Still Missing Will Trent? This New ABC Show with a 96% Score Is What Everyone’s Watching Now

It’s going to be a long while before Will Trent season 4, and fans can spend all that extra free time watching a similar show. The police procedural series premiered in 2023 and has been a hit for ABC ever since. Unfortunately, though, Will Trent has set a frustrating pattern, where its hiatuses are longer than your typical network TV show.

Season 2 debuted more than nine months after season 1’s finale. Meanwhile, season 3’s premiere came almost eight months following the end of Will Trent season 2. Now, the break between seasons 3 and 4 will follow suit. The good news is that ABC released a different critically acclaimed series that Will Trent fans must check out during the wait for season 4.

High Potential Is The Perfect Replacement For Will Trent

The New ABC Crime Drama Has A Lot In Common With Will Trent

If you love Will Trent, then High Potential is a must-watch (if fans haven’t checked out the TV show already). The ABC crime drama starring Kaitlin Olson debuted in September 2024 and was an instant success for the network. Consequently, ABC rewarded High Potential with an early renewal in January 2025, meaning season 2 is on its way.

Even though High Potential‘s first season only has 13 episodes, the cast and crew made the best of their limited time and created a series that broke several records (including ABC’s most-watched new show since The Conners). Not only did audiences everywhere love it, but so did critics. High Potential earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96% for season 1.

All these impressive statistics aside, fans should watch High Potential because it shares a lot in common with Will Trent. Both ABC TV shows are police procedurals featuring romance, past traumas, a dynamic cast, and intriguing mysteries. Plus, the lead characters — Morgan Gillory in High Potential and Will Trent in Will Trent — contain special skills that help them solve crimes.

Morgan is an HPI (high potential intellectual) with a high IQ. She starts the series as a nighttime janitor for the LAPD. But when she stumbles upon an open case with the wrong suspect, Morgan uses her unconventional mind to help a group of detectives solve it. Afterward, they hire her as a consultant, and the rest is history.

Why ABC Is Delaying Will Trent Season 4

Season 4 Won’t Premiere Until 2026

Yes, it’s frustrating that ABC is delaying Will Trent season 4 and not High Potential season 2. However, there is a reason why the network is holding the season 4 premiere for midseason — ABC’s executives want to replicate Will Trent season 3’s success for the upcoming episodes. To do so, they have to extend the crime drama’s hiatus to early 2026.

Will Trent season 3 was pushed to January 2025 alongside The Rookie season 7. According to TVLine, Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich revealed that the plan for both shows “worked like gangbusters,” turning Tuesday nights into a dominant force for ABC. As a result, the network is using the same approach for Will Trent season 4 and The Rookie season 8.

What To Expect In Will Trent Season 4

Will Amanda & Ormewood Survive?

Perhaps the long wait for Will Trent season 4 wouldn’t be as frustrating had the season 3 finale not left the audience on a couple of cliffhangers. During the last season 3 episode, the Will Trent characters tracked down and stopped a terrorist group from unleashing a devastating biological attack. Unfortunately, Amanda Wagner was badly wounded in the process.

Will Trent season 3 ended with Amanda in the hospital in a coma after a gunshot to the chest. It’s unclear whether she will wake up, and the last thing that viewers saw was Will next to her hospital bed, begging her to pull through. He told Amanda:

“I want you to be okay. Because you helped me to be okay … You are my family. So you need to wake up. You hear me? You better wake up.”

Before that final scene, Michael Ormewood had a medical crisis of his own. Earlier, a terrorist almost shot him, but Will arrived just in time to run the criminal over, saving Ormewood. However, he wasn’t so lucky when he returned to his home. Ormewood was about to sift through his mail when his vision got blurry, and he collapsed to the floor.

Ormewood started seizing, and Faith Mitchell ran in to help. She called 9-1-1, but the scene ended before the audience could learn Ormewood’s fate. As many will recall, doctors found a tumor in his head a few episodes prior. So, even if Ormewood survives this seizure (which the mass in his brain undoubtedly caused), he still has a tumor to worry about.

As for Angie, she decided to keep her baby, meaning she and Seth will be preparing to become parents in Will Trent season 4. Meanwhile, Will unintentionally found his birth father. It’s safe to say that the Will Trent writers have a lot to work with in season 4, from revealing Amanda and Ormewood’s fates to Will building a relationship with his dad.