Judy Reyes teased High Potential Season 2 as a crazy ride, promising more of everything fans loved about the ABC procedural. In a Decider interview published ahead of the new season, Reyes said fans should expect more Morgan vision, more people, more crimes, more suspicion, and more mystery as the Los Angeles-based mystery-drama returns. The season is set to debut on Sept. 16, with the team pursuing new threats as it expands its footprint in the Major Crimes Division. Reyes also confirmed she will reprise Carla Espinosa in the upcoming Scrubs reboot, signaling a busy year ahead for the actor.
In the interview, Reyes described Lieutenant Selena Soto as the grounding presence who sees potential in Morgan and offers her the job to serve as a consultant. She said Soto sees herself in Morgan and took a chance on an unconventional leadership path because she trusts her instincts. Reyes noted that Soto’s parental nature—she has a child and a drive to fix problems rather than dwell in them—helps anchor the team amid the heightened tension of a season built around tougher cases and bigger questions. Reyes emphasized that Soto is smart and unconventional, yet effective, and that she relishes the chance to push Morgan toward solutions when the pressure mounts.
Reyes also discussed how High Potential draws inspiration from its French predecessor, Haut Potentiel Intellectuel, and how she approached the character’s cultural throughline. She said she hadn’t heard of the French series before being approached for the project, but she watched it on Hulu and felt the French take resonated with the story’s core while allowing her to bring a distinct approach to Soto. She cited procedural favorites such as Law & Order and NCIS as influences for the grounded, roll-up-your-sleeves dynamic that characterizes the ensemble. Yet she also highlighted the show’s quirks and the stronger character presence that allow for a blend of serious work and light moments.
Season 1 closed with a pivotal revelation: Roman was alive. Reyes offered a tease about Season 2, saying the pursuit of Roman continues and that there are hints about his location and status, though the ground rules of that search remain fluid as the team negotiates new pressures. A new antagonistic dynamic also arrives with Steve Howey joining the cast as a new chief, creating potential friction and sparring with Morgan as the team faces the Game Maker in a broader, more dangerous landscape. Reyes described this shift as a way to test the team’s cohesion while preserving Soto’s steadying influence as the core of the group.
Off screen, Reyes said working with Howey has been enjoyable and that his presence fits the tone the cast is building: a balance of seriousness about the cases and a willingness to have fun while they work. The ensemble already exhibited strong chemistry in Season 1, and Reyes said that chemistry carried into Season 2, with the cast coming in prepared to deliver more of what fans expect and more beyond that. She described the season as a chance to expand Morgan’s perspective on screen and to deepen the dynamic among the team members as they confront more complex crimes and suspicious activity.
Beyond High Potential, Reyes spoke about her return to Scrubs as Carla Espinosa. She said she’s excited for a reunion with the original cast and creative team and is preparing to dive back into the role. Production is slated to begin in three weeks, and she emphasized that scrupulous preparation—reading scripts, learning lines, and collaborating with writers—will help her ease back into Carla with instinct rather than force. Reyes said the project is highly collaborative and that what Carla became depended as much on her own input as on the writers’ room, which gives her confidence about re-entering the character after time away.
Asked about the likelihood of a third season of High Potential, Reyes indicated that audience reception will play a decisive role. She said the show’s studios—ABC, Hulu, and Disney—are excited about the premiere, but whether there will be a Season 3 will depend on viewership and engagement.
On crossover possibilities, Reyes expressed openness to expanding the universe via crossovers with other ABC properties. A hypothetical 9-1-1/High Potential crossover, or even a High Potential/Abbott Elementary crossover, would be fun to explore, she said, and she welcomed the idea of blending genres to widen the show’s reach.
In other entertainment notes, Reyes also referenced her recent experience watching The Summer I Turned Pretty with her son, noting that the duo’s talks about Team Conrad versus Team Jeremiah have given her a personal lens on how audiences connect with character dynamics outside the procedural world. For now, she remains focused on wrapping the new season and preparing for Scrubs while keeping an eye on how fans respond to the evolving High Potential storylines.
New episodes of High Potential air on ABC, with next-day streaming on Hulu.