Warning: This article contains plot details from the series premiere ofThe Company You Keep.
He’s a criminal.
And together they’re… stumbling into a relationship.
Catherine Haena Kim as Emma and Milo Ventimiglia as Charlie in ‘The Company You Keep’.Eric McCandless/ABC
So, boy meets girl at hotel bar.
Boy and girl drink too much.
Emma has other pressing things to worry about, though.
Of course, fantasy can only keep reality at bay for so long.
When Charlie returns to his family, he finds Daphne and her goons waiting.
She demands a rapid repayment of the $10 million, plus another $5 million in interest.
Where will the Nicolettis find $15 million fast?
How will Charlie and Emma find love in the midst of lies?
And what evenisa relationship these days, anyway?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What did these two crazy kids just get themselves into?
MILO VENTIMIGLIA:A whole lot of trouble.
How will this turn of events impact how he approaches his relationship with Emma?
And is this a wise idea if he’s got to stay in the game now?
I mean, not a very comforting place for Charlie to be knowing what he’s up against.
But at the same time, the fact that they’re not all entirely dead in the beginning?
That’s a good thing.
Any hints on how Charlie will make $15 million very fast?
It’s a terrifying number.
It’s something that isn’t to be taken lightly.
They tell the truth to each other, couched as a joke.
I think there is zero rationalization in that truth.
I think both of them are worried about their professional lives impacting their personal lives.
But much like Charlie and Tina, Tina was in on it in the first place.
But at the same time, who says she wouldn’t be okay with it?
and she says, “I’m starving,” and they devour the food and pass out.
What was your first reaction when you read that scene?
That was some real honesty, you know?
Think about what the two of them went through in the beginning of the day in their individual lives.
Is it how their families might react?
Or their own trust and vulnerability issues?
I think it’s all of it.
But everything that brought you to that moment comes along with it.
So you have to accept that both of them have things that are going to hang them up.
Sometimes it can break a relationship.
Whose family will pose a bigger obstacle for this budding relationship?
I think the Nicolettis are pretty forgiving.
The Hills strike me as a little tougher.
What intrigued you most about the Nicoletti family dynamic?
There’s the race against the clock given Leo’s dementia.
They’re not bailing on each other; they’re not turning on each other.
The family itself is solid, which is just a reassuring thing.
They’re not going anywhere.
Charlie and Emma are hiding huge truths, and we know the truth always comes out eventually.
Could the chickens come home to roost here maybe a little sooner than one might think?
I think it’s going to come a lot faster than people expect it would.
And in a way viewers won’t expect?
I mean, the discovery of who they are individually, professionally.
What was the biggest challenge in filming this first episode?
Honestly, it was the entirety of it.
It was knowing that this was, personally, the follow-up toThis is Us.
It was a new character, it was a new cast, it was a new setting.
We gotta do this right.
And you know what?
Have we seen the last of Charlie’s fiancee, who swindled Charlie and his family at the warehouse?
It’s one of the biggest questions I get.
For the moment, she’s made off with the money.
[See video above.]
What else can I say about it?
We dive more into the fun of the Nicoletti con world.
And the planning it takes, the strategy it takes.
Finally, what is the best con job that you’ve ever pulled in your own life?
Sticking around Hollywood as long as I have?
I’m using all the tools in my bag to ensure that people are enjoying the show.
So when anybody tells me, “Hey, I really liked it.
It was fun,” that’s exactly what I want people to have with this show.
So, acting, conning it’s kind of all the same right now.
