TV Ratings: ‘High Potential’ Scores a Series Best in Cross-Platform Numbers

Kaitlin Olson in season two of ABC’s ‘High Potential.’ Jessica Perez/Disney

The breakout ratings performance of ABC’s High Potential shows no signs of slowing down midway through its second season.

The series delivered its biggest seven-day audience to date with the Jan. 20 episodes, drawing 12.98 million viewers after a week of streaming and other delayed viewing. That’s more than double its first-night total of 5.93 million viewers. The episode’s 2.17 rating among adults 18-49 (equivalent to about 2.95 million people in that demographic) is a fivefold increase from its starting point of 0.41.

Counting only linear delayed viewing (ie, DVR playback), the High Potential episode drew 9.07 million viewers — the best seven-day total for any ABC series since Grey’s Anatomy in November 2020 — and a 0.76 rating among adults 18-49. That means it added 3.91 million viewers and 1.41 rating points (65 percent of the cross-platform total) to its 18-49 rating.

High Potential’s Tuesday companions The Rookie and Will Trent also put up strong ratings on Jan. 20. The Rookie’s 9.65 million viewers were the most for the show in more than 5 1/2 years — since May 2020 — and it drew a 2.08 rating among adults 18-49 (about 2.79 million of those viewers). It also had the largest percentage growth of the three shows from its initial airing, increasing by 161 percent in total viewers (from 3.7 million) and by nearly 600 percent in adults 18-49 (from 0.3).

Will Trent climbed to 9.14 million viewers (from 5.67 million to start) and a 1.08 rating in adults 18-49 (about 1.47 million people). Both of those figures are on par with the show’s cross-platform, seven-day averages for the season.

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