ABC’s latest crime dramedy High Potential bursts onto the screen with wild ambition, clashing tones, and more chaos than polish. On paper, it has all the makings of a formulaic procedural: a civilian outsider who joins forces with the police to solve cases. But what keeps this otherwise tangled series from collapsing under its own clichés is Kaitlin Olson — who doesn’t just steal every scene, she practically rescues the entire show.

Olson plays Morgan, a cleaning lady whose razor-sharp intelligence and uncanny ability to see patterns allows her to outsmart the LAPD detectives she’s reluctantly paired with. It’s a role that could have easily fallen into tired “quirky genius” tropes, but Olson injects Morgan with a layered humanity that’s both messy and magnetic. Her comedic timing is impeccable, but it’s her ability to pivot from witty banter to raw vulnerability that keeps viewers glued to the screen.

The show itself, however, is another story. High Potential often struggles with tone, lurching between crime-of-the-week drama and slapstick comedy without always finding the right balance. Some episodes feel overcrowded, with subplots piled on until the central mystery loses impact. The writing leans heavily on familiar beats — the skeptical cops, the reluctant partnership, the brilliant deduction that no one else could see — and at times, it risks feeling like a patchwork of other, better crime dramas.

And yet, Olson is the wildcard. Where another actor might be swallowed by the uneven material, she transforms every cliché into a spark of originality. Whether she’s tossing off a biting one-liner or piecing together a case with manic intensity, Olson radiates a chaotic charm that the audience can’t look away from. It’s her performance that gives High Potential exactly what its title promises — the possibility of becoming something greater than its flaws.

The question is whether ABC will lean into what truly works. If the series can sharpen its scripts and streamline its storytelling, allowing Olson more room to anchor the narrative, High Potential might just find its voice. For now, it’s a messy, uneven ride — but thanks to Kaitlin Olson’s brilliance, it’s one worth taking.

Verdict: High Potential may be a structural mess, but Kaitlin Olson elevates it into must-watch territory. Without her, the show risks being forgettable; with her, it just might grow into ABC’s most surprising hit.