Judy Reyes Teases ‘High Potential’ Season 2, the Upcoming ‘Scrubs’ Reboot, and Reveals Whether She’s Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah

High Potential fans, prepare yourselves for a “crazy” Season 2!

Based on the French series Haut Potentiel Intellectuel (HPI), the hit ABC procedural follows Kaitlin Olson‘s Morgan Gillory, who is hired by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes Division as a consultant after they discover her capabilities as a High Potential Intellectual.

Morgan joins a team rounded out by Detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), Daphne (Javicia Leslie), Lev “Oz” Ozdil (Deniz Akdeniz), and Lieutenant Selena Soto (Judy Reyes), a character whose “parental nature” Reyes told DECIDER she identifies with most.

“I have a child. I have a tendency to try to fix problems. Not to live in the problem, but to find a way to fix it, find a solution,” Reyes shared just hours ahead of High Potential‘s Season 2 return on Wednesday (Sept. 16). “I think that’s where she and I have the most in common, that nothing is impossible.”

As for what fans can expect in High Potential‘s Season 2, Reyes teased that “there’s more of everything.”

“More Morgan vision, more people, more crimes, more suspicion, more mystery,” she shared. “And we all came in really prepared knowing that the show was really well received, so now we feel an even bigger duty to our audience, to our fans, in trying to give them everything they expect and more… A lot more Morgan vision this season.”

For more on where Reyes found inspiration for developing Lieutenant Soto, how she’s preparing to reprise the role of Carla Espinosa in the upcoming Scrubs reboot, and her thoughts on The Summer I Turned Pretty, keep reading.

DECIDER: From the get-go, your character, Lieutenant Soto, is the one who sees potential—pun intended, I guess—in Morgan, and offers her the job to be a consultant. What do you think it was that sparked that interest in her that others on the team didn’t really see at first?

JUDY REYES: I think that Soto saw herself in Morgan. I think someone took a chance on Soto being an older woman in leadership. I think she’s a person that goes by instinct. She saw that in her, and she found good use in it for what she’s looking to do, which is ultimately solve crimes. The fact is that she knows what she’s doing. She’s a really smart woman. Totally unconventional, but she thought that she could find a lot of purpose in that. So she went ahead and dove right in.

Your character serves as a grounding presence in both this series and among the team. Is there something you most identify with in Lieutenant Soto?

I think I identify with that bit of a parental nature. I have a child. I have a tendency to try to fix problems. Not to live in the problem, but to find a way to fix it, find a solution. I think that’s where she and I have the most in common, that nothing is impossible.

High Potential is based on a French series. Had you heard of it before being approached for this project?

I hadn’t heard of it. And then I started watching it once I got the job. I started watching it on Hulu. I loved the French take of it, and I was really inspired to take my own approach to it. I loved the characters, and I could see what they were going for.

Kind of speaking of that, are there any series—I guess, police procedurals or any series of the kind—that you took inspiration from while developing your character?

Oh, were there? Mostly procedurals. Like Mariska Hargitay and the Law & Orders. The roll-up-you-sleeves and let’s get this done kind of characters. I used to love Magnum P.I. and all the NCISes. All those procedurals. But there’s a bigger character presence in this that’s a little quirkier that lends itself to the comedic nature of this.

I love how willing Lieutenant Soto is to help Morgan find Roman throughout the show. Season 1 ends with the revelation that Roman is in fact alive. What you can tease about what’s to come in Season 2 regarding this search?

The pursuit continues. There are teases to where he might be, if he continues to be, if he’s close. But the pursuit continues is all I can deliver for you. So that you can watch it, guys!

I got to watch the first few episodes of Season 2, which returns with the team’s hunt for the Game Maker. First of all, David Giuntoli killed it in that role.

Mmhmm!

That role was startling, that whole plot line. But do you think Soto will continue to be a grounding presence throughout this process and this search for him, and overall in Season 2?

For the Game Maker? Absolutely. Absolutely, because he’s become a threat to Morgan’s family, which is completely unacceptable. But what’s going to throw that grounding presence off is that a new nemesis is introduced through the presence of Steve Howey. He comes in as the Chief. So he becomes a nemesis/ maybe a sparring interest with Morgan? So that gives you a sneak peek into her personal life and what happens, and how she either elevates or falls apart in the presence of that kind of a conflict that she’s unfamiliar with.

And speaking of Steve Howey, what was it like welcoming him into the High Potential family and your experience working with him on set?

It was a lot of fun! And it continues to be a lot of fun. He’s a terrific actor, he’s very present, and he fit right in terms of what we are building around the show which is kind of like a relaxed— serious people doing serious work, but more than willing, or needing, to have fun in the process.

