ABC is holding Kaitlin Olson's detective drama High Potential for an early 2027 midseason premiere instead of launching this fall. ABC is also delaying Will Trent and The Rookie. Building a January programming window for three major series avoids the crowded fall season, when viewers face abundant entertainment options from competing networks and streaming services.
The timing shift carries significant commercial weight for ABC and parent company Disney. By clustering launches in January, ABC trades advertising revenue from the fall, historically television's most lucrative season, against the ability to concentrate viewer attention and drive targeted subscription sign-ups for Disney+ and Hulu in a single window. Whether that tradeoff improves Disney's financial performance depends on whether viewers time their subscriptions to match January premieres or spread consumption over the year without concentrating activity at a particular moment. This programming strategy affects how subscribers engage with Disney's streaming services and when they commit to monthly subscriptions.
Decider reports production and creative changes. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, who developed Poker Face, are assuming showrunner duties from Todd Harthan, who departed to work on a live-action adaptation of The Inheritance Cycle, while Steve Howey won't return as a series regular for season three though he may appear in early episodes to wrap his character's storyline. High Potential and Will Trent are slated to anchor ABC's Tuesday nights when they premiere in January 2027, with The Rookie and The Rookie: North scheduled back-to-back on Mondays.
Episodes of High Potential stream on Hulu and Disney+, where Hulu's ad-supported subscriptions cost $11.99 monthly and ad-free access runs $18.99 monthly. Disney offers bundle packages combining Disney+ and Hulu starting at $12.99 monthly.