With High Potential's midseason break nearly over, the hit ABC procedural is continuing to impress with recently released ratings. High Potential earned a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes Score early in its pilot season, but its popularity has only continued to grow. Headed by It’s Always Sunny Philadelphia star Kaitlin Olson, High Potential's Morgan has attracted tons of viewers for her namesake alone. The show itself, however, is what’s kept people’s interest throughout the first batch of episodes.
The modern twist on a police procedural has amassed a devoted following thanks to its fresh spin on episodic crime-solving and overarching mysteries like what happened to Morgan’s ex-husband in High Potential. The witty writing, fashion-forward costumes, and well-developed characters make for a winning combination that alleviates any fears regarding High Potential’s performance compared to the former holder of its timeslot, The Good Doctor. Though the two shows are vastly different, The Good Doctor’s May 2024 series finale is what opened up a primetime slot on ABC’s fall schedule for High Potential to fill.
High Potential's Ratings Are A Big Improvement On The Good Doctor Season 7
The Drama's Freshman Season Shows Impressive Midseason Ratings
While The Good Doctor had seven seasons to prove itself, High Potential only has seven released episodes. With High Potential episode 8’s release date nearing, the ratings from the halfway mark prove High Potential is already performing better than The Good Doctor’s final season. Compared to The Good Doctor season 7’s average of 5.11 million viewers, the first half of High Potential season 1 has garnered 6.6 million total viewers (with three fewer episodes). According to TV Line, High Potential is one of the most-watched new dramas, with its audience up 40% compared to The Good Doctor.
While the first season of The Good Doctor boasted over 15 million average viewers, the audience steadily declined over the seven-year course of the show. On an episodic level, High Potential is undoubtedly outperforming the tail end of its predecessor. Still, there’s a long way to go for ABC’s surprise hit before it can match The Good Doctor at its peak. Though with such a strong start, there’s no telling how quickly High Potential will catch up to The Good Doctor's early ratings.
High Potential Looks Set To Have A Long Future Given Its Ratings
The Future Looks Bright For The American Adaptation
High Potential has earned record-breaking viewership already, but the midseason ratings are yet another sign that ABC has struck gold with its new procedural. In an age where new shows are far more likely to be canceled than renewed, finding success this early in a pilot season is a very good omen for the drama’s future. If the second batch of episodes performs as well if not better, it seems likely that High Potential has a bright, lengthy future ahead on ABC.
Since its French predecessor HPI aired five seasons, it would only be natural for High Potential to follow suit with a renewal announcement in the next few months. Though High Potential season 2 is still unconfirmed, the impressive ratings paired with the devout fanbase make it an obvious choice for ABC’s 2025 schedule. It may never film as many seasons as The Good Doctor, but High Potential has already made its mark with an unapologetically unique identity that sets it apart from other modern procedurals.
High Potential returns Tuesday, January 7 on ABC.
Source: TV Line.
