Why High Potential is not new tonight, November 5

Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata in High Potential
Kaitlin Olson and Daniel Sunjata in High Potential (Image credit: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja)

ABC appears to have a hit on their hands with High Potential, the new crime series starring Kaitlin Olson. Through six episodes we’ve seen Olson’s Morgan use her unique mind to help solve cases with the Los Angeles Police Department, but there won’t be a new case on Tuesday, November 5, as no new episode of High Potential is airing on ABC. Why?

Because ABC, and many other TV stations, are going to be forgoing their usual Tuesday night lineups in order to cover the results of the 2024 presidential election. ABC’s Election Night 2024 coverage begins at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT and will report on results on the country’s vote for president between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump through 3 am on Wednesday morning. It is unclear at this time if the results of the election will be known by the end of Tuesday/early Wednesday morning, so we don’t know if more programming will be disrupted in the days that follow.

The good news for fans of High Potential is that this is only a one week break. High Potential is scheduled to return with an all new episode on Tuesday, November 12, at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.

Right now High Potential’s inaugural season is expected to consist of 13 episodes (per a story from TV Line). As for its future beyond that, ABC has not made a decision on a High Potential season 2 at this time. But the network has noted the show’s strong performance in the ratings, as its viewership has grown over its run and reported that it is one of the most watched programs on Tuesday nights. With that being the case, it would seem a High Potential season 2 could be very likely.

If you want to catch up with High Potential’s run to date, you can stream all of the episodes on-demand on Hulu. You can also read our High Potential recaps. If you are caught up but are looking for something similar to watch, the French series that High Potential is based on, HPI, is currently streaming on Hulu as well.

Again, most of TV is airing election coverage on November 5. That includes special coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC (Fox isn’t airing election coverage, but it is also not showing new episodes), as well as the cable news networks. If you’re looking for a little bit of a lighter side, The Daily Show is hosting a special live election night special as well.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.