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By H. Alan Scott
Senior Editor
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“I can't believe how lucky I've been in my career. I've really hit the jackpot.”
As a star and producer on High Potential, Kaitlin Olson is all-in on the ABC dramedy, now in its second season. “The heart and soul of this show is Morgan’s family and her children, and I don’t want those to ever be cheesy.” Olson’s Morgan is a single mom with an extraordinary gift for solving unsolvable crimes. “Getting it [the balance between family and crime] right was really important” to her. And producing ensures her creative voice is heard. “I’m grateful every day that I’m in a place where I can trust my instincts and say, ‘This isn’t working, and here’s how I think we can change it.’” Her career has been hard-earned, after 20 years playing Deandra “Sweet Dee” on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. “On the outside [it] looks like a dumb comedy—it’s not. It’s a commentary. It’s so intelligently written.” Now an Emmy nominee for her work on Hacks, Olson hopes people take comedic actors more seriously. “There’s a common misconception that comedic actors can’t really act, like, ‘OK, try and make me laugh.’ It’s hard to make someone laugh. Comedy is a talent.”
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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
A network sitcom these days to get, to even make it through the first season, let alone get a second season, is kind of rare. So how does it feel to be able to be in that rare spot?
I mean, it's such an honor. Listen, I always just set out to make a show that I'm proud of and whether it's received or not, I have to let that go because I can't please everyone. And I was really proud of this show. So to know now that people are really enjoying it and that it's doing really well for the network, I mean it's just such an honor. I'm so proud of our whole team and it's so fun. Yeah, it's great.
One of the things that High Potential does is it shows a different side of you that we haven't really seen before. Even though it isn't necessarily like a drama drama, it's a drama. Did you ever have a concern that maybe, because your fan base is so comedy-based, they wouldn't come along for the ride because of how different it is?
Yeah, definitely. I mean, before this was brought to me, I was sort of figuring out what I was going to do next. And a big thing for me was to do something different. I still have [It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia] and I'm so grateful, and it really allows me the freedom to go out and do other things because I can always return to that. It doesn't feel like I have to trade one for the other. So I already had that. But my next thing that was mine was The Mick and that got canceled early. And people were up in arms, which I kind of love, too 'cause I'm like, OK, great. Leave them wanting more. It works. But what I was worried about was, Oh, all the people who were devastated about The Mick not lasting are going to be disappointed. ‘Cause this is not The Mick. It's a completely different character. So I would be lying if I said that didn't cross my mind. But I wanted to do something different. And I think there's a way to do something dramatic that also is real and shows all sides of a human. You're not always funny. You're not always dramatic. There's so much that goes into a human being. I didn't want to have to pick one genre. So cramming those two tones together is a hard thing to do. And we're still figuring it out every single episode. But "yes" is the short answer to your question. I was worried and I was mindful and I'm really trying to service all of it.
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Did you just as an actor ever sort of wonder, ‘Am I going to be able to do some of this drama?’
Yeah, I think we all have a little imposter syndrome that pops up from time to time. But you know, I come from a theater background. I've been doing theater all my life. So I've done plenty of dramatic stuff, plenty of, you know, Shakespeare and stuff like that. I know that I can do all of it. I just love comedy and it's sort of where I got in. And it's definitely where I stayed for a really long time. My thing is this, I really credit the writers, because when something is very well written emotionally, it's so much easier to get there. So it’s certainly a collaboration and it's a team effort. And especially with the [High Potential character] Roman stuff...now that, at a certain point, we're going to meet Roman and I don't know how Morgan feels about that yet. And so that that stresses me out, but you just trust the process. It's one day at a time. I have doubts like everybody else, but...I'd be lying if I said like, "Oh, I had no idea if I [could do it]"—no, I knew I could do it. I know what my strengths are. I know if something's not working, I can reword it. That's why I wanted to produce, as well. If I've got like a scene that's emotional and it's just, it's challenging for me to get there, I'll work with my writers and we'll rework it together. And I'll change the dialogue and I'll do it in a way that services the show and gives me my best performance.
It also must feel nice just to, having been in this business for a minute, to be at a place in your career where you can have that say?
I do not take that for granted. Every single day I'm grateful for [writer] Drew Goddard, [producer] Sarah Esberg, [producer] Andrea Massaro, all of those guys, [producer] Todd Harthan. We are a team, they absolutely value my input. I value everything that they're doing. And I'm grateful every day that I'm in a place where I can say, it's important for me to be able to trust my instincts and say, "This isn't working and here's how I think we can change it." Or, "This is working really well, here's how I can enhance it." I'm incredibly grateful. There's, I think also a part of it, it's been historically very hard for women to—I hate to throw this in there—but it's hard sometimes for women. I've been in plenty of situations where I'm like, "Uh, I don't know if these props are right. Like this is too fancy of food," for example. And the prop person just looks at you like, "Excuse me, actor." And you're like, "Well, hold on a sec. I'm the one who's dug into this character and knows this world." I don't know if that's an actor thing or a woman thing or what, but I've been there and I've dug my way out of that. And I won't enter a situation anymore where...it's not clear that we're all in this together and that my voice matters and everybody else's voice matters equally.
