and appeared in the first two episodes of Season 2, but the SNL vet landed a series regular role on NBC’s Stumble, a mockumentary set in the world of cheer. For now, the wait is on for news of Ludo as much as it is for the return of Morgan, Karadec, and the rest in the new year.
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