Kaitlin Olson on the Season 2 finale of High Potential: Morgan and Karadec’s situation, Roman’s disappearance, and whether [a character] is dead?

Spoiler Warning: This interview contains major plot details from “Family Tree,” the Season 2 finale of ABC’s High Potential

According to the CinemaDrame news agency, Kaitlin Olson knows that many viewers of High Potential are eager for the brilliant consultant Morgan Gillory to enter into a relationship with her LAPD detective partner Adam Karadec (played by Daniel Sunjata). However, the actress—who is also an executive producer on the series—after two seasons of ABC’s successful police dramedy, which has consistently ranked highly across multi-platform ratings, prefers to keep this slow-burn romance in suspense for the years to come.

Olson tells Variety: “This season’s personal arc was inspired by the idea that everyone became fans of Morgan and Karadec’s relationship and kept asking, ‘Will they or won’t they?’ and I thought that was really funny. We talked about it and I said you can’t just rush into that kind of relationship, because then what happens? The future is uncertain. So we started exploring the idea of what if each of them had separate romantic relationships?”

While Karadec reconnects with his ex-fiancée Lucia (played by Susan Kelechi Watson), Morgan initially distances herself from Nick Wagner (played by Steve Howey), the new head of LAPD’s Major Crimes division, before eventually being drawn to him. After a rocky start, Morgan helps Wagner find closure in the penultimate episode by assisting in the arrest of a group of thieves responsible for his fiancée’s murder. (Wagner also saves her from being shot.) As they leave the office that night, Wagner unexpectedly kisses Morgan in an elevator, seemingly opening the door to a workplace romance.

On introducing Wagner this season, Olson says: “We wanted to create a bit of mystery and also challenge Morgan. It was very important to me that she’s not always right about everything. I like showing her as someone who is extremely intelligent but also human, who doesn’t know whether she can trust this guy or not. Who is he? Does he want something from her? Does he genuinely like her? Those were the fun questions to explore. It’s always more interesting when people genuinely like each other and then the relationship falls apart.”

In the emotional Season 2 finale, Morgan and Karadec’s investigation into a hotel poolside death in Los Angeles leads to the arrest of Lucia, a guest relations manager who admits to providing information to a scammer and then covering up his involvement in the murder of a home renovation reality show host. After Karadec lashes out at Morgan when Lucia is named as a suspect, he eventually goes to her home to apologize, leading to an emotional conversation between the two colleagues.

Meanwhile, Wagner uses connections tied to his corrupt politician father to arrange a meeting between himself, Morgan, and the mysterious political fixer Viola Quinn (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is linked to the disappearance of Morgan’s ex-fiancé Roman 15 years earlier. At the end of the episode, while Morgan is attending her teenage daughter Ava’s (played by Amirah J) art exhibition, she receives a call from Wagner, who says he is going to meet someone connected to Roman at a public park. However, when Morgan arrives to confront this mysterious figure, she only finds Wagner, who has deliberately misled her about the timing and is dying with multiple stab wounds in his back.

As the scene cuts away, Morgan is left overwhelmed with guilt—realizing that her search for Roman may have cost someone close to her their life. Olson says: “It’s no longer just about her curiosity and her daughter’s questions about the past; now this path could be dangerous for people who have become very important to her.”

In addition, Olson discusses the shocking Wagner ending, the status of Morgan and Karadec’s relationship—including an improvised moment in their final scene together—and her return to the Emmy-nominated role in two episodes of the final season of Hacks.

During the finale of High Potential, music plays over the closing sequence because the creative team wanted to create a parallel moment in which Morgan is holding Wagner’s lifeless body, while simultaneously cutting to the police station where Karadec is embracing Lucia—who has just been accused. Do you remember what you were screaming that day? What was going through Morgan’s mind?

