HPI: We’ve seen the first episode of the American version… and we’re far from winning

On April 29, 2021, TF1 aired on its HPI antenna a seemingly classic detective series, which nevertheless broke all records and averaged more than 10 million viewers every night, not seen since 2006.

A success that quickly attracted international attention. And while many countries simply recaptured the broadcast rights and therefore offered dubbed versions of Morgan and Karadek’s adventures, the United States chose to offer a remake called High Potential, the first episode of which aired on Tuesday, September 17. on ABC.

And the least we can say is that the writers didn’t make life difficult, the first episode exactly replicates the narrative of the HPI pilot… but less well.

Morgan Alvaro becomes Morgan Gilliroy

In High Potential, Morgan Alvaro stars as Morgan Gilliroy, a mother living in Los Angeles struggling to make ends meet. One evening, while cleaning at the police station, he assists the police in an ongoing investigation.

Thanks to his talent for ruthless deduction, he is asked the next day to assist Agent Adam Karadek (voiced with an English accent) in his investigation.

Just like in the original version, he finds the culprit and eventually agrees to work as a consultant on the condition that the police help him find the father of his daughter Ava (Amira Johnson), who disappeared more than 15 years ago.

cleaned version

We have to admit, even if it’s hard to judge a series on its first episode alone, this HPI remake is sorely lacking in life and originality. Caitlin Olson, who made her debut in the sitcom Philadelphia, is actually just a pale copy of Morgan, created by Audrey Fleurot.

Say goodbye to colorful styling, tight miniskirts, flowing hair and hundred miles per hour dialogues, the American version of the heroine looks washed out and almost too clean, which is a shame, because all the charm of HPI is clearly there. In this colorful character who is nothing but chaos and disorder.

Morgan was almost a tailor-made character for Audrey Fleur, Kaitlin Olson may still have had trouble making her mark. The duo with Karadec, played here by Daniel Sunjata, is also sorely lacking in chemistry.

Like his French counterpart, the police officer is governed by rules and is destabilized by the arrival of this destructive element that does as it pleases. But among them is missing that little thing that made the Karadec/Morg duo immediately into the hearts of the French audience.

Let’s not talk about the secondary roles, namely Daphne and Gilles, who in the French version show a slightly unusual side to the police investigations, and who here are much more serious and almost non-existent.

An ordinary detective series

For American audiences, this transposition, piloted by Todd Hartan (Rosewood), seems to have lost some of the spirit of the original series. High Potential is a classic, very American procedural.

Forget the cold and rain of northern France, the production chose to settle in Los Angeles, where the weather is nice and warm. In High Potential everything is neat and clean, where as our national Morgan Alvaro’s life is just a huge mess.

Everything that makes the French version of HPI so charming seems to have disappeared… proof if it was needed that the essence of the series and what makes it unique lies in the actors and the mouse and mouse game very quickly between them. By removing Audrey Fleurot and Mehdi Nebbou, we are opening the heart of HPI.

In short, this high-potential first episode feels like a good detective series based on the rather classic dynamic of the original consultant helping a cop who’s a bit stuck. Although it’s a step down from the original, High Potential still has the potential to improve upon the first season’s sequel. Continued…

Meanwhile, new episodes of HPI Season 4 can be seen every Thursday from 21:10 on TF1. The American version should arrive in France on the Disney+ platform in the coming months.