High Potential On Hulu Delivers Unconventional Detective Satisfaction
Fans of detective shows are often drawn in by imagining themselves in the role of detective, helping to crack cases alongside the pros, and High Potential gives audiences a character they can relate to.
A struggling mom who works as a cleaning lady lands a gig helping detectives solve murders after she leads cops to decisive evidence on a case. It turns out that this seemingly normal mom of three has a hidden talent that makes her indispensable in pursuing murderers.
Unlikely Detective Premise
The classic unlikely detective premise of this series is similar to shows like Castle and The Mentalist, in which civilians without professional experience solving crimes are tapped for their surprising crime-solving abilities.
Shows like High Potential can be fun to watch because most people who like mystery shows aren’t homicide detectives, so having a civilian convince the pros that they can be crucial in nailing a bad guy makes the average viewer feel more connected to the show.
Morgan, the main character in High Potential, might have what seem like superhuman intellectual abilities, but she’s still a mom, a cleaning lady, and a “regular person” as well.
Kaitlin Olson Is Morgan
In High Potential, Kaitlin Olson plays Morgan, a self-described high-potential intellectual with an IQ of 160, working as a cleaning lady to support herself and her kids. Morgan works hard but is constantly distracted by her wandering mind which doesn’t seem to allow her any peace.
Olson is joined by Javicia Leslie who plays Daphne, Daniel Sunjata as Detective Karadek, and Deniz Akdeniz as Oz. Amirah J. plays Ava, and Mattew Lamb plays Elliot, Morgan’s two oldest kids.
For Detective Show Fans
While the premise of the show is a common detective show concept, High Potential isn’t subtle in its presentation.
If you aren’t a fan of murder mystery tropes, you might not like how Morgan “accidentally” solves a case in her duties as a custodian and then talks her way out of being in trouble with the LAPD by condescendingly telling everyone her IQ and then explaining how to solve a murder.
But if you enjoy a good version of Adrien Monk’s exposition monologue where he tells all the cops exactly how a crime was committed, then High Potential is likely to please.
Solid Cast Interplay
Even fans of the unlikely detective genre of murder mystery might find High Potential and its leading character, Morgan to be a little bit much.
Because her character seems to know almost everything, the conflict in the show generally revolves around other characters, mainly Detective Karadek, played by Daniel Sunjata, who is wrong and a little annoyed about it.
Introducing Morgan’s private life into the mix and growing the relationships between her and other characters could help make the plot a little more three-dimensional.
Streaming High Potential
High Potential is adapted from a French show called HPI which has a similar premise at its core. The French drama has a Morgane, played by Audrey Fleurot, who is also a single mom of three and also a cleaner.
Her character is similar in many ways to Morgan from High Potential, including her distrust of authority and her brilliance. While there are some differences, mainly in how main character Morgan deals with her emotions, the two series have much in common.
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