Thank God ABC Cancelled High Potential's 2026 Return

Published Oct 26, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Antonella Gugliersi (she/them) has been a feature writer for Screen Rant since 2021. While studying for her bachelor’s in Economics & Management, they started writing about movies and TV shows for Turin-based The Unconventional Mag. After a brief internship at TPI, she decided she wanted to pursue journalism and graduated with a degree in International Journalism from Brunel University.

High Potential has not returned for its third season as part of ABC’s 2026 Fall lineup, and that proved to be a good choice for more than one reason. Ever since its debut in 2024, High Potential was one of the first ABC scripted shows to air after network TV’s summer break. Such a choice greatly favored the crime drama, which consistently performed extremely well when considering average multiplatform viewers per episode in seasons 1 and 2. High Potential even edged out CBS’s Tracker as 2025’s most-watched TV show.

High Potential’s success didn’t only translate into viewer numbers, as both seasons of the ABC TV show have been critically acclaimed, boasting a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 96 percent and 100 percent, respectively. So much acclaim surrounding High Potential can make the choice to delay its season 3 return to 2027 seem puzzling. However, it could be a blessing in disguise, given how a special broadcast of High Potential will follow Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027.

The timeslot after the Super Bowl has always been coveted because it follows the biggest annual event on American television. While High Potential isn’t strictly in need of a boost, returning to our screens after such an event can only be a boon for the crime drama, especially after the change in showrunner and making its fans await its return for a long time. However, even beyond the dazzling circumstances of its return, High Potential season 3’s delay was a good choice for ABC.

High Potential Season 3's Return Delay Is Good For ABC In A Couple Of Ways

ABC (via MovieStillsDb)

One of the reasons why High Potential season 3’s delay is good has to do with what else is on television on Tuesday evenings during the 2026-2027 TV cycle. Indeed, the debut of NCIS: New York on CBS guaranteed a key difference for the network, as its Super Tuesdays now included NCIS season 24 in the 8 pm timeslot, followed by NCIS: New York, and finally NCIS: Origins in the 10 pm timeslot. The ratings for the NCIS franchise’s shows all premiering on October 6, 2026, proved its incredible success.

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Indeed, NCIS season 24’s premiere was reportedly watched live by 6.45 million viewers, up 21 percent from the previous year. Simultaneously, new spinoff NCIS: New York raked in 5.62 million live viewers, up 53 percent from the previous year. Finally, NCIS: Origins season 3’s premiere saw 4.39 million live viewers watch it, up 56 percent from the 10 pm timeslot of the previous year. High Potential season 3’s delay meant the ABC show didn’t have to go up against NCIS’s Super Tuesday on CBS, thus making life easier for itself.

Another reason has to do with which ABC show replaced High Potential. RJ Decker debuted during the 2025-2026 TV cycle, making it not a completely new one the following year. High Potential season 3’s delay gave RJ Decker a chance to find its footing without relying on the similar criminal drama that was already more established. The gamble evidently worked for ABC, as a record 9.61 million viewers watched RJ Decker season 2’s premiere across multiple platforms in the first week.

Why ABC Delayed High Potential Season 3 In The First Place

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ABC isn’t the only network that delayed key, successful TV shows to midseason. However, even considering just ABC, the Disney network had already done so to a discreet success with The Rookie and Will Trent in the past. Its season 3 delay means that High Potential will simply join the ranks of these other successful ABC TV shows.

It’s unknown why ABC specifically decided to push back High Potential season 3’s premiere date to early 2027. What’s undeniable is that RJ Decker took High Potential’s 10 pm slot on Tuesdays, and that it could even keep it when it returns after the winter break, if its second season manages to have more than the nine episodes that season 1 had.

The similarities between RJ Decker and High Potential in setting and unusual protagonists mean that the first could work as a substitute for the second before High Potential’s return. This also helps ABC more in general, as more viewers for RJ Decker as a result of taking over High Potential’s timeslot bring more success to the network as a whole.

Given how its stellar season 2 guaranteed that High Potential would have secured the coveted timeslot after Super Bowl Sunday, 21 years after the sports event had last been on ABC, it would be safe to assume that High Potential’s delay to 2027 worked for every show involved, and most importantly, its network as a whole.

Sources: Collider/ Deadline