How Milo Ventimiglia Kept the Memory of ‘This Is Us’ Alive With ‘The Company You Keep’
Milo Ventimiglia was the television dad for six years until This Is Us ended in 2022. His portrayal of Jack Pearson was iconic, and it’s one of many roles that audiences worldwide will immediately associate with the actor. However, when one door closes, another one opens. And for Milo Ventimiglia, that was The Company You Keep on ABC.
Milo Ventimiglia stars as Charlie in ‘The Company You Keep’
Following the This Is Us series finale, Milo Ventimiglia immediately threw himself into The Company You Keep. The show, which ABC picked up, was created by Julia Cohen and adapted from the South Korean television series, My Fellow Citizens! Ventimiglia signed on to play one of the lead characters, Charlie Nicoletti, and agreed to be an executive producer.
Charlie is a con man alongside his father, Leo (William Fichtner), his mother, Fran (Polly Draper), and his sister, Birdie (Sarah Wayne Callies). Leo and Fran taught their children the family business; they’re all very good at deceiving people and stealing their money.
In The Company You Keep Episode 1, Milo Ventimiglia’s character met Emma Hill, played by Catherine Haena Kim. And it was love (lust?) at first sight. Charlie and Emma spent the next 36 hours together but never revealed what they do for a living. However, we’re sure that Charlie’s criminal activities and Emma’s CIA status will catch up to them soon.
Milo Ventimiglia hired some of the ‘This Is Us’ crew for ‘The Company You Keep’
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Milo Ventimiglia shared some insight into the behind-the-scenes work on The Company You Keep. And in doing so, he revealed that many of the This Is Us crew members are now working on the ABC series.
“As [The Company You Keep] was taking shape when we were developing a pilot episode, I was walking around the This Is Us set, quietly having conversations with department heads: ‘Hey, you think you’d want to come on board and do this?'” Ventimiglia said. “And people are like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to.'”
He continued, “I talked to [the] hair-and-makeup [department]. I talked to camera [operators]. I talked to the grips and the electrics. Seeing the same familiar faces that are loading lights and loading gear and keeping the set safe is really important to me.”
Entertainment Weekly disclosed some of the This Is Us crew who moved with Milo Ventimiglia to The Company You Keep. They are:
- Director of Photography Yasu Tanida
- Composer Siddhartha Khosla
- Costume Designer Hala Bahmet
- Hair Department Head Michael Reitz
- Makeup Department Head Zoe Hay
As for why he hired a large portion of the This Is Us crew for his new show, Ventimiglia explained, “One, it sets up a positive environment. Two, it sets up a reliable environment. I don’t have to think about any of my departments that I worked six years with on This Is Us because I know their level of quality. I know their level of creative.”
He added, “I know their level of respect to those that they’re working with. It gave us such an advantage to know the machine already worked. And now, we’re hitting a stride where my crew is becoming everybody else’s crew. Catherine was like, ‘Milo; it’s so great you brought your crew from This Is Us.’ I said, “This is your crew. You will look at them as your crew, and they look at you as your crew. Just give it the time.’ And everybody’s feeling that.”
Will any ‘This Is Us’ cast members appear in ‘The Company You Keep’?
Aside from the This Is Us magic taking place behind the scenes, will fans see Milo Ventimiglia reunite with any of his former costars in front of the camera in The Company You Keep?
“It’s funny, Justin Hartley’s name already came up for something. But of course, he’s cutting together his pilot [The Never Game] over at CBS,” Ventimiglia revealed. “I just traded messages with Mandy [Moore]. She’s in New York on [Dr. Death]. I read stories of [how] everybody else [is] busy, you know? I’m sure at some point, people will pop up.”
Even though there won’t be any This Is Us reunions onscreen anytime soon, one is happening behind the camera. Jon Huertas, who played Miguel in This Is Us, directed The Company You Keep Episode 5.
New episodes of The Company You Keep air Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
