Javicia Leslie. Disney/Pamela Littky
With Katilin Olson leading High Potential as both star and producer, Javicia Leslie knows the cast is “protected.”
“To have a female led show that’s also produced by a female, there’s so many things that she doesn’t miss that maybe would get missed if she was not a woman,” Leslie, 37, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the High Potential season 1 finale, which aired on Tuesday, November 12.
She continued, “When it comes to, as an actor, being comfortable and making sure that we are thought about and what a woman needs. And then also we are protected at all times. We have a very safe set, but just to have a woman lead, it does feel like we’re good.”
High Potential premiered in September and follows single mom, Morgan (Olson) with a highly intellectual mind as she raises her three kids and works with the LAPD to help solve murders. Leslie, for her part, plays Daphne, a police officer working at the same precinct as Morgan. Daniel Sunjata, Judy Reyes, Deniz Akdeniz, Amirah J and Taran Killam also star.
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As season 1 progressed, Morgan and Daphne bonded and the pair got closer as they teamed up on various investigations. The ABC comedy is a change of pace for Leslie, as previously starred in dramas like The CW’s Batwoman and BET’s The Family Business.
She credits learning comedic timing by “watching” her costars.“It’s not that they helped me, it’s that I watch how they say things and it’s, like, some stuff that’s funny doesn’t have to have, ‘This is a funny moment,” Leslie said. “But I think that I can hold my own comedy as well while learning what my voice is in comedy.”
Leslie continued to praise Olson for being a great scene partner and lending her talents and experiences from working on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia to the High Potential cast. (Speaking of the long running FX comedy, Leslie would love to make a cameo. “Speak that into existence!” she quipped to Us.)
“[Olson’s] such a comedic genius that even when we’re in our scenes she helps all of us find ways to punch up the comedy in the scenes, while also keeping it grounded,” Leslie said.
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Leslie also weighed in on Morgan and Karadec’s dynamic, which has some fans wishing they will move past the friend zone. As for how Leslie feels about the potential romantic pairing, she told Us, “It would be cool but also kinda weird … But only because I know them.”
“They have a similar dry humor, which works really well. But watching Morgan pick on Karadec for his ‘by the book’ uptight ways, and then watching Karadec pick on Morgan for her outlandish, quirky ways — It’s just a great balance,” she continued. “It reminds me a little bit of how Lucy and Ricky were on I Love Lucy.”
High Potential airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Hulu.
