Why ‘High Potential’ Season 1 Is So Short Compared to Other ABC Shows

Despite High Potential’s high ratings, the freshman ABC drama won’t be getting a full season. The Kaitlin Olsen-led series premiered on Sept. 17, reaching 10.72 million total viewers and a 2.20 rating in Adults 18-49 after seven days of multiplatform viewing. After the third episode, High Potential had a record-setting linear growth in week two.

While some shows have already been receiving backorders for episodes or additional scripts, High Potential will not be one of them. It’s not because Disney doesn’t want to order more episodes, as it’s likely they would have wanted to, according to Deadline. Production on the first season actually wrapped after the initial 13-episode order because of Olson’s commitment to her other series, FX’s long-running It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

It’s not so surprising that filming wrapped early, as the series was set to premiere during the 2023-24 season, but was one of the many new shows pushed back to the current season due to the dual Hollywood strikes. Filming finished just two weeks after the series debuted, when it was too early to make a decision on a back order. At the very least, Olson will be sticking around on ABC for a bit beyond High Potential, as she will be appearing on the highly-anticipated crossover between It’s Always Sunny and Abbott Elementary in January.

Assuming High Potential gets a second season, it’s hard to tell how many episodes there will be. While one would hope that it gets a full season, if Kaitlin Olson continues with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, that might be hard to keep up with.

Even with just 13 episodes, there is a lot to look forward to. High Potential had its fall finale on Nov. 12 after seven episodes and will be returning on Jan. 7. With a chunk of the season still yet to air, there is no telling what will happen. Also starring Daniel Sunjata, Javicia Leslie, Deniz Akdeniz, Amirah J, Matthew Lamb, and Judy Reyes, High Potential will likely still be around for a long time, no matter how many episodes the seasons have, even if it is frustrating.