Posted in: ABC, Hulu, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: high potential, hpi, kaitlyn olsen, opinion

High Potential & HPI: So How Do These Genius Detectives Compare?

Let's take a look at how High Potential and the original French series that it's based on, HPI (Haut Potentiel Intellectual), stack up.

High Potential is one of the biggest new hits on ABC, one of those high concept detective series about a quirky genius who helps the cops solve crimes. It's a variation on the Sherlock Holmes archetype of the talented amateur who's smarter than the cops at figuring things out. In this case, Kaitlin Olson plays Morgan Gillory, a working-class woman with three kids from different men who work as a cleaner until she helps the LAPD solve a murder by spotting clues and patterns of human behavior they missed. Turns out she has a genius-level IQ but never found her niche in life – hence her High Potential – until she finds her calling as a detective. The series is a remake of a French-Belgian series called HPI (Haut potentiel intellectuel) or HIP (High Intellectual Potential). They're the same but different and reveal the differences between American network shows and European shows.

High Potential/HPI: A Tale of Morgan and Morgane

Let's be clear: neither High Potential nor HPI are necessarily "masterpieces" that redefine television, but they do the quirky detective procedural well with a bit of an edge. High Potential even remade the same pilot story and several of the same episodes to US network requirements for good or ill. There are significant differences between the shows, though, in detail and nuance. Both series depend completely on their star's charisma, or there would be no show, but Olson's Morgan Gillory and Audrey Fleurot's Morgane Avaro are very different. In High Potential, Morgan is mostly quirky with all the edge and flaws ironed out, probably because of network executive notes because they can't bear anything in a main character that risks making her unlikeable.

Morgane in HPI is all edge – she's not merely quirky; she's an impulsive screwup with bad boundaries and a massive chip on her shoulder. Her tendency to touch evidence has screwed up several crime scenes and made evidence inadmissible. Earning the trust of Karadec (Mehdi Nebbou) takes several more episodes than it does in the US version, where Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) starts to trust her by the end of the pilot. Morgane also hates cops (for good reason) and doesn't trust them for a long time. The French series makes it clear she's a screwup because of her impulsiveness, and there's more commentary about class conflict.

Morgan's being working class is played down in High Potential, but being blue collar is a strong part of Morgane's identity, including her suspicion and resentment of the rich. Morgane is more overtly sexual and comfortable in her sexuality, while the puritanical nature of US TV largely neuters Morgan. Morgane also isn't known for that speech-making that Morgan does because US network cop shows have to do that all the time. HPI has a much more natural, real-world vibe to it, while High Potential still has that first season "US network procedural" vibe to it that should (hopefully) get toned down as the series goes beyond its freshman season. HPI had three seasons, so if you're jonesing for more High Potential after the season finale, you can just watch the original French series.

High Potential and HPI (including an English dub for people who don't want to read subtitles) are both streaming on Hulu.

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