Lucky lucky us, we’ve got a ticket for a front-row seat to This is Us leading man Milo Ventimiglia’s newest show, making us feel all things unholy. ABC is upping the ante with a new drama, The Company You Keep, and we’re seeing Ventimiglia shed his family man image for something racy. Let’s be honest — we’re all feeling somewhat parched after the debut of the full-length trailer.
If you can’t stop thinking about Milo as Charlie Nicoletti, you’re not alone — the first look at the upcoming series is lust-driven and sensual, as a con man and a CIA agent feel a spark so electric, they’re willing to tempt fate to get a taste. The name of the game in The Company You Keep is an age-old saying we’re all familiar with: all is fair in love and war — or is it? What happens when an illicit love affair turns into something real and who gets off scot-free when the card tower falls?
We’re getting ahead of ourselves; first, let’s talk about how the too-hot-to-handle pair meet. At a bar one evening, having ordered a dirty martini, Catherine Haena Kim’s Emma Hill sets her sights on the handsome man who sits close by, Charlie. They spend some time lost in idle conversation while lying about their jobs to one another, both keeping their cards close to their chest.
The funny thing is that when Emma asks Charlie to tell him the truth after his lie of claiming to be a yoga teacher and hers of being a pageant queen turned rocket scientist, they reveal their truth to one another. Charlie says he’s a con man while Emma exclaims that she’s CIA, but they lose themselves in laughter instead of sensing the truth hanging in the air. It’s not important at the moment; what matters is that they can’t keep their eyes off one another, and their hands soon follow.
The rest of the trailer shows Emma and Charlie in their respective lives, falling for each other while trying to excel in their careers and blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. A far cry from Jack Pearson, Ventimiglia shines as a less-than-savory character who is as swoon-worthy as the villain as he is the family man. The logline for the series poses an important question: can you be in love with someone you’re lying to?
We hear Charlie proclaim that Emma wouldn’t stick around if she knew the truth — but we dare challenge that thought: wouldn’t we all stick around for Ventimiglia, even as a villain? You can decide for yourself when The Company You Keep becomes your favorite series next month. The first episode airs on Feb. 19 on ABC, and you won’t want to miss it.