I think you're exactly right on that, too. I mean, you're the star of a network show. That's a lot on your shoulders.
My face is on that billboard, if somebody doesn't like the episode, they're not going to be like, "Who was that writer?" Even though the writer deserves a ton of credit, it's a lot of pressure.
You know, I think about some young actors and the pressure they feel. Like Calista Flockhart on Ally McBeal, just as an actor on that show, the name of the show, the face, the pressure that must have been, and then to have no say in what you can do on the show. I can't even imagine.
Yeah, there was a time not that long ago when actors were supposed to say what was written and handed to them. And if you tweaked a couple of words, they would stop and back you up. And those days are long gone for me. I rely heavily on my improv background. I think it's really important. I encourage all of my co-stars to do it as well. We will get things as scripted. We throw it away. We play. If something's not coming out of your mouth, you're having a hard time with it. Let's not be that precious. We're just trying to get information across. You know your character. How would you say it? It makes for a much more enjoyable work day. We have fun and I think that the audience can tell. I get asked that about Sunny a lot where it's like, "You guys just seem like you're having so much fun." You can tell that we're having fun and that we are coming up with what we're saying sometimes on the fly. And it just keeps it fresh. And I don't know, there is something to be said. There are certain scenes that are perfectly well-written and you want somebody to say it just like that. And sometimes that works and it's beautiful. And if it's not, you've got to be able to pivot. You just have to be able to pivot or you're doing a real disservice to the whole project.
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As number one on the call sheet, to be able to give a supporting actor or a young actor, that freedom of ownership of the character. That is huge.
Yes! And a voice to speak up and say, "Can I try it like this?" Or a voice to speak and say, "If you've got it, unless we're like really behind, can we do one more?" I mean, one more for fun is really important. I mean, in the editing, you're piecing different takes together. So one more for fun is my favorite thing. Just throw the script out, say whatever you want. You know there's some real gold in there.
What was it initially about this character that you responded to and what makes you continue to love her?
She's flawed and she is misunderstood and she is judged before she has an opportunity to tell people who she is. I love an underdog story. I love a person who is, I think with Morgan, sometimes you can't tell if she's faking it till she makes it. She is not as confident as she comes across. She's a very good mom. I really liked that. Again, I wanted to do something different from the characters I've done in the past, who I'm still very much in love with, I love those characters. I just wanted to do something different. It's nice to me to be able to play an actual person. It's cathartic to be a person who is loud and stands up for herself and doesn't take any s***. It's fun to play a really good mom and I really improvised my way through those scenes. Those scenes are some of the most important scenes. I think the heart and soul of this show is Morgan's family and her children, and I don't want those to ever be cheesy and I don't want them to ever feel too written or forced. My kids are the most important thing in my world and we have so much fun together, and we make fun of each other and we joke around and we yell. It is such a common denominator. Whether you have kids or not, you were a kid, like family stuff is important and getting it right was really important to me. So I loved all that stuff.
It also says so much about who the character is.There is this sort of artifice that she has to put on in order to navigate through life. And sometimes it's a false confidence, but at the same time, you see the real person who she is at home with her kids. That really reveals a lot about someone.
Yeah, exactly. And all these walls that she puts up out in the real world, that's really fun to watch as well, but getting to see her take those down at home is really nice and just makes her more a well-rounded person.
What can we expect from this second season?
Well, we ended on a cliffhanger. So there's a really fun, very intense two episodes to kick off the season. There's still what's going on with Roman, you find out that he's alive at the end of the first season. So you'll be able to dive more into that. There's a new captain who comes into the group and he's tall and handsome, and he throws a wrench into the energy of this group that has really kind of started to trust each other and work well together. And there's some fun, lighter episodes and there is some intense stuff and it's a really good season so far. We're on our seventh, seventh and eighth episodes right now.
What is it like to continue to grow with this character and find out new aspects of her?
