High Potential review: Your new favorite crime procedural

I know what you're thinking, not another crime procedural on broadcast. They're a dime a dozen. They're formulaic. The consultant leads tend to outwit and outsmart their police partners or make law enforcement look like they can't do their jobs competently. I get it. But at the same time, these tropes of the genre are just a part of the playbook, the real essence of these shows lies in how well they can take these paint by numbers elements and make them feel different and give the audience not only a reason to tune in but to also keep watching. High Potential succeeds in this with its pilot episode.

We're introduced to Morgan Guillory, played wonderfully by Kaitlin Olson who's best known for her comedic work. Hers is the kind of character that upon looking at her you think she's quirky. That we're about to be lured in by an over-the-top female lead whose genius comes with a side of zingers. But don't let the loud fashion sense fool you. Morgan is often deadpan, blunt, brusque, and at times exasperated by the detectives' inability to keep up with her analysis.

Her assistance on the show's opening case isn't even about being right regarding Lynette Acosta (Kate Craven) being a victim not a suspect. Morgan has a compulsion to correct what's wrong when she sees it. She can't help herself, otherwise she'll lose sleep because she didn't fix the problem. As she tells Lt. Selena Soto (Judy Reyes), her cognitive abilities due to her IQ of 160 and her eidetic memory are not a gift in her belief. They're a fact about her life that's made maintaining relationships, holding down a job, and carrying a conversation difficult.

So why does Morgan end up helping? Lynette's daughter Letty (Maia Jae Bastidas). For as much as Morgan chafes at authority and isn't afraid to swing on a cop who demeans and then snatches her up, she's got a soft heart. You can see it most with her kids--Ava, Eliot, and Chloe. Morgan isn't one to sugarcoat things and she can be quite brash, but she slows down enough to have sensitive, honest, and sincere conversations.

Olson walks the tightrope of Morgan's characterization well, balancing the character's attitude and genius without tipping too far into cynicism or a sense of jadedness. As her counterpart Det. Adam Karadec, Daniel Sunjata finds a rhythm with her that works well.

In the season opener, the two characters do not get along and it's played with real anger and annoyance, there isn't a hint hint, wink wink element pointing to a suppressed attraction. They're not endeared to each other. Nor is Karadec particularly thrilled to have Morgan assisting with the case. He makes that known and he doesn't mince words. Don't expect some interestingly placed fondness. But Karadec does thaw, opening the door for us to get a glimpse of what their partnership can be when they're in sync and on the same page.

Karadec and Morgan riff off each other with the resident genius giving the detective space to reach the conclusions she's making as to what truly happened in the Acostas' house. It helps immensely that, while Karadec can be gruff and uptight complete with a clean freak tic, he's amusingly long-suffering and willing to put up with Morgan's eccentricities as they do case work. At one point he's tasked with feeding her baby Chloe and putting the car seat in his police car.

What High Potential needs to work on, and the area it will likely grow in as the season goes on, is fleshing out its supporting cast. Lt. Soto puts the work first. She's not too proud to admit and insist on Morgan helping them but she's not memorable yet. With an actress like Judy Reyes on the show that can't possibly stick so I look forward to seeing her character's full colors.

Javicia Leslie and Deniz Akdeniz play Daphne and Oz, respectively but the pilot doesn't do them any service. Their characters could be anyone for as flat as they're written. Daphne is bubbly and positive with a penchant for lollipops so she at least has a place to start from but Oz is seriously lacking in any defining characteristics so hopefully that changes and quick.

Hight Potential's season premiere ends with the reason Morgan decides to take the lieutenant up on her consultant offer and it's not because she wants to do good. I won't give away why she aligns herself with the LAPD but it does set the procedural up for the solving of a potentially season long mystery you'll want to tune in for.

My verdict? Tune into this procedural. It just may become your new favorite.

High Potential airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. Next day streaming is available on Hulu.