‘High Potential’ Star Daniel Sunjata Says Karadec’s Feelings for Morgan Are ‘Beginning to Percolate’
Note: This story contains spoilers from “High Potential” Episode 8.
As Morgan and Karadec’s professional and personal relationship continues to grow on “High Potential,” Daniel Sunjata revealed Karadec’s feelings for Morgan are gradually “beginning to percolate.”
“He probably does [have feelings for Morgan], but I think they are in embryo, as it were,” Sunjata told TheWrap. “I don’t think he’s consciously aware of it, but I think that there is something that’s beginning to percolate.”
The duo’s relationship deepens in Episode 8 of “High Potential,” when Karadec reveals to Morgan that a painting in his apartment was a gift from his ex-fiancé prior to their engagement being broken off due to Karadec being more “more married to his work than he ever could be to to a romantic partnership.” Morgan shares her own struggles in starting a relationship with Tom (JD Pardo), leading to Sunjata’s favorite moment in the episode.
“What I really loved about that particular scene … was that it was a mutual moment of revelation between the two of them, with Morgan divulging some of what she was going through with — that her new burgeoning relationship with … Tom and Adam deciding to … display a moment of vulnerability in return,” Sunjata said, adding the exchange “levels up their relationship … in terms of trust and mutual vulnerability.”
With Morgan currently pursuing a relationship with Tom and Karadec not “totally over” his past relationship, according to Sunjata, he added that he expects creator Drew Goddard and showrunner Todd Harthan will likely tease a romance between Karadec and Morgan out “over the course of time.” “That’s not only smart TV, but it’s very compelling TV,” Sunjata said, noting that the “will they, won’t they” keeps the audience on the edge of their seat.
Below, Sunjata unpacks the success “High Potential” has seen so far, what’s to come for the rest of the season and shares his Season 2 hopes.
TheWrap: What’s it been like seeing the show debut to such success?
Sunjata: It was surprising to me, very exciting in terms of the lead-up, because I haven’t been a part of a production that has had this much support from its respective network in the past. I’ve been part of shows that have had support, but the marketing and advertising campaign for this was just leviathan — you couldn’t escape it in Los Angeles, there were billboards everywhere — you see Kaitlin peeking through the blinds as Morgan on buses and on bus stops, and, of course, all over television. We had a great time shooting the show, but it’s not unusual to have a great time shooting something, and then to be disappointed the show doesn’t gain any traction. I don’t want to jinx anything, but it seems like we’re in a very good place.
How would you describe Karadec? What were some parts of him you connected with?
I’ve played one or two detectives in my life, here and there, but he’s not a stock character. He’s not your average, everyday detective, there were differences that just kind of hopped and jumped off the page. It is procedural television, but the context with the extra Kaitlin Olson magic and the comedic element expands the show in terms of, not only its genre, but also its its demographic and the appeal that it has. He’s really fun to play, mostly because … Karadec is a sounding board for Morgan, and vice versa — the dramatic tension between the two of us as we find the level of comfortable distance in terms of our working relationship, and then also the comedy that that occasionally flows from that is really fun to play.
How has Karadec and Morgan’s relationship grown since she started working with the department? What value does he see in Morgan?
You can’t argue with results. As obsessive as Karadec tends to be about following not only an order of operations, but a book of rules in terms of sleuthing, when Morgan breaks those rules, or disregards them completely. I think at first it’s actually like nails on a chalkboard to Karadec because he’s so uptight about that, and for good reason. But the fact that she ends up being right and helps us actually bring criminals to justice, helps us pick up on the little details that we miss — it’s not only that she has like a photographic memory, but she’s able to contextualize the information [and] metabolize it and put the puzzle pieces together in a way that we would have a much harder time doing without her — those facts, I think, kind of soften Adam’s perception of her, as well as the fact that she’s endearing, she’s very witty. Over the course of the first season, what you see is a gradual softening on Adam’s part, and, and I think he feels protective of her.
The midseason finale was pretty brutal with Karadec’s team trapped inside the department as hostages. How did this incident impact Karadec?
He felt helpless, but at the same time, it worked out perfectly, because if everyone had been trapped inside the precinct, then it would have been real tough nut to crack. It reminded him how much his team means to him, the people inside that precinct — Daphne, Oz and all the rest. Of course, Lieutenant Soto — I think it definitely reminded him how precious they are to him and how much they mean to him and, of course, Morgan as well. You got to see him on the fly, with help from Morgan — without her physically present — also doing his own thing and displaying his own set of superpowers, as the as the Robin to her Batman.
What can you tease about the rest of the season?
The episodes are going to grow in intensity — six different, very interesting cases. The season finale is a very ambitious undertaking — I think the audience is probably going to consider that to be the best episode of the first season. You’re going to see more layered dimensions to the other characters in the show, specifically Judy Reyes’ Lieutenant Soto — you’re going to see a lot more of her little bit of her backstory and what’s going on with her involvement in trying to help Morgan find Ava’s father.
Have you heard anything about a potential Season 2?
I haven’t, but I would be very disappointed, because my hopes are so high. It’s been a very high-performing show for the network — probably one of the highest performing shows in the last six years. We haven’t gotten the official word yet, but I haven’t gotten any bad vibes from the higher ups — they seem to be very optimistic. I think they might know something that we don’t know, but we don’t count chickens before they hatch in this business.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“High Potential” airs Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu
The post ‘High Potential’ Star Daniel Sunjata Says Karadec’s Feelings for Morgan Are ‘Beginning to Percolate’ appeared first on TheWrap.