I was screaming, “Help!” and “Here!” and “Oh my God, oh my God.” I think her entire world is completely collapsing, and in her mind, she is entirely at fault. After 15 years of sacrifice and raising these kids, [Morgan’s ex-husband] Ludo is an incredible person, but this has always been hanging over her head—that her daughter doesn’t have a father. She has been trying all this time to be both mother and father for her daughter. And for the first time, she is going to want something selfishly for herself and go looking for answers—and it backfires. This is every mother’s nightmare: “How dare I want something for myself, and now it’s caused harm to everyone around me?” So what was going through my mind was: “If I had just kept my mouth shut and let it go, this wouldn’t have happened to a man I care so much about.”

Morgan’s heated kiss with Wagner in the elevator has been widely discussed on social media. Many fans have very strong opinions about a potential Morgan–Wagner relationship—a relationship that, if he doesn’t survive, may never even materialize. Since meeting him in episode four, how has Morgan’s perception of Wagner changed, and how does she feel about him now?

In episode nine of the season, he essentially takes advantage of her during her detective internship period and almost gets her fired. I think it was important not to ignore that. There is attraction between them from the start, but Morgan immediately realizes he is a complicated person and may be hiding something. Then he uses Morgan to get answers, in a way that could have gotten her fired, so she completely distances herself from him and pushes him away.

But that changes when, in the LAPD break room, he explains that he was almost married. Seeing his vulnerability in episode 17—and Steve Howey truly gave an incredible performance—and watching his heart break when his fiancée dies in his arms and then hearing him recount that moment again, allows Morgan to understand: “Okay, this is why he is so complicated.” Maybe they are more alike than she thought, and that willingness to be vulnerable was very attractive to Morgan.

Morgan’s biggest trigger has always been any threat to her three children, and in this episode she fully enters “mama bear” mode to force Viola—who had threatened to harm Morgan’s children—to reveal the truth about Roman. Morgan then learns that Roman was apparently involved in the death of an FBI undercover agent, but she can no longer stop the investigation. What questions does she enter the next season with about her ex-husband?

There are so many questions. She is starting to doubt herself. One of our goals this season was to make sure Morgan is not a perfect character; being smart doesn’t mean she is always right or never makes mistakes. So she is really questioning her own judgment about this person. We liked that this is happening in parallel with Karadec’s situation as well, where he also starts doubting Lucia. He thought he knew her, but it turns out he may have been wrong about her. It was important to me that this is also reflected in the scene where Morgan comforts him: that he is not “wrong” about Lucia. He may not have all the answers, but he was not afraid to open his heart. Morgan wants to reassure him that even if the decision ultimately led to pain, it was still the right thing to do. That is a shared theme for both of them.

When you think back to your first meeting with Drew Goddard—the creator of the series—several years ago, how did his original idea about what happened to Roman compare to what is revealed about the character in this finale?

Drew said in that very first meeting: “Who knows what happened to Roman? We have to discover it ourselves. And how painful would it be if he actually left Morgan?” I thought that was a really interesting point. The truth is, we still don’t know what happened to Roman or why he left Morgan. The evidence points in a certain direction, but that doesn’t mean it’s the truth. These people, whoever they are, are trying to stop her; so what Viola revealed may or may not be true. She is not reliable.

The difference between Morgan and Karadec’s relationship in the pilot and their dynamic at the end of season two feels like night and day. How has your approach to playing this role changed over time?

That’s a great question. Playing scenes where you don’t know where the characters are going can be challenging. You don’t want everything to feel predictable, so it’s really exciting to try different paths. I think it’s fun that in some episodes she gets annoyed with Karadec like a little brother. Even changing his ringtone to “Baby Got Back” and seeing Karadec get upset about it was really funny to me. I also think that even when she teases him, there’s still a kind of flirting in it. Morgan is ultimately someone who entertains herself, so she can joke with him while also having romantic banter at the same time.

But ultimately, what matters most for Morgan is that she dislikes feeling vulnerable around others. It’s very hard for her to let her guard down because she’s afraid of getting hurt, so building trust with Karadec gradually became very important. The fact that she feels safe with him is the most important part. That could lead to a romantic relationship, but it could also end up as a very strong friendship. She doesn’t have many friends because she doesn’t let many people into her life.

