Why High Potential's Kaitlin Olson Almost Turned Down The Hit Crime Drama

Kaitlin Olson is on a roll. Not only does she continue to rock her comedy chops as Sweet Dee Reynolds on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," but she's also embraced her more serious side on ABC's "High Potential." Olson is a great fit for Drew Goddard's U.S. adaptation of the Franco-Belgian hit crime comedy-drama "HPI," which stars Audrey Fleurot ("Spiral") as eccentric but super-intelligent housekeeper-turned-police consultant Morgane Alvaro. Olson's version of the character, Morgan Gillory, is pretty much tailor-made for her comedic and dramatic sensibilities ... which makes it somewhat surprising to learn that Olson was originally hesitant to work on the show. 

In an interview with Esquire, the actor discussed her initial reluctance to star on "High Potential," which was caused by a feeling that network television really wasn't a good fit for her lifestyle at the moment. "I was enjoying working part of the year and then being a mom the other part of the year," Olson said. "Jumping in on things that were fun [like 'Hacks'] but then having the time to develop my next show ... I always figured it would be on streaming and it would be 10 episodes or something like that. I could still have 'Sunny' and a life and all that stuff. So the idea of being on an hour-long drama on network television just wasn't appealing."

It's worth noting that aside from the fact that "High Potential" is a network show and therefore has more episodes per season than many streaming shows, it fits Olson's description of her ideal project almost to a tee. It's a crime drama with comedic elements and has provided her an opportunity to explore a character that's very, very different from Dee Reynolds. As such, it's no surprise that Olson's agent pushed hard for her to read the script, which turned out to be all she needed. When she became familiar with Morgan Gillory, she soon revised her opinion about working on the show. 

The actor isn't the only person Morgan has quickly won over. TVLine's review deemed "High Potential" a brainy crime procedural elevated by an inspired Olson performance. In fact, the show has enjoyed overwhelming critical acclaim across the board, and the fact that it has become ABC's biggest success story in years proves that the viewers agree. 

With "High Potential" Season 2 having returned from hiatus in January 2026, it remains to be seen how the show intends to resolve its hanging plot threads — though we already have some idea about it, thanks to "High Potential" boss Todd Harthan breaking down the midseason finale's cliffhanger for TVLine. All of this means that fans of Olson are eating better than ever. Apart from her being an integral part of the best episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (as well as all the others), she's rapidly adding a laundry list of great Morgan Gillory moments to her ever-expanding highlight reel.