ABC has named Nora and Lilla Zuckerman as executive producers and showrunners of High Potential ahead of the show’s third season. The move comes after Todd Harthan stepped down in March, ending his run over the first two seasons as he turns to Disney+'s Eragon.
The change hands the series to two writers with a track record in television drama and mystery. Lilla Zuckerman said the pair were grateful to join the next chapter of High Potential and called working with Drew Goddard, Sarah Esberg, Andrea Massaro and Kaitlin Olson a dream come true.
That matters because High Potential is one of ABC’s strongest performers. The series averages more than 16 million total multiplatform viewers season to date, making it the third most watched broadcast series in that category and No. 1 among Adults 18-49 based on Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings. Its Season 2 premiere climbed to 21.48 million total viewers after 35 days across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+ and digital platforms.
High Potential was created and executive produced by Drew Goddard and is based on the French series Haut Potentiel Intellectue (HPI). Kaitlin Olson stars as Morgan, a single mom who discovers she can solve crimes and teams with a detective played by Daniel Sunjata. Season 3 will also be executive produced by Goddard, Esberg, the Zuckermans and Olson, with Massaro of Goddard Textiles as co-executive producer.
The Zuckermans arrive with a strong TV pedigree. They previously ran the first season of Poker Face, recently wrote and executive produced the Buffy reboot pilot and have an overall deal with 20th Television. Their credits also include Fringe, Haven, Suits, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Prodigal Son.
The question now is not whether ABC has a hit on its hands. It does. The test for High Potential Season 3 is whether the new team can keep Morgan Gillory’s cases sharp while preserving the show’s broad appeal without losing the spark that pushed it into the top tier of broadcast TV.