The American series adapted from the TF1 comedy is available on Disney+. With Kaitlin Olson in the role of Audrey Fleurot and watered-down humor.
A pretty young woman, dressed a bit vulgar, leaves her house in the night. With her headphones screwed on her ears, she takes a bus that is still deserted. The first notes ofHeavy Cross of Gossip resonate. Here she is in the office. With a lollipop in her mouth, she tackles the cleaning while dancing. With incredible energy. Does the scene remind you of anything? The opening of the first episode of HPI Of course. With the delicious feeling of witnessing the birth of a series like no other. Except that this is about High Potentialthe American remake of the TF1 police comedy. French fiction, whose fifth and unfortunately final season is being filmed in Hauts-de-France, has enjoyed, after audience records in France (up to 12.4 million viewers), tremendous success. internationally.
The original version, distributed by Newen, was exported to 105 countries (Spain, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina but also Japan and New Zealand), with some 280 million spectators. In Italy, one episode even had the luxury of attracting more audiences than a Juventus match! Fan clubs have been created with young girls adopting Morgane's look. « We have the impression of making a very Franco-French fiction, not at all formattedconfided Audrey Fleurot last year at the Séries Mania festival in Lille. And it pleases me even more to see that it works so well internationally. »
Without extra soul
A minority of countries, however, have tried the remake. This is the case of Poland, Greece, the Czech Republic and Turkey. And from the United States. When it launched in September 2024 on the ABC channel before being put online on the Hulu and Disney+ platforms, High Potential has in turn conquered the American public, ranking at the top of the most viewed content. The series, which has 13 episodes, is now arriving in France, via Disney+, but French spectators will undoubtedly be more difficult to convince as HPI knew how to create an unwavering emotional bond with his audience.
-The “made in USA” version is a very faithful remake of the original, right down to the names of the protagonists! But who could compete with Audrey Fleurot, the real Morgane Alvaro, « her clown, the undomesticated version of herself, who allows her to satisfy her bad taste », as the flamboyant redhead likes to describe her? Probably not a more standard blonde like Kaitlin Olson (seen in the series Very Bad Nanny et Philadelphia) despite its slaughter. The children are certainly not unworthy, but Karadec's counterpart clearly does not have the charm of Mehdi Nebbou, nor his burlesque potential. Far from the warm societal and human roots of the north of France, Morgan (the “e” has disappeared in the Atlantic…) leads the investigation in Los Angeles. The humor has even been watered down, sacrificed on the altar of a certain puritanism! «High Potential is a little more politically correct, noted the French actress in “C à vous”, they have erased a lot of madness and audacity. What I like about the character who is constantly overflowing. »
The American press received the fiction with amused indulgence. For The Hollywood Reporter, Her principal asset remains Kaitlin Olson. Variety brings it closer to the series Elsbethcurrently being broadcast on TF1, with Carrie Preston in the role of a eccentric investigator. USA Today evoked Castle or The Mentalist, for their little Sherlock Holmes side, and focuses on the cat and mouse game between Morgan and Karadec. Written by Drew Goddard (Lost, Alone on Mars), High Potential remains effective entertainment, with well-conducted intrigues, but without extra soul. And a taste of déjà vu!
