‘High Potential’ Showrunner Teases “Answers To Big Questions” In Season 2 & ‘Always Sunny’ Easter Eggs — Plus Jennifer Love Hewitt’s ‘9-1-1’ Crossover Pitch

SPOILERS: This post contains details about the High Potential, Season 2 premiere episode ‘Pawns’

Kaitlin Olson is back as LAPD Major Crimes consultant Morgan Gillory to solve more mysteries and dispense more fun facts in Season 2 of High Potential.

Ahead of Tuesday’s premiere episode ‘Pawns’, Deadline caught up with showrunner Todd Harthan about Morgan’s “heightened protective state” and the “tricky” two-part mystery that opens the hit ABC show’s sophomore season, which is “still being mapped out” after becoming the network’s most-watched new series in six years.

“We tried to create something that walked this very fine line between it being very dangerous, very high stakes, but still gave us that delicious cat-and-mouse,” said Harthan. “We’re still in the throes of this season, and talking about, how do we see this potentially playing out down the road.”

Season 2 picks up after the cliffhanger of February’s first season finale ‘Let’s Play’, which saw the series’ best ratings with 13.2 million viewers. In the episode, Morgan rescues her colleague Oz (Deniz Akdeniz) from a watery grave during a cat-and-mouse investigation in which the ‘Game Maker’ (David Giuntoli) proves to be the ultimate match for her high-potential intellectual mind.

In ‘Pawns’, Morgan returns to work as the Game Maker orchestrates more dangerous kidnappings, while making the LAPD consultant fear for her own children’s safety.

“It was a tricky one because we needed somebody to be smart enough to hang with her, so that she almost becomes this weird sadistic muse for him,” explained Harthan. “But the trick was, I also really didn’t want our villain to be just a traditional serial killer.”

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) has been keeping up her end of the bargain with Morgan, having Adam (Daniel Sunjata) track down her missing ex Roman to Las Vegas. As Oz and Daphne (Javicia Leslie) go investigate, they instead find a mysterious associate of Roman, played by Mekhi Phifer.

“That’s the main artery of Season 2, so what we definitely have an appetite for over here is giving the audience some more answers to the big questions that we’re all asking, filling in some of those blanks,” Harthan adds. “We have a good batch of episodes this year to sort of tell that story, so it’s coming.”

As fans wait for that mystery to unfold, they can see Morgan continue to piece together more exciting puzzles when the two-part premiere continues with ‘Checkmate’ on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 10pm on ABC, streaming the next day on Hulu.

Read on about how Season 2 of High Potential gets closer to finding Roman, the “disruption” Steve Howey brings to the show and potential crossovers with other ABC procedurals.

DEADLINE: I’m so excited to get back into another season. Tell me about creating the Game Maker as Morgan’s ultimate adversary and how he plays into the season.

TODD HARTHAN: It was a tricky one because we needed somebody to be smart enough to hang with her, so that she almost becomes this weird sadistic muse for him. But the trick was, I also really didn’t want our villain to be just a traditional serial killer that went out and—it just felt too dark to [have him] killing somebody, or hunting down people. So, we tried to create something that walked this very fine line between it being very dangerous, very high stakes, but still gave us that delicious cat-and-mouse. So, that’s how we built it, and then, I think I have a pretty decent plan for how it plays into the early part of the season. We’re still in the throes of this season, and talking about, how do we see this potentially playing out down the road. So, that’s actually, in full disclosure still being still being mapped out. 

DEADLINE: We also see Selena kind of second-guessing whether Morgan is fit to consult, and other people starting to doubt her. Is that going to be a big struggle for her this season? 

HARTHAN: Not consistently. I think this one is unique in that it involves her kids and a dangerous person getting close to her children, so she’s in a very heightened protective state at the beginning of the season. There will be flare-ups throughout the year, but we’re starting in a pretty extreme place. There’s definitely some hiccups throughout the season though. 

