When Excessive Potential’s second season lands on the 2025 TV schedule, it’ll little doubt observe up on a number of of the Season 1 finale’s cliffhangers, hopefully with a further clue or two about its thriller Sport Grasp antagonist. Nonetheless, seeing that overarching narrative play out runs an in depth second or third to easily seeing Kaitlin Olson again in her groove as hyper-brilliant police guide Morgan. The actress shared her ideas about about portraying a personality whose neurodivergent tendencies can usually be misinterpreted on TV.
With the film and TV sequence Limitless arguably being a hyperbolic excessive, an intimidatingly excessive IQ is commonly performed up as being a quasi-superpower in fictional settings, whereas Excessive Potential doesn’t ever draw back from highlighting the foibles and fumblings that may come half and parcel with all the extra synapses. For Kaitlin Olson, bringing out that facet of Morgan’s life is extra perfect than solely leaning into her victories. Speaking to Deadline, she stated:
It’s a lot extra attention-grabbing to me to have an individual who will not be good and who’s nonetheless making an attempt to determine it out and who makes errors. So, I would like her to make private life errors. I would like her to make skilled errors as properly, however be actually satisfied that she’s proper, however be unsuitable. I imply, additionally it simply would get boring when you simply are like, OK, properly, Morgan’s going to determine it out. You understand what I imply? You wish to shock individuals and also you don’t wish to do the identical factor again and again.
Preach it! I do not suppose there’s ever been a degree the place Kaitlin Olson popped up in a present as a personality who may very well be described as “good” or “predictable,” which is why she’s among the many perfect and deserves all of the Emmy-related reward that comes her method. So it solely is sensible that she goals to maintain Morgan and her household on a equally various path ahead into Season 2 and past.
Kaitlin Olson On Exploring This Explicit Kind Of Neurodivergence On TV
Most of the time, extraordinarily good characters are associates of the lead whose lives aren’t explored in full. The Huge Bang Concept‘s characters are apparent exceptions to the norm, although inside a sitcom universe that is not precisely devoted to realism. So bringing a personality like Morgan to the plenty is vital to Olson, as is ensuring these characters’ variations aren’t being unfairly exploited. As she put it:
I don’t know the way a lot it’s been explored on TV. Somebody with an extremely excessive IQ like that, I imagine that’s labeled as a neurodivergent mind, and there are such a lot of individuals on the planet who’re neurodivergent indirectly. I believe many of the world seems to be at that and thinks of that as a dysfunction, and it’s upsetting and it’s dangerous, however oh, when you’re tremendous good, it have to be actually nice. And that’s not essentially the case.
I really like that even in its first season, Excessive Precedence gave audiences episodes that tweaked the format the place Morgan’s expansive information was essentially the most very important piece of every investigation, whereas additionally enjoying up how a lot she struggles with not figuring out solutions to issues. Olson spoke to that feeling of hysteria over the unknown being such a relatable character trait.
She additionally spoke to the]negativity that neurodivergent individuals take care of, whether or not stemming from inside or from exterior components.
There’s lots that goes on in there, and I’m certain it may be very lonely and folks can really feel very misunderstood, and individuals who aren’t as clever or don’t have a crazy- excessive IQ can possibly be jealous of that and lash out, and their method of feeling good about themselves is placing these individuals down.
Olson continued, declaring that super-smart individuals encourage the identical sorts of misplaced assumptions that extraordinarily prosperous individuals would possibly. In her phrases:
I imply, it’s a wealthy world that I believe we are able to faucet into, and I believe it’s too widespread to have the notion that as a result of somebody’s good, they should have an exquisite life. It’s the identical factor with something, proper? Simply because somebody’s wealthy, they should have an exquisite life, or if somebody’s enticing, they should have an exquisite life. Not essentially true. Persons are well-rounded human beings, and that’s why I needed to ensure Morgan was multifaceted and never only a good individual briefly skirts.
Simply because somebody has three of the best and cutest youngsters on TV, that does not imply her life is grea…wait, no, that a part of Morgan’s life truly does present a ton of happiness and good emotions. And Olson stated she’s hoping Season 2 will dig deeper into the problems that Morgan’s son Elliot faces as a high-IQ pupil, and the way which will or could not distinction with Ava’s life.
After all, some Excessive Potential followers are little doubt studying this and saying, “Yeah, that is nice, however what about Morgan and Karadec getting it on?” And I am sorry to say it, however Olson not too long ago addressed Morgan and Karadec’s shippers in flippant method that does not precisely encourage a ton of first-date hypothesis.
Whereas ready for Season 2 to reach, followers can rewatch all of Season 1 with both a Hulu subscription or a Disney+ subscription.