Rose Rollins says ‘The Catch’ has ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ vibes

Shondaland welcomes its latest addition this week as “The Catch” snags the Thursday 10 p.m. slot currently held by “How to Get Away with Murder” following its season two finale on ABC. The Shona Rhimes-produced series centers on Alice Vaughan (Mireille Enos), a private investigator who finds herself the victim of a life-shattering con orchestrated by her fiancé, Benjamin Jones (Peter Krause).

Along with her team, including her co-partner and friend, Valerie Anderson, played by Rose Rollins, the plot takes a twist as a vindictive (and quite frankly, surprisingly stable) Alice entertain a game of cat-and-mouse with her ex-fiance and his dubious associates.

Rollins calls us from the airport as she’s attempting to configure in-flight entertainment on her iPad —“I am now realizing I have no idea how to use this thing,” she laughs — to discuss her friendship with Alice, the series’ pilot overhaul and the unpredictable season ahead of her.

The trailer for the original pilot of “The Catch” — by former co-showrunner Jennifer Schuur — came out last spring, but the show has taken oncompletely different vibe with Allan Heinberg now. It’s almost sleeker, and the stakes feel higher.
It’s been such a long time coming since the original pilot and we’re just really excited. The overhaul of the show has been a great thing. There’s a total different energy and it’s more indicative of “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Right. I was thinking this was almost like a reverse heist storyline.
Yeah, while the original was more of a noir.

When we meet Valerie in the pilot, she’s in the process of helping to plan Alice’s wedding. They’re such good friends, but also business partners. So that friendship immediately gets tested when things go wrong and their clients are jeopardized by Alice’s situation.
I think [Valerie] is such a strong woman, and she’s so good at what she does, and so is Alice. We’re such good partners that I think you can’t underestimate either of us. I think we’ll be fine. Even though we’re in the world of con artists, it’s the one we work in.

It’s nice to see the show start off with a strong female friendship.
I think it’s really important. And I love Mireille as a person, besides thinking she’s such an amazing actress. We’re very close.

The show plays on some of the deepest fears of single people, particularly women, who can find themselves in such a vulnerable situation with the person the love. How did you wrap your head around the story line?
I immediately related it to something similar that had happened to me in my life. Allan [Heinberg], the show runner and I talked about it briefly and it’s a very personal subject. It hit close to home, and I think it’s a subject a lot of people can relate to. It reminds us to be careful of who we let into our lives and who we trust.

There’s definitely some unrequited tension between Benjamin and Alice, even while they both mess up each other’s lives. Is this still a love story at heart?
It’s a full-blown love story, and that’s the best part about this. You root for the good guy, then you root for the bad guy as well.

The pilot is packed with characters and storylines and drama, is there anything in particular viewers should be paying attention to as they watch?
I think they should be paying attention to everyone and everything. It moves fast and there’s a lot of surprises.

Tight-lipped!
[Laughs] I will say there are so many story lines that intertwine. It’s a large ensemble of the cast and there’s a lot left to be revealed.

Are there more characters we haven’t met yet?
Yes, there are.

And will there be any double-crosses?
Yes, absolutely.

“The Catch” premieres March 24 at 10 p.m. on ABC.