Kaitlin Olson Almost Passed On “High Potential” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

between Hacks and Always Sunny and this. I mean you've you've gotten to really. own this comedy space and then there's. some part of you that said I'd like to. do this that is not it's not a. comedy you're you can't not be funny in. things and you are this character is. funny but it all comes off the. character. Yeah. She's human. She's. human. Yeah. And um and the other. characters I play really aren't human. I. mean, they're not multifaceted. characters. This is just a um there's a.

way to still be a a a. grounded, hardworking woman with children and be. funny. I think I can I can quickly set. up um it's a terrific idea for a show. I. know it's it's it's adapted uh from this. French show, but um the the series, and. this isn't giving away too much, but it. opens with you getting up at 4 in the. morning. We don't know, you know, whatever you're getting up. You're. getting up in the middle of the night.

and we don't know what you do. It's. clear you don't have a lot of money and. you go to work and you're getting. dressed and you're getting a big trash. can and cleaning supplies and it's clear. that, oh, you're a woman who cleans up. in the middle of the night and then it's. revealed. I at first you just think, "Oh, she's she's cleaning an office.". And then it's clear that you're you're. listening to music. I you know, and uh. it's clear that you're cleaning up at a.

bullpen in a police station and then you. knock into a box and all this stuff. spills over and you're just cleaning it. up. Jerk the headphones off. Music. stops. jerk the headphones off and. you're just going to clean up this stuff. and it's evidence and your character has. a gift which is has to kind of you are. you're cleaning but you also need to. make sense of things and you're highly. intelligent and you start just quickly. and it basically leads to your character. is very good and it's kind of a savant.

at seeing these patterns and you start. to uh help the police kind of against. kind of against their will. Oh yeah. get. up and go to their case board and cross. off suspect and write victim under one. woman's picture. Yeah. And then they. have to find out who did this and they. find out that it was you. It's like why. is the cleaning woman doing this? And. um I I always think pilots are next to. impossible in a because in a pilot. episode you need to.

lay out so much information that there's. so many times that I've watched pilots. and it's dingdong, hello, hi, I'm here. I'm your neighbor. Remember me? Yeah. I'm your neighbor. And guess what? We. don't like each other. You know, I don't. like I don't like you since that time. you stole that. You know, whatever. Because you know how you like to steal. things. I guess I'm the. stealer. And then music. Um,

terrible. But no, but no, that's a show. I actually wrote. Oh, I'm sorry. She was. laughing cuz she thought it was so. funny. It's funny, right? It's funny. and 9 years on. WB/UPN. Um, but anyway, when they were. United, um, I made hundreds of dollars on the. Steeler. Pilot is a very good episode. Thanks. Of I mean, you watch the pilot. and you think, "Okay, I'm in. I get it.". And it's all organic. Thank you. I I. understand kind of why it all happens. I.

wanted people to want to come back. Like. you I tune into stuff all the time where. I'm like, "Yeah, it was great." And then. I don't have a desire to come back for. whatever reason. And I wanted you to. really fall in love with this woman and. who she is and be compelled to figure. out because we I drop a thing at the end. of the first episode and I want people. to buy into that and figure out what. what is that all about. Yeah. And I have. to say Drew Goddard wrote that script. and I was not interested when they came. to me and wanted to have lunch. I was. like ABC hourong drama. No thank you.

And my agent was like no you're going to. go have lunch with them. And I was like, "What did you just say to me?" He was. like, "It's good. You're going to read. it and you're going to have lunch. I'm. going to make you cuz I think you're. going to really want to do it." Um, I. just had no interest in in Well, first. of all, working for a network. I'm I'm. very spoiled on FX. They let us do. whatever we want and say whatever we. want. And I have a hard time with. executives who aren't. creatives telling me what I can and. can't do because I again it goes back to. it's all fine and it it works and a lot.

of people are fine with that. I just am. so blessed to be in a position where I. want to show up and have fun with my. life that's at home and at work. I don't. want to do something that is. um I I just want everything to be great. or just I'll wait and and wait until. something comes along that I can make. special. So, I was very gunshy and then. I read his script and was like, "Oh, I'm. I'm I think I'm in." And then I have to. point out that Althia Jones directed. that episode and she was absolutely.

incredible. So, one of the ways that you. see my character solve things is what we. call Morgan vision. kind of these like. flashes of what she's putting together. in her brain and I was really nervous. about those because I was like all I. know my mind went to like a horrible. reenactment on a bad A&E crime show. where there's like someone who kind of. looks like the murderer walking up. I. was like oh god I just was very scared. of the Morgan Vision stuff and I told. her that and she was like that's the. stuff I'm most excited about and I was. like okay walk me through that. She just.

did such a tremendous job with that. pilot. Also some of the imagined. recreations are really funny. Yeah. Yeah. you know, because it's just what's. going on in her. Yeah. Your mind, you're. you're thinking of serious things like. how a murder happened, but then there. are these aides where you're thinking of. other possibilities that are actually. really good sight gags that are funny. and they're quick, just like really. quick. It's interesting to me cuz I. would think what you want to do. It's. that old phrase like you're playing with. house money. Mhm. And I think sometimes. in sports, if if a team has if they if.

they know that they've they've got it, if they know that they're going to the. Super Bowl or something, they play. differently because they or or. conversely, if they feel like we got. nothing to lose. Yeah. And it's nice. probably to be in a part of your career. where you feel like, yeah, I want to. have fun. Yes. I want to have a good. time. Yeah. It's there's a uh quite a. freedom. in having knowing that I really would. walk away if it was not up to the.

quality that I wanted to put out there. Um cuz it's that's not like a threat. It's just really like no thanks. I mean, thank you so much for thinking of me, but I don't I don't um Yeah. Yeah. It. feel And it would be perfect if you. walked out on this podcast right now. Oh, yeah. I should have done that. And. away from my TV show. And guess what? This is not up to my Yeah, it's not too. late. And then then we could put in a. car starting noise. Oh yeah. Tires. screeching. Me calling my agent. Um.