You know, I'm kind of used to it, but I'm kind of not because Sweet Dee, like the whole thing about those characters on Sunny is that they do not change like that. They will not grow. They will not change. They will remain the same forever. And you can just look at Danny DeVito's character to see where they're going to be when they're old people. And that's discussed often. Like there's not a lot of growth there. So this is really new. I find myself often going, "Well, hold on a second. She doesn't trust authority, but she's comfortable here. How does she feel?" There's just a lot of new waters that I'm navigating, especially when you introduce new characters, because what I loved about [Morgan], especially from the pilot, is that she trusts no one and she's going to seriously protect her children. But you have to have her trust these police officers because otherwise there's no show. So what does that mean for the new captain? So this is all kind of new to me, actually. And I'm loving it. It's fun.
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I can't spend any time with you without asking you about two other shows—Hacks and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I'm going to start with Hacks, because you are Emmy-nominated for Hacks twice! So deserved. How does it feel to be a part of a show that is kind of the coolest comedy on television?
It's incredible. Honestly, I'm forever grateful to Jen [Statsky] and Lucia [Aniello] and Paul [Downs] for writing that for me because nobody was wanting me to do anything dramatic, you know? Going back to your point from a few minutes ago, I think there's a common misconception that comedic actors can't really act and it's like, OK, you try and make me laugh. It’s hard to make someone laugh. Comedy is a talent. Also, I'm just a very big empath. So it's not hard for me to get emotional. I love my mom. If I imagine being abandoned by my mom emotionally, that would make me feel emotional. You know, like I'm just forever grateful to them. And I love, I love [her character] DJ so much. I think she's so wonderful and troubled and complex and raw. And yeah, it just blew up so quickly and just to be a part of it. And they're so wonderful. I mean, I pop in and out once or twice a year and still, I'm on their Hacks group chat. They're such a warm, wonderful family. I can't believe how lucky I've been in my career. I've really hit the jackpot. It was a slow burn in the beginning, but like from Sunny to Hacks to this, The Mick. I just feel like the luckiest person in the world. I really do.
Well, and you kind of get to claim Jean Smart as your mom, which is cool.
Yes, absolutely. Anytime I want. Out at a bar, I'm like, "Do you know who my mom is? It's Jean Smart."
With It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, are you aware of, A) the impact that it's had, and B) did you ever have a hint early on that it was going to become the thing that it has become?
No, absolutely not. In fact...right before I auditioned for that show, I was coming off of something that I did, that I was really miserable in. And it was just a tiny little quick thing, but I was really unhappy; it seemed very outsized because it was the small thing. And I realized, Oh, I [was] so unhappy because I was doing something I didn't want to do. And the material wasn't interesting to me, but I wasn't getting jobs. I was like 25 or something. I took it because it was a job and I had this very clear understanding like, I don't care about being famous. I don't care about just taking jobs. I want to do something I'm proud of. I worked at a hair salon. I worked as a recruiter for a biotech company. I had all these little part-time jobs. I was at The Groundlings for a while. I was like, I don’t care. I'll just keep doing that. I'm not going to take anything unless it's something that is creatively fulfilling. And then this came along and I was like, They're paying me like five dollars an episode? No problem. And I took it with all of my heart and it's the best decision I ever made. We had no idea how huge it would be. In fact, no one was watching it for the first four or five years. And it's the greatest gift I've ever been given. I mean, I met my husband [Rob McElhenney]. I have two beautiful children. It's still going on. We work two months out of the year. I get to go off and do other things. I love my character. I love the people I work with. They are truly, at this point, I mean it's 20 years in, they're truly family. I don't know how this happened. I feel like lightning struck. I can't explain it and I'm forever grateful for it.
Is there a moment from the show or from your character that stands out to you as particularly memorable?
There are so many things, honestly, I don't even. My 14-year-old son is now watching the entire, the whole series; it's appalling. I hate it. I love it. But he'll be like, "Mom, what's this one from?’" I don't remember what's from what, I don't know. There are just moments. Listen, I love anytime Dee's a mess. I like when she's addicted to drugs. I like when she gets hit by a car, I like when she is hungover. Anything extreme. I used to get asked all the time. "Well, what would you say no to?" Nothing. When they write something that is like wild, I'm so excited. I mean, God, when Dennis and Dee go on welfare, "The Gang Broke Dee" [episode] was awesome, where they set up this giant thing and then she thinks she's going on Conan and it just ends up being like at the bar. Anytime I start going down this road, people go, "Oh, what about this one?" I'm like, "Oh yeah, wait, wait. Hold on that one!" I don't know. There's moments from all of them. I'm particularly proud of this season, actually. You know what it is? Our writers are really, really smart. So for a show that on the outside looks like a dumb comedy, it's not. It's a commentary. It's so intelligently written. I never can guess when I'm reading them how the A story and the B story are going to intertwine and it always surprises me. I don't even remember the question. I just...seriously feel so lucky.
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