I Think I Found A Silver Lining To High Potential's Midseason Break, And It (Randomly) Has To Do With CBS' Ghosts

From left to right: Brandon Scott Jonas as Isaac in Ghosts and Kaitlin Olsen as Morgan in High Potential.
(Image credit: CBS and Disney/Christine Bartolucci)

Now, I’m well aware that when you think about High Potential, you probably don’t associate it with shows like Ghosts, and vice versa. However, stick with me here, there’s a reason we should be thinking about these two hits on the 2025 TV schedule together. That’s because, while the ABC mystery is on its extensive midseason break, one of its stars, Deniz Akdeniz, potentially has a wide-open window to return to the CBS show as a guest star, and I really need it to happen.

As many fans are aware, High Potential is on a long midseason break. Its fall finale aired on October 28, which is weeks before most shows go on their planned hiatus, and it will not return until January 6, 2026. So, by the time it comes back on the 2026 TV schedule, it will have been over two months since the last episode aired.

From left to right: Kaitlin Olson is looking at Deniz Akdeniz who is looking at her while talking. Daniel Sunjata is standing to his right.

(Image credit: Disney/Mitch Haaseth)

That, to some fans, is frustrating, because waiting that long – especially at the midseason point – is tough. However, there’s a silver lining to this that I want us all to consider. By having over two months off, in theory, that gives the cast of High Potential time to work on other things.

For example, with the way the show is set up, Kaitlin Olson has been able to work on both High Potential and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Scrubs reboot used Instagram to announce that it was in production on November 5. Notably, Judy Reyes, who plays Selena Soto on High Potential, is set to return as Carla in the Scrubs reboot. So, she’s working on both shows at once.

That leads me to this Ghosts connection. Deniz Akdeniz, who plays Oz on High Potential, is one of my favorite guest stars on the CBS sitcom. He plays Chris the Stripper, and over the last two seasons, he’s appeared in four episodes.

Pictured (L-R): Rose McIver as Samantha and Deniz Akdeniz as Chris sitting on a couch facing each other.

(Image credit: Bertrand Calmeau/CBS)

When Chris came back in Season 4, he died in a parachute accident, making him one of the ghosts on the property. However, his ghost power is linked to that parachute, and it allows him to fly beyond the ghost boundary, so we haven’t seen him since the “St. Hetty’s Day” episode.

Since Deniz Akdeniz is a regular on High Potential, his absence on Ghosts makes sense. However, with the ABC project’s extensive break, it feels like the actor would have the time in his schedule to return to Woodstone for an episode or two.

I think we need Chris back, too. He was mentioned in Ghosts Halloween episode this year, as Nigel thought he’d been sucked off and wanted to bring him back from the beyond to speak with him. That led to Isaac confessing the truth about Chris’s whereabouts, and the two soldiers seemed to be in a better place after that.

Now, it’d be fun to bring the stripper back, so all three of them could talk about this situation, and the two soldiers could deal with their feelings for him and each other.

Paramount+: from $7.99 a month/$59.99 a year

Paramount+: from $7.99 a month/$59.99 a year
You can stream Ghosts and other CBS hits on Paramount+. Plans start at $7.99 per month, and if you want to opt up to Premium, you can do so by paying $12.99 per month.

This dream becoming a reality doesn’t seem impossible either. High Potential has been on a break for a while, and it’s not even close to over. While I don’t know when they will return to film the rest of Season 2, I’m sure they had enough time off that Akdeniz could have left for a few days to film Ghosts. So, here’s hoping that happens.

In the meantime, though, as I hope and pray that this dream becomes reality, you can stream the first half of High Potential Season 2 with a Hulu subscription, and you can catch new episodes of Ghosts every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS, and you can stream all episodes with a Paramount+ subscription.

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Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.

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