Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for HIgh Potential Episode 10.
With two episodes left in its first season, High Potential has already been renewed for a second. As Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) work together to solve cases in each episode, the show seems to be building up to the reveal about what exactly happened to Morgan’s missing ex, Roman, by the end of the season. All Morgan can do in the meantime is wait to hear from Gio (Domenick Lombardozzi) again.
This week’s episode, “Chutes and Murders,” shows Morgan and Karadec solving the case of a murdered babysitter named Tara (Kate Boyer). Outside of work, Morgan tries to help Elliot (Matthew Lamb) after he is the only kid in his class not invited to a classmate’s birthday party, and she deals with Ava (Amirah J) always texting and spending time with her new boyfriend. While looking into Tara’s case, Morgan and Karadec come across Chuck Lavoie (Ken Marino), who previously worked for the LAPD major crimes unit. Chuck is a very funny and odd character, and High Potential should bring him back again.
Ken Marino’s Chuck Is the Perfect Addition to ‘High Potential’
With roles like The Other Two‘s Streeter Peters, Party Down‘s Ron Donald, and Happy Endings‘ Rick Rickman under his belt, Ken Marino has a knack for playing hilarious and weird side characters who steal the show (many of whom have last names that are oddly similar to their first names). Chuck is a fantastic role for him, particularly in the context of High Potential. While investigating Tara’s murder, Morgan and Karadec are told that she had a stalker, as there was a man seen following Tara around for a long time leading up to her death.
Morgan and Karadec end up at the man’s office looking for answers, and Karadec quickly realizes that said office belongs to Chuck, who used to work for the LAPD major crimes unit with Karadec, Selena (Judy Reyes), Daphne (Javicia Leslie), and Oz (Deniz Akdeniz) long before Morgan joined the team. When Chuck accidentally shot himself in the foot, he had to leave the job, and has since been working as a private investigator. Chuck wasn’t involved in Tara’s murder at all, and was only looking into her because he was hired to do so. Instead of being a murder suspect, Chuck simply exists in this episode as a funny side character.

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Chuck Is a Perfect Way for ‘High Potential to Lean Into More Comedy
Since the very beginning of the show, High Potential has made it clear that it isn’t a typical crime procedural. While the show does have a number of serious cases, it also prioritizes comedy. Through Morgan’s sharp sense of humor, her banter with Karadec, and some very odd situations that occur both on and off the job, High Potential is very funny. As the show nears the end of its first season, however, it has been leaning into more serious territory, primarily due to the new information regarding Roman’s case.
Last week’s episode was much heavier than usual, as Roman’s case weighed on Morgan, and her hyperfocus kept her distracted from her relationships. While the show’s more serious plotlines are certainly important, High Potential‘s balance of drama and comedy is part of what makes it so unique. The addition of Chuck as comic relief is a perfect way for the show to maintain a lighter tone. Everyone in the major crimes department generally gets along with each other aside from Morgan and Karadec’s bickering, so it’s fun to see them all being collectively annoyed by Chuck.
Chuck is a fun side character, reminiscent of The Rookie‘s Smitty (Brent Huff). He’s very peculiar, bad at his job, and yet oddly endearing. In this week’s episode, he is not much help in terms of solving the case, but he has funny moments where he ropes Oz into a long conversation and reminisces to Selena and Lieutenant Melon (Garret Dillahunt) about the good old days when he could arrest someone in the morning and take them out for a meal later that day. It would be great to see Chuck either come back to the major crimes unit or become involved in more cases in future episodes — especially now that High Potential has been renewed for another season.
High Potential airs Tuesday nights on ABC and is available to stream the next day on Hulu.