There’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on when High Potential returns for its second season next week. Not only is our resident genius-IQ consultant Morgan Gillory (the always Emmy-worthy Kaitlin Olson) hellbent on protecting her kids from last season’s finale threat from the homicidal Game Maker responsible for a series of kidnappings, but she’s also about to risk her reputation with the LAPD to prove that the crafty Matthew Clark (David Giuntoli) is the man(iac) they are looking for.
“The push-off in our premiere that launches you into the second part of our [story] is going to have Morgan really going head-to-head with one of the smarter, more clever criminals that we’ve seen her go up against today,” sets up showrunner Todd Harthan. Thankfully, she is going have more than just her usual suspects of allies as backup this time: Early in the season, Morgan’s LAPD pals — partner, Det. Adam Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), Lt. Selena Soto (Judy Reyes), and Karadec’s fellow detectives Lev “Oz” Ozdil (Deniz Akdeniz) and Daphne Forrester (Javicia Leslie) — are getting a new boss. And he’s not what you’re imagining.
Disney/Jessica Perez
“It’s like, if we’re going to bring in a new chief, you’ve seen that on other shows, right?” continues Harthan of the trope that usually sees the introduction of a stern, by-the-book supervisor designed to cause conflict. “Well, what’s our brand of that? What’s our flavor? Let’s find an actor that we can write to their versatility and shake things up in a way that doesn’t seem right down the middle or expected.”
To that end, Harthan has booked Steve Howey (True Lies) to play Captain Nick Wagner, a series-regular role written to the actor’s comedic savvy. “We built a character that isn’t just coming in to sort of be the new boss and disrupt in the traditional ways and all that,” previews Harthan, who previously told TV Insider and TV Guide Magazine as part of our Fall Preview that Wagner is “a weird, enigmatic character” with some hidden demons of his own .
“He’s a bit of a chameleon and he develops these relationships with each respective character that have their own DNA. And that’s what’s been fun to write to,” the showrunner says. “So, I think right away when Steve lands in our world, you’re going to start to see these dynamics that he has with each perspective character. And that’s kind of the fun disruption that happens in the bullpen.”
And what about outside of the precinct? Last season smartly served up a slow-burn something between Morgan and Karadec, so the arrival of a new guy who sounds as quirky as Morgan could make for an interesting addition to the equation.
“I think for me, we wanted to let [Wagner] breathe, see how he fits into our world before we went, ‘Oh, let’s decide that this is what’s going to happen between those two,’ or ‘This is what’s going to happen between this potential love triangle.’ So it’s still an evolving storyline,” says an evasive Harthan. “But yeah, that’s always part of the ingredients that we throw in to see if it’s worth writing to.”
High Potential, Season 2 Premiere, Tuesday, September 16, 10/9c, ABC
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