High Potential Season 3 Confirmed as ABC Searches for New Showrunner After Todd Harthan’s Departure
High Potential has been renewed for a third season on ABC, appointing a new showrunner to lead the series. The renewal comes as no surprise, as the light procedural featuring Kaitlin Olson has consistently performed well on both linear and streaming platforms.
The show is now in search of a fresh showrunner following the departure of Todd Harthan, who is stepping away to co-create the live-action adaptation of Christopher Paolini’s Eragon and will share showrunning duties with Todd Helbing. Harthan has an overall deal with 20th Television, the studio behind High Potential.
In High Potential, Olson portrays Morgan, a single mother with an IQ of 160 who works as a cleaner at the Los Angeles Police Department. She becomes a consultant for the LAPD’s Major Crimes division. The cast also includes Daniel Sunjata as Karadec, Javicia Leslie as Daphne, Deniz Akdeniz as Lev “Oz” Ozdil, Amirah J as Ava, Matthew Lamb as Elliot, and Judy Reyes as Selena.
The series is currently in the latter half of its second season, where the Major Crimes unit is engaged in a complex murder investigation while Morgan navigates her children’s growing independence. “What we’re plotting and planning has a different flavor than last year, but I think it’ll be even more personal, propulsive, and surprising,” Harthan remarked, highlighting the show’s evolving narrative and character depth.
Created by Drew Goddard and based on the French series HPI, High Potential began its third season in 2026 with a new airtime at 9 p.m. Following its premiere, the episode garnered an impressive 12.33 million viewers across ABC, Hulu, and digital platforms, reflecting a 3% increase from the fall season average. This number shows a 7% rise from the fall finale’s viewership of 11.52 million in the same timeframe.
Within the first five weeks of the year, the show achieved an average of 13.24 million viewers, making it the second most-watched program, falling just short of Paramount+’s Landman.
Executive producers include Goddard and Sarah Esberg of Goddard Textiles, with Olson also serving as a producer. The recent renewal of High Potential is part of a broader trend, as ABC has announced several renewals this week, including Abbott Elementary for Season 6 and both 9-1-1 for Season 10 and 9-1-1: Nashville for its second season.
