Warning: Contains SPOILERS for the fall finale of High Potential.The fall finale ofHigh Potentialaired November 12 and the series is set to return to ABC after the holidays on Tuesday, January 7. Season 1, episode 7, “One of Us,” sees Morgan and Ava stuck in a hostage situation after the precinct is hijacked by a group determined to prove their convicted friend’s innocence. While several members of the department are trapped alongside them, Karadec left the building moments before the threat occurred.
Morgan is forced to find a solution without thehelp of her partner, and the detective shows faith in her abilities from the outside. Although they didn’t start off on the best foot, Daniel Sunjata shares that it didn’t take long for Morgan to win his character over. The two have developed a shorthand and have already begun showing signs of awill they/won’t they relationship. While Sunjata hopes the series teases the idea of a romance between them, he also sees value in Morgan and Karadec remaining friends.
High Potential’s Roman Mystery Will Make Major Progress When Season 1 Returns, Teases Showrunner
High Potential season 1 will return with major developments, as showrunner Todd Harthan promises intense and emotional moments for Morgan and Ava.
ScreenRantinterviews Sunjata about Karadec and Morgan’s partnership, JD Pardo’s new role in the show, and what he’d like to learn about his character in a hopefulHigh Potentialseason 2.
Sunjata Shares Why He Thinks High Potential’s Fall Finale Was A Genius Setup
“It ends up being perfect because you have to have somebody outside that situation in order to solve what’s happening inside the situation.”
ScreenRant: What were your initial thoughts when you read the script for the fall finale?
Daniel Sunjata: When I saw that the formula for that episode would be that Morgan is within a situation, they’re being held hostage inside the police precinct while a couple of the others of us are outside, and we have to communicate with her and help solve this situation, I just thought that that setup was something that the audience probably wouldn’t see coming. And to me, that’s great TV.
Karadec was in the precinct right before the bomb threat, but he left. What was going through his mind?
Daniel Sunjata: That’s a good question. That thought never really crossed my mind as Adam, the feeling of like, “Oh, God, I just got out right before this happened.” If anything, I think Adam probably wishes that he was inside the precinct to be able to protect his co-workers, his friends, his colleagues. But it ends up being perfect because you have to have somebody outside that situation in order to solve what’s happening inside the situation, and I think that’s the genius of the setup of this particular episode.
There’s a moment when they’re talking about going in and Karadec says, “No, we need to give Morgan more time.” Initially, he didn’t even believe she would be helpful to the team. At what point during their time together do you think he started to understand Morgan’s value?
Daniel Sunjata: I think that Adam reluctantly started to be won over by Morgan’s genius earlier on in the season. I would say by Episode 2 or Episode 3. He might not like it, but you may’t argue with results. She just continues to get it right, she continues to get it right, she continues to get it right. And it’s not that the detectives in the bullpen, Javicia Leslie, Deniz Akdeniz, Judy Reyes, myself, it’s not that we are bad at our jobs or that we are inept, but our combined IQ is probably not 160, and she has that all by herself. [Laughs]
And so over time, even though Adam Karadec is a real big fan of the rule book, the playbook, the order of operations, long before this episode, I think that he has caught the drift that this individual is something very special and is helping us help people, and he can’t argue with that. I think that that’s the one passion that Adam and Morgan share most in common is the desire to help people, and she’s very good at it and cares about it.
So by this time, arguing that plot point that you just pointed out, that Adam is saying, “No, we need to give Morgan more time,” at this point in their relationship, he has faith in her. He’s like, “I know she’s going to figure this out. Just give her a little bit more time.” Especially before we set off a situation where people can get shot and bombs can go off. Let’s let the genius figure this thing out. And she does.
Sunjata Is Interested In Teasing Out Morgan And Karadec’s Relationship Without It Truly Becoming Romantic
“I think that it would be cool if they tease that out, and then ultimately, it just ends up that they’re just friends with mutual respect.”
Morgan brings a new perspective to the case as both a mother and someone who’s very tuned in to people’s emotions. Soto even tells Karadec, “She’s rubbing off on you,” so do you agree Morgan has impacted his work as a detective?
Daniel Sunjata: Absolutely. A hundred percent. I kind of spoke a little bit to that in my answer to your last question, but she definitely is rubbing off on Adam in terms of him realizing that there’s more than one way to go about doing this job that we do. You’re not supposed to bring evidence boxes home. You do have to wear gloves before you enter a crime scene.
There are all these little things that kind of lend to the comedy between the two of us because Morgan has no reverence for the rules. She just cares about the results. You know what I mean? And that kind of rubs Adam the wrong way here and there. But the influence of Morgan definitely starts to change Adam—I don’t know how substantively, but it definitely makes him more open-minded in terms of, “How do we serve people? How do we deliver justice? How do we help people?” There are many more ways to do it other than just the color-by-numbers version of it.
I don’t know if you’ve seen any fan reactions to the show, but people love the chemistry between Morgan and Karadec. Do you feel like they have the potential to be a will they/won’t they, slow burn type of relationship throughout the series?
Daniel Sunjata: That’s great. Yeah, I do actually. I’m a fan of television, and I think I’m hearing from you, that you’re a fan of television. Isn’t that what people would want to see? Whether it happens or not, just teasing out a possible attraction between the two of them, as Daniel Sunjata, I think that it would be cool if they tease that out, and then ultimately, it just ends up that they’re just friends with mutual respect, and that it actually never goes anywhere truly romantic, but that it just ends up being two people who have changed each other.
