High Potential

This is not a bad show but not original. It is basically a redo of the tv show Monk plus the movie Erin Brockovich. Features a highly intuitive and analytic individual plus single mom with 3 kids who dresses provocatively. Hmmm. Still ok to watch. Think I would have enjoyed it more if she were more relatable and normal. Not that many single moms working janitorial jobs have super neat hair and pedicures that wouldn't stand cleaning a floor or bathrooms. Just an observation.

And I'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't for that pesky cleaning lady !! Nothing we haven't saw before , gifted amateur advising police using her special powers of deduction !! Complete hokum -but Kaitlin Olson is utterly charming as Morgan, police cleaning lady when we 1st meet her but soon invaluable crime solver for the LAPD. Throw in a cute family and lovable ex partner plus a back story of her daughter's missing father which adds a slightly harder tone and a storyline which hopefully builds week by week !! Morgan's hooker dress sense and rebellious streak pits her against a hard working police team headed by Judy Reyes of Scrubs fame who soon succumb to her genius ..... Scooby Doo meets Sherlock Holmes in fun quirky viewing !!

After seeing the pilot, this seems like a 90% scene-for-scene reshoot of the original French series (tt14060708) - which would be ok, if not for the fact that it has been softened for the US audience. The characters and the flow of the series seem less complex. This still makes for a good show though, but not on the same level as the original, sadly.

EDIT: I have seen 10 episodes at this point, and the show has strongly deviated from the French show. First, the US version has added several original storylines instead of just copying everything. But more importantly, while the original Morgane is a self-absorbed, ignorant, loud, unlikable egocentric throughout the whole show, American Morgane is is a way more likable character. Her quirks are significantly toned down.

This gives the show more feel-good quality. I am not sure if this is a good thing though - while French Morgane is a terrible human being, she surely makes the show unique. American HIP is nice and cute and all, but as a result it's just another "funny" crime show starring a main protagonist with a goofy flaw/skill and it that sense it is not much different than Monk, Unforgettable, Lie to me, The Mentalist and dozens of other, similar shows.

At first I thought this was going to be a comedy along the lines of Psych! Or an absurd comedy like Always Sunny. I mean, the only characters I've ever seen Kaitlin Olson play are trashy women with a very caustic sense of humor. If that's what you like about her, don't worry, she definitely brings both of those qualities to this role. But she somehow does it in a mature way.

Although the first episode is all I've seen so far, it does appear to be a series similar to the aforementioned Psych! And it's fraternal twin, The Mentalist. It features Olson playing a character with an extremely high IQ who also suffers from a type of OCD, where she obsesses about things that are out of place. She also has a very fine sense of observation, and she uses these quirks to assist the local police in solving crimes.

This isn't a drama detective show, but it's not a comedy played for laughs either. It's a light action crime show like ABC's The Rookie and even gives me vibes of FX's brilliant Rescue Me series from the early 2000s.

The first episode was enjoyable and I hope the show continues along the same lines, with just enough dark humor to make it enjoyable, but without turning into a joke.

Why does Hollywood use the same old formula whenever they start a series where a genius has insights with evidence that others miss? They can't be normal with high intelligence. They need to have some odd condition that makes them quirky in some manner. Unless it's an updated Sherlock Holmes then he's just plain a jerk to most people he comes into contact with. The genius here is pretty so naturally she being a genius with three children is going to fashion herself so she looks like a street walker. Her mind is like an encyclopedia, but apparently her real expertise is in all things related to what a domestic cleaning lady knows. None of that is necessary. She has a famil to create enough actual back story without making her an oddball. Start letting her dress nice without looking like a lot lizard down at the truck stop. Watching her solve things is the real attraction after all..