‘Cupertino’ Is More Fun Than a Tech-Dystopian Legal Drama Has Any Right to Be

So it was only a matter of time before we got a broadcast lawyer show set in Silicon Valley. What was in no way inevitable was that said lawyer show, CBS’s Cupertino, would be one of the most tightly constructed and purely enjoyable debuts of the season. For that miracle, we can thank Robert and Michelle King, the married maestros of the genre whose many beloved creations include The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Elsbeth, and Evil. The Kings are known for making addictive procedurals whose timely, often politically charged themes are saved from portentousness by eccentric characters, far-out storylines, and plenty of humor. No TV creator since Shonda Rhimes has done as much to liven up the fusty network drama, and I can’t recall a new one since she departed for Netflix that has felt as exciting from the jump as Cupertino.

Premiering Oct. 8, the perfectly paced series takes its time building an ensemble with comedic as well as dramatic chops. Mike Colter, a King stalwart who moonlights as Marvel’s Luke Cage, stars as Michael Price, a fair-minded attorney who’s fired for bogus reasons from the startup he co-founded. Escorted off the premises at the same time, with equally flimsy cause, is Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller from Tokyo Vice), a junior lawyer at the company whose sincere but not rigid Christian beliefs give her a unique perspective on an industry whose leaders aspire to godlike powers. Both have strong wrongful-termination cases. Yet when Michael seeks representation from a local firm, he gets a reality check instead. “This is Silicon Valley,” says his jaded colleague. “It’s David and Goliath. And the Goliaths protect each other here. Apple, Google, Facebook, OpenAI—they’ve got a combined value of $23 trillion. If you sue, you’ll never work around here.” What’s more, “lawyers don’t make money here from suing people; they make money from getting a piece of a startup. During the gold rush, don’t sue the gold mine.”