High Potential is returning for a supersized second season — but is every cast member coming back to the show?
The hit ABC series, which premiered in September 2024, follows a high-potential intellectual named Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) who teams up with the LAPD to help solve murders. She gets paired up with Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), who is initially skeptical about how Morgan can assist the Major Crimes unit but ultimately starts to rely on her.
The season 1 finale aired in February 2025 and confirmed that Morgan’s ex Roman was still alive after going missing for more than a decade. Executive producer and showrunner Todd Harthan exclusively spoke to Us Weekly about raising the stakes in season 2.
“The No. 1 thing that we try to build in the writers room is a compelling case that will also be really wonderful to watch Morgan’s complicated brain take you through,” he explained at the time. “That then is complimented by these wonderful detectives that are surrounding her. We know the audience — and we as the writers — have a big appetite for that serialized mystery. But the challenge is you don’t want that serialized component to overtake these wonderful cases that the audience looks forward to every week.”
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Harthan continued: “Finding that balance is tricky and that’s why you have a staff of people that come in and keep you honest. They tell me, ‘If we reveal that, then it really overtakes the next episode and upsets the balance.’ So it’s tricky and it is one of the harder parts of building each episode of the show.”
Keep scrolling to see which High Potential stars are coming back for season 2:
Kaitlin Olson
There wouldn’t be High Potential without Olson, so Morgan will once again be front and center in season 2.
Daniel Sunjata
Sunjata teased to Us how a second season could focus on Karadec more outside of his job.
“I think we’ll see more of that probably in — fingers crossed — season 2. We’ll dig more into that. There will be a peek behind the curtain in terms of Karadec outside of the workplace,” the actor shared in November 2024. “What his life is like outside of the precinct. They’ll probably get more into that during season 2.”
Javicia Leslie
Leslie’s character Daphne will keep evolving when season 2 airs on ABC.
Deniz Akdeniz
According to Harthan, season 2 will explore the rest of the precinct more.
“I learned [in season 1] that I have this wonderful cast that you can write anything for. They really are,” he shared with Us. “With that said, what is going to be quite different in season 2 is that we didn’t have our sea legs yet. We haven’t really scratched the surface of some of those other characters in the ensemble. We haven’t gone home with a lot of them. We haven’t dug into their backstories and how they got to where they are in life — like, all their trials, tribulations and relationships.”
Judy Reyes
The same goes for Soto.
“We’re excited about writing some of the other characters more. But I think the biggest thing I learned about how we build each of these episodes is why do we care? Why do you care about this particular case or how it’s resonating with not just Morgan but every character,” Harthan continued. “It is making sure that we don’t get lazy with those stories that we choose to tell each week. I try to look at each episode as its own little movie, and this year, we have the luxury of the lessons we learned — good and bad — and planning and plotting the season so that we don’t waste any one of these episodes. However many episodes we end up getting, we will just try to treat each of them as their own little movie.”
Amirah J
High Potential doesn’t just highlight Morgan’s career but her home life as well. As Morgan’s search for Roman continues, so will moments between her and her kids — including daughter Ava.
“Roman is a really important and amazing piece of casting. I fantasize about who it could be but I haven’t zeroed in on a person yet,” Harthan told Us. “Just the casting opportunities — not just for guest star roles — but recurring roles. We’ve never met Morgan’s mother and father either. We haven’t met anybody.”
Matthew Lamb
Same as Ava, Morgan’s son, Elliot, will play a big role in season 2.
Steve Howey
Howey joined the crime drama in June 2025 as a series regular. He will play the precinct’s new captain, Jesse Wagner, who is described as “a savvy political animal who knows how to wear an expensive suit and oozes effortless charm.”
According to the official description, Jesse is “a guy who can launch a million fundraisers with his smile, he has disruptor tenacity and likes thinking outside the box just like their all-star consultant Morgan. He has a way of putting himself right in the middle of the action … whether he’s wanted there or not.”
Taran Killam
Killam is expected to return as Morgan’s ex (and coparent) in season 2. Before filming started, Killam’s wife, Cobie Smulders, weighed in on Us‘ pitch that she make a cameo.
“Obviously I love the show. I love Kaitlin and I am obviously in love with my husband. So of course. I’m hoping that they get that second season,” she told Us in December 2024. “It’s such a great show and I’m so glad that people are really liking it. So I would be happy to appear but I have no idea what the future holds about anything.”
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Garret Dillahunt
What would the LAPD be without Lieutenant Melon creating obstacles for Major Crimes? Luckily viewers don’t have to find out because Dillahunt is expected to reprise his role.
JD Pardo
Season 1 wrapped up Tom’s story when he took a nursing job in San Diego but Pardo’s return hasn’t been ruled out.
Mekhi Phifer
News broke in July 2025 that Phifer will join season 2 in a recurring guest role but no details on his character have been released.
David Giuntoli
The season 1 finale introduced David Giuntoli as a serial kidnapper who has potential — pun intended — to become the “serialized big bad” of season 2.
“We didn’t want [that story] to be so dark and so sadistic and brutal that it took you into a sort of a tone that felt like a departure from our show. That was a little bit of a fine line that we had to walk. Then if you’re going to have somebody go toe to toe with somebody like Morgan, they better be brilliant. They better be confident and they better be ready,” Harthan told Us. “She gets underestimated even by people that think they’re smarter than her and then look out. So we have to create a character that’s going to be fun to watch her play chess with.”
Harthan expressed hope that the shakeup will make the show not “feel predictable.”
“At her core, Morgan is such a good and empathetic human being. Then she sees somebody out there in the world who she knows is brilliant but is using that to do such harm, and that’s a terrifying thing,” he continued. “We just wanted to make sure it hit all those notes without it ever feeling like we were reaching into the darkest of serial killer stories. That’s not the show.”
