One of my favorite shows has been absent from the 2025 TV schedule for some weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped thinking about High Potential’s second season amidst its fall-to-winter hiatus. While waiting weeks longer for the follow-up to the midseason finale’s cliffhanger to arrive with other 2026 TV premieres, let’s reflect on arguably the show’s most dashing and debonair addition. No, not Steve Howey’s come-and-gone mustache. I’m talking about Mekhi Phifer.
The former Love, Victor and Truth Be Told co-star joined Season 2 as the mysterious Arthur Ellis, whose arrival promised updates for Morgan’s long-missing hubby Roman, though those updates have been relatively limited and far between. Thankfully, Ava actress Amirah J told CinemaBlend that we can almost definitely expect to see more from Arthur in the back half, meaning he’ll likely survive that last-second danger involving a mysterious man in his backseat.
Someone who’ll be happy to act opposite Phifer again? Amirah J herself, who told me she was over the moon upon learning that the O vet was joining the series. Somehow, she didn’t actually learn this very important tidbit until his first day of filming, and was floored by it. When I asked her about working with such smooth-looking co-stars as Phifer and Daniel Sunjata, she told me:
I was so starstruck that Mekhi Phifer was going to be joining our show. Because I don’t why I didn’t know, or what was going on, but I just didn’t know that he was going to be playing the character of Arthur. And then I was sitting in the hair and makeup trailer, and they were like, ‘You know who’s coming today?’ And I was like: [nonchalantly] ‘No, I don’t.’ And they were like, ‘Mekhi Phifer.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And they said, “Mekhi Phifer is actually coming today.’ 8 Mile is one of my favorite movies ever, and so I was like, ‘Oh my God!’
In case anyone out there thought that everyone on a TV set is always in constant awareness of everything happening behind the scenes, Amriah J is here to prove that’s not always the reality of things. But I can imagine that few hair and makeup experiences have been quite as exciting as that one was for the actress. I would love to go back and see the look on her face as the news truly sank in.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Amirah J didn’t have any horrifying stories to share about having Mekhi Phifer as a screen partner. She talked about being start struck upon meeting him, and implied it’s been a breeze since. In her words:
We were filming the scene from Episode 2 where we’re at the school for Elliot’s talent show, and we were sitting in one of the classrooms where cast holding was. And he walked in and was like, ‘Hi, I’m Mekhi.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God. You’re really right here. Like, this is insane.’ And then working opposite him and doing scenes with him, it’s incredible. Incredible.
Though I had a suspicion or two about Arthur early on, the character has won me over in the meantime, and it doesn’t seem like any ulterior motives are lurking behind his actions. Although the best way to fool audiences is to be genial, empathetic and soft-spoken, which Arthur has been since he was introduced.
In any case, though Amirah J spent way more time gushing about working with an 8 Mile star than about series regular Daniel Sunjata, she did give him an amusing last-minute shout out, saying:
And I love Daniel, too. [Laughs.] I love him, too! He’s just been here since day one.
If you want to win Amirah J’s love and admiration, don’t show up until Day 20 or so, amirite?
There’s a lot of love going around the High Potential set when filming is happening. Hopefully we’ll get to see some new shots from the back half of Season 2 imminently, as new episodes are set to return to ABC on Wednesday, January 4. In the meantime, the seven eps that have aired so far can be streamed via Hulu subscription or DIsney+ subscription.