In terms of, “This friendship has changed me, this professional relationship has changed me. There might’ve been a moment where we thought ‘Maybe we might get together,'” and then if it doesn’t happen, I think that would be awesome, honestly. I don’t know where they’re going to take that, but I do hope that they take their time with it. They don’t need to rush to any conclusions.
This next question kind of goes along with that. JD Pardo has been such a great addition to the show. Do you get to share any scenes with Tom and Morgan? I feel like there are some good comedic opportunities there.
Daniel Sunjata: First of all, let me say, JD Pardo is amazing. He is so talented. He brings so much to the show, and then when I saw his handsome face walk on set, I was like, “Wait a second, guys. We don’t need guys that are this good-looking on the show. I’m 72 years old here, let’s cast a halo around Karadec.” But he’s amazing, and we actually don’t really share any scenes together. There are scenes that our characters share with Morgan, but usually, I’m at the beginning of one of those scenes, and then JD comes at the end.
Or JD is in the beginning of the scene, and Karadec comes in at the end. I think that that is part of setting the tension of Morgan’s got many, many options. There are many men that are interested in her and that she might be interested in. I think it keeps the audience guessing, but what JD brings to the show in terms of his talent, and his experience, and his amazing bone structure cannot be overestimated. He’s amazing.
Sunjata Hopes To Learn More About Karadec’s Personal Life In High Potential Season 2
“Why is Karadec a germaphobe? Why is Karadec not doing so well with the ladies?”
We get little teases about Karadec. We know he loves apple fritters. We saw him try online dating. Will this season dive more into his personal life?
Daniel Sunjata: I think that if that happens, it’ll probably happen, and this is fingers and toes crossed for a hopeful season 2. I think in season 2, we might get a bigger peak behind the curtain in terms of what Karadec’s life like is outside of the precinct. There is a little bit of that in season 1. We do learn some things about him outside of just his work as a detective here and there. I think we’ll find out more about Adam as the show hopefully progresses beyond season 1.
High Potentialhas already started to establish a found family dynamic from when you see them working together to when they’re at the bar after a long day. What do you feel that adds to the show?
Daniel Sunjata: The demographic of the show is surprisingly wider than I expected it to be. And only now in hindsight am I like, “Oh, of course though.” Because yes, it’s a serious cop drama, but there is this comedic element to it. So I’m hearing things from literally people in their eighties about the show, and I’m hearing things from teenagers about the show. So I think this particular brand of procedural has a demographic that is wider than most police procedurals that we see on TV.
Those moments where you get to see Oz and Daphne and Lieutenant Soto and me and maybe even Morgan all in the same scene, I think it’s important because you need to see the comradery. You need to see that these people actually really like each other, that they don’t just walk in, say “good morning,” go get their coffee, and go figure out a murder. They have history. They enjoy each other’s company. And as an audience member, that would just make me care more about the safety of each individual character.
You wouldn’t want any one of them to get shot or hurt, and you just enjoy watching the show more because you can tell that these characters, these detectives and Morgan, they actually enjoy working together, and they have mutual respect, and they can share laughs, and it’s not always about the case board and figuring out “who done it?” I think those scenes kind of humanize the show in a way that makes it more relatable to the audience, I would hope.
Are there any specific questions you have about Karadec that you’re hoping the show answers?
Daniel Sunjata: This is the boring answer. Nothing specific. But this is a throwback to one of your earlier questions. I definitely would like to see them, over time, and I think that this probably would happen in season 2 or so, I would like to know more about Karadec outside of the precinct. Why is Karadec a germaphobe? Why is Karadec not doing so well with the ladies? He’s a little socially awkward. He’s a little stiff. He’s a little uptight.
All the kids are doing dating apps and stuff. I kind of get the impression that Karadec probably was like, “What? Whatever happened to just walking up to somebody in the frozen food section saying, ‘Excuse me, miss, my name is Jeffrey. I thought you were cute. Can we go out for a drink?'” I think Karadec is confused by the landscape of how people meet each other romantically.
I think he’s a little lonely. Romantically, I think he is a little lonely. In my conversations with and my research in terms of homicide detectives, police officers, people on SWAT teams, even military personnel, a lot of times the love life and the romance can suffer because of what they deal with on a daily basis. There is no way to leave that job. you may’t leave that job at work. You bring it home with you all the time.
And that probably has something to do with Karadec not doing so well romantically and all that. So I’m curious about how Todd Harthan in the writers’ room develop Adam as a three-dimensional character outside of police work. That’s an interesting area for me to explore, but I can’t tell you that there’s one particular question about Adam that I have. No, it would be more of a general question that I do have.
About ABC’s High Potential
High Potential follows a single mom with an exceptional mind.
Written by Drew Goddard (The Good Place, The Martian) and starring Kaitlin Olson,High Potentialfollows a single mom with an exceptional mind, whose unconventional knack for solving crimes leads to an unusual and unstoppable partnership with a by-the-book seasoned detective (Daniel Sunjata).
Check out ourHigh Potentialinterview withAmirah J, as well.
High Potentialreturns to ABC on Tuesday, January 7 at 9 p.m. ET.
High Potential
Morgan, a single mother of three with a brilliant but unconventional mind, partners with a methodical detective after solving a crime during her job as a cleaner. Together, they form an unlikely but effective duo, blending her unique problem-solving skills with his by-the-book approach to tackle challenging cases.
