Season 2 of High Potential is picking up where the show left off — but this time with more surprises, more mysteries and more murder.
During Us Weekly‘s set visit to Fox Studios in Los Angeles, the cast of the hit ABC series took a break from filming to tease what viewers can expect in the extended second season.
“The season 2 opener is a two-parter. There are two episodes in a row that pick up where season 1 left off,” Daniel Sunjata, who plays Karadec, shared while sitting in the bullpen with Us. “The bad guy, who is known as the Game Maker, [returns] and the interesting game of mental chess that goes on between that character and Morgan [is explored]. That’s how we start.”
At the end of season 1, High Potential confirmed that Morgan’s (Kaitlin Olson) ex Roman — an FBI informant — was still alive after going missing for more than a decade. Morgan didn’t have any time to celebrate the big reveal, because she simultaneously realized that the LAPD’s latest case was far from solved.
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Judy Reyes, who portrays Selena, teased that the twists don’t stop there when season 2 premieres on September 16.
“We have a new person in town messing with the lives of the people here at the precinct. There’s a new sheriff in town,” Reyes shared. “I think that creates all kinds of friction and competition and complexity in terms of relationships — especially where Selena Soto is involved because she’s used to being in charge.”
In addition to getting a glimpse of Karadec and Morgan’s joint desks and the infamous interrogation room, Us got the scoop on some new additions to the cast — including Steve Howey and his character, Wagner.
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations and check back for more of Us’ exclusive scoop on season 2 of High Potential:
More Time for More Stories
The biggest difference between seasons 1 and 2 is an extended episode order, which allows more time for the show to explore each character outside of Major Crimes.
“I know that’s something that [showrunner] Todd [Harthan] definitely is looking forward to exploring and creating,” Reyes teased. “I have no idea what that looks like, but I’m excited to see who Selena Soto is outside of the precinct.”
Sunjata, meanwhile, noted that even the cast wasn’t privy to everything still to come, saying, “We’re still shooting and we’re still at the beginning of this 18-episode order. It’s possible that we could see a lot more of that but so far we’ve been focused on catching the bad guys.”
Expanding on the Crime
After returning to the role of Daphne, Javicia Leslie is excited to spend more time building her character.
“I definitely think we are able to get into each character — the depth of each character — more this season. Everyone has their own battle or their own journey this season, which I think is really cool. With Daphne, every time I see my character description, it says, ‘Rising junior detective,’” she told Us. “That becomes a big thing for me this season. Whether I want to advance in my position or whether I want to apply for other positions.”
Leslie continued: “Also how important Soto is to all of this and how important Morgan is to all of this. So I do think that for season 2 — just our individual journeys get more expanded.”
Akdeniz (a.k.a Oz) chimed in to point out that 18 episodes means “a lot more dead bodies.”
“But then also a lot of different other crimes. We have the time to explore that and being Major Crimes is not just about homicide. There’s a lot of fun mysteries out there that we get to explore and we can really string the audience along,” he hinted, while Leslie added, “Also with the crimes, a lot of them hit personal this season where you’ve experienced it yourself or you may know the person or you’re just obsessed with the type of crime that it is.”
Going Outside of the Precinct
When it comes to trading the bullpen for life on the outside, Leslie warned Us to be careful what we wish for.
“The precinct is our home life. To a certain extent, everything is always going to be connected to a case or connected to our work relationships and environment. But I think that you’ll still get very fulfilled with our characters still being here,” she shared. “I am sure people that are police officers may feel like this work becomes your home life as well. That’s us as junior detectives. It’s going to be a huge part of [our stories].”
Akdeniz agreed that the priority in season 2 is the Major Crimes team’s close bond, adding, “This is their family. You see [at] the end of season 1 how much that family cares for each other and we’re really exploring how the conflicts or the relationships within this family.”
Morgan’s Family Getting Involved
There’s also Morgan’s loved ones — such as daughter Ava (Amirah J) and son Elliot (Matthew Lamb) — who will get more time in season 2.
“Family life is something that’s really important in this show and we get to see more sides of the family, if that makes sense. It is going to be a very important addition to the show,” Amirah teased.
The Roman Mystery
After learning that her father is still alive, Ava is “very emotional,” with Amirah teasing, “There’s confusion and anger and all these different emotions. But she’s definitely putting her foot down and trying to figure out herself what happened to her dad, which is an interesting thing to navigate.”
She continued: “I had talked to the showrunner about his ideas and how he saw the Roman story going and I absolutely loved it. I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but I just thought that he’s definitely going to reveal it in a good way.”