As a fan of the series myself, I think the ensemble is truly what makes this show. Did you guys naturally sort of have this chemistry, or were you working toward it?

We naturally had this chemistry. A lot of mutual respect. The beginning of Season 2 was more like a “roll up your sleeves and let’s get cracking.” And there’s more of everything. More Morgan vision, more people, more crimes, more suspicion, more mystery. And we all came in really prepared knowing that the show was really well received, so now we feel an even bigger duty to our audience, to our fans, in trying to give them everything they expect and more… A lot more Morgan vision this season.

That’s such a fun part of the show. Seeing it go back and forth from what’s in her mind to what’s actually playing out on screen. It’s really cool. Something that I wanted to bring up that I think is fun: Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is one of the stars of 9-1-1, had said earlier this summer that she would love for 9-1-1 and High Potential to do a crossover episode. Would you be open to this? Or are there any other ABC shows or other shows that you would like to do?

Of course! A 9-1-1/High Potential [crossover], and a High Potential/Abbott Elementary crossover would be absurd, but I’m down for it. That’s really fun. Yeah, I like that.

Speaking of Abbott Elementary, they did a crossover with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which Kaitlin Olson stars on. Were you aware of Kaitlin Olson’s work and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia prior to working with her?

You know, I became familiar with Kaitlin’s work on Hacks. And then I got the show, and then I started looking back because I know Always Sunny has been around forever and it’s always been compared to Scrubs. So I started checking her out and I couldn’t believe how I didn’t know that much about her and how funny and talented she is. I just fell in love with her work. Subtle, funny, dramatic. She really brings the good. She’s got all of it.

Shifting gears a little bit, I know you mentioned Scrubs and that you were recently announced as reprising your role as Carla for the reboot. How are you feeling going into this project?

I’m psyched. I’m going to be very busy in the next few months, but the reunion with the old school is very exciting. The writers. That’s what the most exciting part about it is, is that it’s going to be a huge reunion of everybody really trying to bring back or elevate what we did back in the day. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen. We’re all developing stories and organizing schedules. But I have so much faith in [Scrubs creator] Bill Lawrence and the team and these actors. I’m kind of putting myself in their hands to see what’s up and giving them my version of what I got.

One of my co-workers was actually covering the Emmys red carpet in LA on Sunday and she actually got to catch up with Bill Lawrence briefly, who said that shooting begins in three weeks. So how are you preparing in the meantime?

I’m preparing to get a script, to learn it [laughs]. To get there. That’s kind of really all we have to go now. They work really hard at giving you something that’s almost finished before you actually work on [the] story and making changes. So I’m waiting on story meetings and scripts, and going to deliver myself and put myself in their hands.

Do you think there’s anything that you need to do to tap back into Carla after so long, or do you think it will just be like instinct?

I really think it’s going to be instinct. I really do. I feel more excited than nervous, and I look forward to what they have to give me. It’s such a collaborative environment, kind of really spoiled me that way. Expecting that subsequently was presumptuous for me, but it’s such a collaborative environment and so much of what Carla became had to do with what I brought, that I feel safe in there.

Kind of to switch back to High Potential just for a bit… is there any word on a potential Season 3 at this point? Do we still have to wait a little bit?

That depends on you guys! That depends on the viewers whether or not there’s a Season 3. I would hope so. Everybody at ABC and Hulu and Disney is so excited about this premiere, so I guess it’ll depend on how everybody receives the show.

DECIDER is a site that’s dedicated to all things streaming. So what are you watching right now?

What am I watching right now? In an effort to bond with my son, I am watching The Summer I Turned Pretty. I am on Season 3, Episode 4. Don’t tell me what’s happening! But I’m completely, completely invested. And it’s a lot of fun because it’s my son’s second viewing. He watched the first and second season with me, and is ahead of me, but is queuing me in every night. “What are you watching tonight? Are you watching The Summer I Turned Pretty?” I’m like, “Hold on a second! I’m watching tennis today!” So that’s the relationship we’ve had over the last couple of weeks.

So are you Team Conrad? Team Jeremiah? What team are you on?

You know, the first couple of seasons, I was Team Jeremiah. Now, I mean, I understand. I think Jeremiah is misunderstood. But I find Conrad annoying. I like him, and I get it. But I think because I’m older, I find that the moms are Team Jeremiah. You know, Belly gets on my nerves, too. But again, I’m a parent, so I’m like, “Ugh! Would you just please get over it?” But I’m like, “Oh, I understand.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

New episodes of High Potential air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on ABC. Next-day streaming is available on Hulu.