I was digging into the various chart-topping movies and shows across the best streaming services this week – just in time for January to come to a close – and it came to my attention that Disney+ has picked up an ABC comedy-drama that first released in September last year, which has now flown up the charts.
High Potential stars Kaitlin Olson, who is best known for her role as Dee Reynolds in the hit series It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. In this new show, however, she doesn't play Dee The Giant Bird, but rather a cleaner who also happens to be gifted when it comes to solving crimes. Cue her cleaning job at the local Police station turning into something entirely different – in the most entertaining and funny of ways.
High Potential also has some High Scores on the boards already, with critics calling the show 'trash TV' (see The Guardian's review) – but in the best of ways. The average rating on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a lofty 95% – with viewer ratings not sitting too far behind, at a respectable 82%. That's generally from 2024 ratings, however, how a UK audience perceives the show for its 2025 Disney+ release could see that rating further slide.
While the show absolutely leans into the comedy angle, it's set against a serious backdrop. Olson plays a single mother of three children, living the struggle in order to make ends meet and look after her kids. Her exceptional eye for detail and logical brain help solve crimes – many of which are unpleasant murders, though. I'll stick with dark comedy, just to cover all bases.
I'm pleased to see Disney+ land a show that's a little adjacent to its usual output. There's only so much Marvel I can cope with at this stage, and while I love much of Pixar's work, I'm not always in the mood for another animation that, let's face it, leans towards younger audiences. High Potential, however, this has the potential to be the itch for my comedy scratch.
The show is written by Drew Goddard, known for The Good Place (97% rated on Rotten Tomatoes) and The Martian (91% rated), who is clearly of a very high calibre. It's based on a popular French series that I've (unsurprisingly) never heard of, called Haut Potentiel Intellectuel, or HPI for short, which has already run for four seasons – with a fifth and largely expected to be final season penned for the future. Hopefully the Olson's portrayal will captivate US and UK audiences enough for a similar run – so go check it out!
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