Lots of finales are set to hit the 2025 TV schedule in the near future, and networks will no doubt reveal lots of major series cancellations that audiences didn’t see coming. Fortunately, fans of High Potential don’t have to fret over the ABC dramedy’s future, since it was already renewed for Season 2 in January based on its increasingly rising viewership numbers. So it’s obvious that viewers at home adore the show, but will its mass popularity possibly morph into awards buzz?
The past decade has made for wildly lopsided Emmys and Golden Globes telecasts regarding streaming services garnering far more nominations than broadcast networks. But High Potential could stand out as a unique hybrid exception, at least according to Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich. Given how hugely the popular the quirky procedural has been with Hulu subscription-holders, in addition to its linear television stats, Erwich seems bullish about Kaitlin Olson, at the very least, garnering FYC attention down the line. Here what he told Variety:
I think one of the best ways to get the voters or the critics to support or laud your shows, is to get them to watch it. And so hopefully being on ABC but also on Hulu, will play to a High Potential advantage. I’ll be disappointed if Kaitlin Olson is not nominated.
Don’t get me wrong, I think High Potential on the whole is more watchable than the glut of “prestige” mega-budget dramas out there, but I can’t really make my brain believe that the TV Academy or HFPA would actively give the series the recognition so often reserved for historical fiction and issue-driven projects.
However, I 100,000% believe in Kaitlin Olson’s chances in swaying voters to grant her a well-deserved spot amidst other A+ small-screen stars. And Craig Erwich supported his argument in the best way possible, by pointing to the breakout awards recognition High Potential‘s network sibling Abbott Elementary earned in its first three seasons.
It doesn’t hurt that Olson herself guest-starred on Abbott for the excellent crossover episode with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which will be followed by the grade school teachers heading to Sunny‘s world when Season 17 debuts later in the fall. But don’t look there for Emmy recognition, as the raunchy FXX series has been bafflingly snubbed for its entire run.
Erwich hopes that’s not the case for ABC’s current hits, though, and shared his optimistic viewpoint on what might happen in the future, saying:
There may be a bias. But I’d like to think that the best work gets recognized. I mean, the critics and the awards organizations have been so incredibly supportive of Abbott Elementary. I’m hoping that they do the same thing for High Potential and Will Trent. I’d like to not be cynical about it.
For all that Abbott has made its mark, broadcast dramas notoriously have a harder time making any waves at the big award shows, so here’s hoping High Potential having a hiliarious lead in Kaitlin Olson helps it become one of the rare hour-long series to get awards for its comedy chops.