DEADLINE: So, it’s more like a maternal side of her kind of coming out?

HARTHAN: Oh yeah, beware of the maternal side of Morgan. 

DEADLINE: And we’re also getting closer to finding Roman. Can you tease what’s to come with that storyline or if we’ll see him soon? 

HARTHAN: That’s the main artery of Season 2, so what we definitely have an appetite for over here is giving the audience some more answers to the big questions that we’re all asking, filling in some of those blanks. We have a good batch of episodes this year to sort of tell that story, so it’s coming. And there’s some things in the first half before we go on our mid-season hiatus, that I think are going to be pretty revealing, pretty exciting. 

DEADLINE: I’m really intrigued to see how Mekhi Phifer’s character plays into that as well, because that was a fun addition. 

HARTHAN: Oh yeah, he’s been great. And what was nice about that character is just, it’s tricky when you’re dealing with a missing persons case for so long. You’re usually looking at photos or files, and when you start injecting characters to fill in that backstory, and then you get an actor like Mekhi, it adds a richness to the episode. So, he’s been awesome. 

DEADLINE: And I’m also excited to see Steve Howey join the cast as Nick Wagner. What can you tell me about his character and what he brings to the ensemble? 

HARTHAN: He brings a little bit of disruption, and his character, he’s an odd guy, and there’s a lot going on there that everyone’s trying to figure out, Morgan included. I’ve been describing him as this mysterious sort of enigma, and that’s what we’re writing to. It’s just his backstory is a little murky. His approach to being the captain is a little bit hard to get your arms around, and we’re really having a lot of fun with people trying to figure him out. Steve is super versatile, he’s been a blast, and his chemistry with the rest of the cast was pretty instant, so it’s been really good. He’s great. He a big part of the fabric of the season. 

DEADLINE: I loved Season 1 as well, and it’s so great to see Kaitlin take on such a meaty layered role that isn’t all comedy. What’s it been like working with someone who has that kind of range and just continues to surprise on the screen? 

HARTHAN: Well, then you go to the writer’s room and there’s really nothing you have to take off the table, right?  I mean, you just know that not only can you give her anything, then you give it to her and then she elevates it. So, as a writing staff, you have no limitations, and if anything, as she’s lived in the sort of skin of that character longer, she’s getting better and better at it. Her instincts are so fine-tuned and, it’s incredible. I mean, she’s very hands-on, and, we’re constantly retooling and tinkering with things even on the day, cause she’s just a perfectionist, and she’s wonderful. It’s been great working with her. She’s so dedicated, and it keeps the show operating at a very high level. 

DEADLINE: Totally, and those first three episodes were just so fun to watch, especially the two-part premiere. I really enjoyed it. Also, one thing I really got a kick out of—I can’t remember what episode it was—but she referenced Philadelphia. Was that her idea or was that the writers kind of doing a nod to It’s Always Sunny?

HARTHAN: That was [co-executive producer] Bob Goodman. I think that was 2.03. Actually, there’s a couple of nods and winks here and there, little Easter eggs that, sometimes it’s her, sometimes it’s a writer who also happens to be a fan, which I have this year. But that was born from the writer, and she embraced it. 

DEADLINE: Love it, and also I recently saw an interview with Jennifer Love Hewitt saying that she wants to do a 9-1-1 crossover with her character and Morgan. Do you think that’s a possibility? Have you talked to Ryan Murphy at all? 

HARTHAN: I’ll tell you this; if Ryan Murphy ever recalls, I’m taking that call. But I’ve not talked to Ryan Murphy, and I’m a big fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt for a long time, dating all the way back before I was even writing in this business. So, I never say never. I mean, people have brought up that, The Rookie, there’s opportunities out there. I’ve actually never done a crossover in my career, so it would be a first for me, but no, that’s exciting. Frankly, I was just flattered that she was such a big fan of the show. That was pretty cool. So, we’ll see what happens. You never know.