The moment that really cemented this partnership for me was the scene in episode 12 where Karadec holds Morgan during a panic attack. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the entire series. The idea that someone who relies on no one but herself is suddenly in a situation where she completely loses control, tries to escape it with logic but can’t because it’s an emotional breakdown—and then he takes control and forces her to let him help her—it was beautiful.

I think their relationship changed forever after that moment, because Morgan hated that hug. She would never have chosen it herself. She was forced into it and felt embarrassed by it. And by the end of the episode, Karadec helps her move past it. He tells Morgan it’s okay to be human and okay to rely on someone, to trust him as her partner. He knows that if the roles were reversed, she would do the same for him. I think that’s one of the best things you can tell someone. Ultimately, feeling safe with him was what I wanted to be the core of this relationship—whether it becomes romantic or not, he needs to be the safest place in Morgan’s life.

Morgan is right there with Karadec when he is injured in the building explosion in episode 16, and then in the finale she supports him after the truth about Lucia is revealed. In that final scene, it seems like it takes a few attempts before Karadec is able to talk about his feelings regarding Lucia’s arrest. Morgan approaches him when she calls him “Adam,” something that rarely happens.

I really love that you noticed that she calls him “Adam” for the first time—or one of the first times. That was completely intentional. There was a lot of improvisation in that scene, and I really wanted her to remain fully professional while also pushing him to let Morgan into his life. And you’re absolutely right—that’s the panic attack scene. She wanted to accept that he was upset, while also making sure he didn’t retreat back into his usual closed-off state. Even if the relationship didn’t become romantic, it was important to her that he didn’t shut down and that he knew he did the right thing by opening his heart to Lucia.

Was Karadec wiping Morgan’s tears in that scene written in the script?

No, it wasn’t in the script. We were both very aware that everyone was waiting to see whether these two characters would become romantic or not. I’m never going to answer that, but I like to mess with expectations. Making a show in the age of social media is really fun because people have very strong opinions about where characters are headed. Especially after the Wagner kiss, the reactions were intense. Either way, having a friendship where you can be completely yourself and feel safe is really beautiful. Not everyone has that.

Morgan and Karadec tilt their heads slightly when a silence between them becomes long and uncomfortable. Is that an unconscious gesture? Have you discussed it with Daniel?

We’ve never talked about it, so it’s probably just our attempt to understand each other.

Daniel has said in an interview that he thinks Karadec has developed feelings for Morgan but is keeping them in the background. Do you think Morgan feels the same way about Karadec? If so, is she aware of it?

I think as soon as Lucia comes back into the story, Morgan is surprised by her own feelings about it because she really cares about Karadec and wants him to be happy and have the best. But seeing that situation makes her feel strange, like “oh…” maybe there’s a bit of jealousy too. But maybe it’s just because his attention is taken away from Morgan and she simply enjoys being in the role of his partner. I think she is too guarded to let those feelings surface, but they are definitely there. He is her safest place, and someone she has felt unable to rely on for over a decade, so she feels very alone. It will probably take a long time before she even admits to herself that she has feelings for him.

We’ve talked a lot about the men in Morgan’s life, but the series has also deepened her relationships with Soto (Jodie Reese) and Daphne (Javicia Leslie).

I never want to lose sight of the fact that Soto was the one Morgan originally turned to in order to find Roman, and that it was extremely difficult for Morgan to ask for help from a member of law enforcement. So developing that relationship—and making sure Soto is the one leading the case and even honoring her promise when Morgan asks her to back off—was very important to me. I never want the show to be only about romantic relationships and “what Morgan feels about men.” That part is fun, but having strong female relationships, where a deputy chief of police stands by Morgan no matter what, is essential.

