Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Cupertino’ On CBS, Where Two Lawyers Take On Huge Silicon Valley Companies By Representing People Who Were Wronged

By now, you pretty much know what to expect from a show created by Michelle and Robert King: Sharp procedural content, well-drawn characters and lots of funny content filtered into the drama. Their new CBS series Cupertino has all of this, as the Kings shift their focus to the craziness of Silicon Valley.

CUPERTINO: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A box is thrown down on a desk. We then see drawers open in two different desks, with items thrown in the box. One box has a law degree from Colombia, the other has a degree from Liberty University.

The Gist: Both Michael Price (Mike Colter) and Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) were fired from the Silicon Valley startup S-Talk at the same time, but they were in two very different positions. Michael was a partner, and he was told that he leaked information; Olivia was an associate just out of law school. Her offense was not responding to the really gross advances of Michael’s business partner, Richard Everett (Will Brill).

When Olivia tells Michael that she overheard that he might have been squeezed out in order to take away his equity, he decides to sue for wrongful termination. But his lawyer (Steven Pasquale) thinks suing is pointless. So Michael visits Rachel’s seedy apartment and proposes they each sue, and they’ll represent each other. Olivia is reluctant — she’s conservative and doesn’t want the sexual harassment made public — but changes her mind when she hears that S-Talk’s new AI app uses her voice.

Michael’s assistant, Christy Palladino (Ella Stiller), joins them when she’s escorted out of S-Talk for talking to Michael. S-Talk, led by Michael’s ex-lawyer, countersues, but Michael and Rachel not only manage to get the judge to recuse himself but do enough damage during the initial hearing to prompt S-Talk to settle.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Created by Michelle and Robert King, Cupertino has the same arch tone as their other legal series, like The Good Wife, The Good Fight and Elsbeth.

Our Take: The first episode of Cupertino neatly sets up the series’ premise, which is where Michael and Olivia open a firm that takes on huge Silicon Valley companies and well-funded startups, representing people those companies wronged. It sticks to the procedural formula that the Kings established with the aforementioned Good Wife: Cases that have emotional stakes, secondary storylines that delve into the main characters’ backstories, and a wicked sense of humor that ties it all together.

That sense of humor comes in different places, like when Uber drivers and bailiffs hand Michael their business cards because they have a proposal for an app that’s ready to go. But it reaches deeper than that, and the first episode delves into the valley’s tech bro culture, the pursuit of money overruling morality and common sense. It’s going to be fun seeing how Michael and Olivia handle these cases going forward, with the help of Christy.

Performance Worth Watching: Colter and Keller have a good rapport as Michael and Olivia, despite the characters’ disparate backgrounds. Starting in the second episode, we’ll also see Busy Philipps and Renée Elise Goldsberry join the show as regulars, which of course we’re looking forward to.

Sex And Skin: S-Talk’s AI says some things that we were surprised to hear on a CBS series, even one that airs at 10 PM.

Parting Shot: The first real client shows up at Price & Siffre: “They’re out to get me, and I need someone right now. I need a lawyer,” a man covered in leaves and scratches says to Michael, Olivia and Christy.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Cupertino continues the Kings’ tradition of combining interesting procedural cases with social commentary, good character chemistry and a well-honed sense of humor.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.