The Makeup Design of ‘High Potential’ Helps Kaitlin Olson Solve Murders

Makeup design doesn’t always mean prosthetics or extremes — that’s why the Emmy Awards smartly single out contemporary makeup design as its own category. But too often, those more immediately arresting designs are the ones that get all the attention. Not anymore. Join IndieWire in celebrating the makeup artists creating subtle, character-specific work for contemporary shows.

It’s easy for Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) to see patterns no one else can; the hidden goal for the team behind ABC’s “High Potential,” however, is to tell us everything we need to know about the characters without us realizing that we’re assembling puzzle pieces. The evidence for this is clear in the show’s makeup, where the team creates a key vibe we’re meant to pick up — often on just a few days’ notice.

The work starts with Morgan herself. Thea Samuels has collaborated with Olsen for over a decade and wanted to bring a sense of momentum and focus to the character, even as her colors always pop. “Morgan’s look and vibe has been a great collaboration with Kaitlin,” Samuels told IndieWire. “We wanted to give the feeling that she swipes on her eyeliner and is on to what’s next. In addition to her makeup, we had a lot of fun with the nails. We knew we wanted them to be fun, playful, and memorable. Nail tech Kymber Blake helped us create these nails throughout the season.”

The nails and strong eyeliner set Morgan apart in the same unapologetically smart and snarky way her humor does, but it’s makeup department head Rebecca Wachtel who gets the rest of the cast to — in visual storytelling terms — dance backward to Morgan’s lead. “The series has a quirky yet intelligent vibe. I wanted the main cast to look nice and pulled together as they encounter all walks of life during the series,” Wachtel told IndieWire.

This meant finding complementary approaches to color — Daphne (Javicia Leslie) is a little bit more monochromatic, while Selena (Judy Reyes) has an overall more neutral look with a strong pop of lip color, as befits a boss. Then, with Oz (Deniz Akdeniz) and Karadec (Daniel Sunjata), “It’s nice for men to look natural yet with good skin. We used a variety of tinted oils and sheer foundations to create this. Beard and brow grooming are part of what we do for men as well. We shave them and keep continuity on the shape, length, and color of their facial hair,” Wachtel said.

‘High Potential‘Disney

The makeup designs on the main and guest cast characterize them almost instantaneously in ways the viewer grasps but doesn’t need to consciously think about. For both Wachtel and Samuels, the work is all about creating a vibe that we’ll have fun watching Morgan unravel. This also holds true for the victims on each episode of the ABC series, as the makeup team is responsible for their mystery marks and bruises. Some of these can get quite intricate. “It’s fun to read the scripts and figure out how to accomplish what’s written,” Wachtel said. “From having a rash reaction from poison frog soap to being buried in a garden, this show keeps you on your creative toes.”

The makeup designs that are only seen briefly can take the most time to create. For instance, when the show’s writers wanted a tattoo in Episode 5 to exactly match the exotic spider on the loose and show the artist’s love for it, Wachtel spent a lot of time figuring out the exact alignment of roses, thorns, locks, and chains to throw around the spider design to convey that. “It was a very particular spider tattoo,” Wachtel said.

Whether with spiders or sleuths, the makeup on “High Potential” helps create an immediate sense of character, even as it sometimes hints about the mysteries and a lot more. “It aids actors getting into characters,” Samuels said. “It can change how people feel about themselves. It’s transformative.”