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Do we truly grow bored of the savant sleuth? Probably not – the satisfaction of witnessing a fantastically gifted person crack absurdly complex cases is one of fiction’s surest draws. As always, our screens are swarming with them: in the past year alone we’ve met Ludwig, David Mitchell’s riddle-creator turned incredibly astute detective; seen the return of Natasha Lyonne’s truth-divining Charlie Cale in Poker Face; and crossed paths again with brainiac attorney Elsbeth.

A Unique Breed of Brilliant Investigator

Returning for further intellectual feats is Morgan Gillory, the protagonist of breezy procedural High Potential, which returns for a new season. With an IQ of 160 – earning her “high intellectual potential” – Morgan’s ability to unravel mind-bendingly complicated sequences of events is truly remarkable. But there’s something distinctive about this clever-clogs crimestopper.

Ever since an antisocial drug addict by the name of Sherlock Holmes set the genius detective tone, such characters have usually had a few issues. Ludwig is withdrawn, his talents paired with intense social anxiety. Cale is a chaotic, commitment-phobic outsider partial to a drink or two, while Elsbeth is a unfiltered weirdo who gives people the creeps.

Morgan – played by Kaitlin Olson – has no comparable weaknesses. When we first meet her, she’s working as a cleaner in the offices of the police department. After accidentally knocking over a pile of investigation notes and spotting some critical mistakes, she provides a hint to guide the detectives in the right direction. Before long, she’s brought on to work with the police, where she duly solves a series of extraordinarily labyrinthine crimes with practically no assistance.

A Well-Rounded Lead

Morgan is not only exceptionally intelligent, she’s also a bold, charming, glamorous, stunning go-getter with perfect intuition and off-the-charts emotional intelligence. She may be somewhat assertive at times, but given her role in the business of protecting people and catching killers, some persistence isn’t exactly inappropriate.

While Morgan may be practically perfect in every way, that isn't the case for her life – initially. A single mother of three, she finds it hard to make ends meet, and mostly uses her mental acuity to get the most out of her discount-driven supermarket shop. Motherhood can, of course, hinder women’s professional lives, but Morgan’s willingness to put up with the demands and pay of a minimum-wage job doesn’t quite ring true.

Juggling Believability and Entertainment

Equally difficult to buy is the show’s primary subplot: running through all her disparate cases is Morgan’s determination to track down the father of her eldest child, who disappeared without a trace a decade and a half back. In spite of her incredible powers of deduction, she hasn’t the foggiest idea where he is.

But High Potential doesn't focus heavily with realism. Produced by ABC in the US, this is slick, easy-watching network TV. It’s popular and visually appealing, the sort of thing you’d traditionally associate more with ITV than BBC Two. Morgan’s new colleagues are uniformly nice, underdeveloped guys: smooth detective Karadec, investigators Daphne and Oz, plus Lt Selena Soto, possibly the most reasonable and most approachable police chief in cop drama history. No dark protagonists, no edge: the vibe is comfortable and touching and rather basic.

Tension and Excitement

Obviously, the crimes are far from cosy or heartwarming or basic. The first season's conclusion saw Morgan taunted by a kidnapper who compelled her to solve ludicrously difficult puzzles to rescue the victims. He returns in the opening double bill here, abducting a young mother on her way home from a night out – but his true objective is clearly Morgan, whom he sees as a worthy opponent in his real-life game of chess.

Watching her get agonizingly near to outwitting this man is nerve-wracking and thrilling, but something this out-there requires a flawless ending. The question is: does the show prove as clever as its protagonist?

Final Thoughts

In a word, no. The show is very good at keeping the suspense going, but it fails to deliver the landing, and the storyline concludes with a far-fetched gotcha. Nevertheless, there’s always next time. Actually, Morgan’s subsequent case – while equally bizarre – is more coherently plotted, ending with a neat and surprisingly moving finale. The consistency of the plotting may be somewhat inconsistent, but similar to other predecessors and peers, this masterful amateur investigator can always be relied upon to save the day.