The ABC show, based on the South Korean TV series "My Fellow Citizens!", premieres on Sunday
Jon M. Chu serves as a producer of ABC’s newest drama, “The Company You Keep.”
The caper series, which stars Catherine Haena Kim opposite Milo Ventimiglia, is based on the 2019 K-drama “My Fellow Citizens!” Ventimiglia plays Charlie Nicoletti, a suave con man, while Kim plays undercover CIA agent Emma Hill. The pair are unaware of each other’s true occupations and end up falling for one another.
It was reportedly Chu’s idea to portray Emma Hill as an Asian American. Moreover, Hill’s onscreen family includes a Korean American father played by James Saito, a Chinese American mother played by Freda Foh Shen and an older brother played by Tim Chiou.
The Hill family is a political powerhouse, with Chiou’s character, David, featured as an incumbent senator seeking re-election. Saito’s fatherly role reportedly takes inspiration from former Washington State Governor Gary Locke, the first Chinese American governor in United States history.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Kim, who has previously appeared in TV series such as “Gossip Girl,” “90210,” “Mistresses” and “FBI,” shared that while she feels nervous knowing that she’s the lead of a TV show, it is a joy to see her name at the top of a call sheet.
“Most of the time, I’m just like ‘How does everybody do this?’ I feel my imposter syndrome blaring louder than ever. But I keep going because it’s all mixed in with that feeling a little kid dreams of,” she said.
ABC originally ordered the show to pilot before picking it up for a full season, according to Variety.
“The Company You Keep” will premiere Sunday, February 19, on ABC.