Morgan definitely wants to take Daphne under her wing, even though Daphne has more detective experience. She likes her, and from the pilot she can see how excited Daphne gets watching Morgan work. In one of the early versions of the show, at a very early stage, Daphne seemed to be jealous of Morgan. I said we can’t go down that path. Daphne can admire Karadec’s skills, but she shouldn’t be jealous of Morgan being his partner, because that becomes strange. That was just Javicia’s natural instinct in the pilot scenes—her face lighting up when Morgan was working—and I loved it, so I said we should lean into that. She should admire Morgan and find her fascinating. Daphne really takes a leading role in one of this season’s episodes, and she even said she was “channeling her inner Morgan.” I love that these women support and rely on each other.

At this stage, what do you know about season three? Will the first episode pick up directly after the finale, or will there be a time jump?

All of that is still being discussed, so I can’t say anything yet, but there are a lot of options on the table. There are many directions we could go—not just about Morgan and Karadec’s relationship, but also whether Wagner is dead. He was stabbed pretty badly! And what about Roman? I think that will come up sooner than expected, because from the audience’s perspective it doesn’t really make sense to drag it out another season. So we’ll probably need to get to some answers fairly quickly.

Does that mean Roman will finally be cast in the next season?

Look, I can’t make any promises, but I think that would be a very smart idea.

High Potential will return next season without showrunner Todd Harthan, who has stepped away to lead the new adaptation of Ergen for Disney+. Have you and the other producers found a replacement?

It’s definitely being looked at. It’s a very big job. The show blends several different tones, and it’s not easy to execute. I’m very strict about every detail of these scripts and stories.

What kinds of conversations will you have with the new showrunner to ensure that the core principles and foundation of the series that Drew and Todd established are preserved?

I think it’s very important that all the tones of the show are maintained. One of the biggest compliments I receive is exactly what you said at the beginning—that you can watch this show with your younger brother. It appeals to a very wide audience, and that’s very important to me. I love that my kids’ friends can watch it, and also my parents and their friends. It’s important that the murders feel real, grounded, and believable. I want the audience to become emotionally invested in the characters and really get to know them. I also never want to lose the fact that Morgan is a free, fun, and multidimensional person, not just a smart one. So there is humor in this world, but the world itself is not funny; the world is serious, and the crimes are serious. Maintaining all of those elements is the most important thing for me.

Despite your day-to-day work on High Potential, you also returned for the final season of Hacks, reprising your role as DJ, Debra Vance’s daughter played by Jean Smart. In episode five, DJ convinces her mother to participate in a popular reality show.

I feel very honored to be part of that show. I truly love it. Even as a viewer, it’s something special. Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs, and Lucia Aniello have done an incredible job creating these characters and layering them so well.

When I read the script, I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to die. I was really excited, but it was also important for both me and Jean to bring closure to that relationship, because these characters have gone through a long and very real journey. At the same time, I like that DJ will always remain a rebellious, emotionally complex adult teenager. What they do together in this episode is very special, strange, but also intimate and joyful, and I really loved it.

How do you think DJ and Debra’s relationship has changed over the course of the series, and what did you most enjoy about playing that mother-daughter dynamic alongside Jean Smart?

Jean is truly a dream. Every scene with her is a gift. She is extraordinary and incredibly talented. But in the beginning, DJ was someone who, even as an adult, desperately needed her mother’s approval and attention. I think over the course of the series, in the “roast” episode in season three, she realizes that it’s not her fault. Her mother also has a kind of addiction—she’s addicted to being funny—and that’s something DJ can relate to because she also struggles with addiction. That takes some of the emotional weight off DJ. She frees herself from the idea that everything is her fault and that she is a failed daughter, because she couldn’t get her mother’s attention. That was never really the issue. But I like that this feeling never fully disappears; she still always needs her mother’s attention.

And then becoming a mother herself also changes things—deciding which parenting styles she wants to take from her mother and which she will never repeat with her own child. Motherhood creates the awareness that nobody really knows everything. Everyone is learning through trial and error, and now it’s her turn to go through that same process.

This interview has been edited and condensed.