High Potential Boss Reacts To 'Bonkers' Theories About David Giuntoli's Game Master, Teases Morgan And Karadec's 'Evolution' In Season 2

ABC's High Potential was one of last season's earliest breakout hits, and from the moment it wrapped in May, fans have been foaming at the mouth for new episodes. Their patience will finally be rewarded with Tuesday's Season 2 premiere (ABC, 10/9c), as showrunner Todd Harthan promises a continuation of everything viewers loved about Season 1 — only more of it.

For starters, Season 2 will consist of 18 episodes (up from 13 in Season 1), offering "the luxury of more real estate" and allowing the show to "lean into some of the other great cast members we have," Harthan tells TVLine. That includes "peeling back some layers" of Morgan's co-workers like Daphne, Oz and Soto, while also highlighting the "evolution" of Morgan and Karadec's relationship... whatever that may someday become.

When Season 2 begins, Morgan is still being targeted — nay, tortured — by David Giuntoli's mysterious "Game Master," whose potential connection to Morgan has been the subject of countless fan theories during the hiatus between seasons.

"In the early days of the writers' room, [those theories] were being pitched to me," Harthan admits. "Like, this is one theory, this is another theory. They think he might be this or that. Some of them were nuts, but you know what? In some world, I could connect those dots. And some of them were just bonkers."

Harthan says it gives him chills just to talk about Giuntoli's work in the two-part season premiere. "He is going to mix things up and challenge Morgan's brain in a much different way than he did in our finale," Harthan says. "It's really going to challenge her HPI and make her head spin in a way that creates this renewed friction with the cops that she's working with, because it tests their trust and their loyalty to each other. He's just in there as this master disruptor, and it should be very fun to watch."

There are also several fresh faces at the precinct this season, most notably Steve Howey, who joins the show in Episode 4 as new captain Jesse Wagner. Describing Jesse as "a bit of an enigma," Harthan says he's "hard to read at first," with most characters viewing him as a threat upon first blush. With the introduction of Jesse, the writers "wanted to sort of disrupt the bullpen," much in the same way Morgan's arrival in Season 1 triggered a shift in precinct dynamics.

Naturally, viewers have already started speculating about a potential office romance between Morgan and Jesse, to which Harthan gives us this to ponder: "You know her point of view on bosses, so if that is going to happen, it's going to be tricky, laced with landmines. But unexpected chemistry is interesting to me, you know, when something unexpected happens with the last person you thought it would happen with. I think the seeds of that are something we're talking about and are worth exploring."

Then there's the Roman of it all. High Potential ended its first season by confirming that Morgan's estranged ex is alive and well, thus bumping the search for Ava's father to the top of Morgan's priority list moving forward. The way the Roman mystery unfolded in Season 1 felt more like "dipping our toe in the water," Harthan says, whereas Season 2 is like "jumping into the pool," offering long-awaited answers — and perhaps a long-overdue reunion. When asked if Roman is being played by Season 2 newcomer Mekhi Phifer, whose role hasn't officially been made public, Harthan says, "That's 100% a possibility."

OK, let's talk: What are you most excited to see in Season 2 of High Potential? Which burning questions do you need answered first? And what are your theories about Giuntoli's mystery role? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.