ABCpicked up the crime dramaThe Company You Keep,the American adaptation of the hit Korean programMy Fellow Citizens!, in a series order back in August. The anticipated show is led byThis Is UsalumMilo Ventimigliaas Charlie Nicoletti and Catherine Haena Kim as Emma Hill. The series premieres on February 19, and on Tuesday, ABC dropped the series’first teaserthat provides a first look into the burgeoning romantic entanglement between Charlie and Emma.
The 30-second trailer introduces audiences to our two leads, Emma and Charlie, who meet at an upscale bar. It begins with Emma asking, “So what do you do?” with both characters presenting exaggerated fronts to cover up their real jobs. Although both characters initially lie (with them jokingly admitting their true jobs later on in the teaser), their true professions are revealed to the audience through montages within the trailer. Emma is an undercover CIA agent, while Charlie is a veteran con man. It becomes clear their budding romance will become caught in the crossfire as their secret professional lives unknowingly clash. The phrase “Their lives are lies. Their love is real.” sets the tone for the rest of the teaser ending with the pair recognizing they have met their unlikely match.
The official logline forThe Company You Keepis below:
A night of passion leads to love between con man Charlie and undercover CIA officer Emma, who are unknowingly on a collision course professionally. While Charlie ramps up the “family business” so he can get out for good, Emma’s closing in on the vengeful criminal who holds Charlie’s family debts in hand – forcing them to reckon with the lies they’ve told so they can save themselves and their families from disastrous consequences.
Related:The Company You Keep, Drama Series Starring Milo Ventimiglia, Picked Up by ABC
The Company You Keep Has a Few Differences From Its Korean Counterpart
My Fellow Citizens!serves as the source of inspiration for the upcoming ABC series,The Company You Keep. The award-winning Korean Broadcasting System program premiered in 2019 and ran for one season. Despite both series focusing on the labyrinthine relationship between a con man and a law enforcement agent, the American adaptation has some differences from its Korean originator.
One difference between the two crime series is their sub-genres.My Fellow Citizens!is a comedy, whereasThe Company You Keepis a drama.The American versionwill likely take on a more serious tone as a result, which was made apparent by the mounting tension in the series’ first teaser. However, this minor change pales in comparison to the plot differences between the two series. In the Korean version, the con man navigates a series of unexpected incidents after he becomes involved with a loan shark to get the money for his marriage. After finding out his fiancé was a police officer and being scammed out of his money by his ex-girlfriend, the family he owed finds him, and he is strong-armed into running for a seat on the National Assembly in exchange for his life. The American version reads more as a cat-and-mouse game between a masterful con man and an undercover government agent as their romantic relationship deepens and their secret lives collide.
The Company You Keepwas developed by Julia Cohen and Phil Klemmer, who both serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Ventimiglia also serves as executive producer through his company DiVide Pictures, alongside Caitlin Frito and Ben Younger, who directs the pilot. In addition, 20th Television and Electric Pictures are both attached to the project. Besides Ventimiglia and Kim, William Fichtner, Tim Chiou, Freda Foh Shen, James Saito, Sarah Wayne Callies, Felisha Terrell, and Polly Draper will also star in the upcoming crime drama.
