Steve Howey is not returning to High Potential as a main cast member, but could Captain Wagner come back in season 3 in a smaller role?
While Howey’s character got shot in the season 2 finale, his fate is yet to be determined. Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) arrived just in time to get medical help for Wagner, and his future depends largely on what the new showrunner will decide.
Deadline reported earlier this month that Howey, 48, only signed a one-year deal. Wagner’s story has not been fully determined yet, however, and there is a chance Howey could come back as a guest star at the beginning of season 3 to wrap up his arc.
The actor has been booked and busy with upcoming seasons of Off Campus, Ransom Canyon and The Lincoln Lawyer. High Potential is also still waiting on a replacement showrunner after Todd Harthan exited the show to focus on the upcoming live-action adaptation of Christopher Paolini’s young-adult book series The Inheritance Cycle.
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High Potential was originally created by Drew Goddard. Rob Thomas, meanwhile, was expected to serve as the showrunner before exiting in June 2024, months before the series premiere. Harthan was ultimately announced as the new showrunner and also served as an executive producer.
Harthan teased the vision for the series while speaking to Us Weekly in January.
“It’s a pretty bumpy ride. We’re going to start unpacking some pretty intense things with Morgan, as it relates to all things Roman,” he said at the time. “There are all kinds of trials and tribulations that are going to happen with the kids at home. It’s just going to get messy and complicated — hopefully in all the best ways so that the audience stays on the edge of their seats.”
He concluded, “Our job now as we get to the back half of the second season is to fill in some of the big blanks and progress some of the relationships. You’re going to see some intense things happen between Steve Howey’s character, and Captain Wagner really starts to bloom in the back half. That causes some good soapy messes on multiple fronts. It’s just our normal MO of just trying to mix things up and keep the audience engaged and keep them guessing.”
Why Is Steve Howey Leaving ‘High Potential’? Surprise Departure Explained
Howey, meanwhile, opened up about joining High Potential in season 2.
“Nick comes in and does ruffle some feathers. But his motives and his intentions are not to do that. He wants to help and we start seeing that in different episodes,” he teased in September 2025. “That was my fear and my concern. When you have such a lightning in the bottle strong dynamic of these characters, throwing in another character can potentially throw that off. I’m still working on not doing that. This is going to evolve into something really cool.”
High Potential has been renewed for a third season. All episodes are currently streaming on Hulu.
