‘Cupertino’ Review: ‘The Good Wife’ Creators Triumph Again With CBS AI Watchdog Legal Drama

Robert and Michelle King don’t get enough credit. Perhaps (definitely) it’s because they mostly work in the humble broadcast procedural format, but they’re rarely mentioned among the ranks of elite-level TV creators. While they’re not quite as prolific as the David E. Kelleys and Ryan Murphys of the world, they’ve continuously had at least one show on the air since “The Good Wife” premiered in 2009, and maintained a level of consistent quality across their shows that’s without peer in the same time frame. Their shows — “The Good Wife” (which might be the last network drama to win the drama series Emmy), “The Good Fight,” “Evil” and “Elsbeth” — are smart, funny, and exceptionally timely. They’ve done it again with “Cupertino,” their latest CBS legal drama. No one else is making broadcast drama at this level anymore. Mike Colter, Ella Stiller and Rachel Keller in “Cupertino.” (Elizabeth Fisher/CBS) “Cupertino” — named after the Bay Area city where Apple is headquartered — is laser-focused on the issue of AI, the legal, political and existential issue of the moment. It follows two attorneys who get fired from a Big Tech company and team up to start their own firm with the goal of championing suits from ordinary people against Silicon Valley titans. No one else is willing to do it, because these companies are just too powerful. But at Price & Siffre, they’re fighting this David vs. Goliath fight, because it’s the right thing to do and also because there’s a potentially profitable opening in the market in forcing these companies to settle. They’re corporate lawyers, after all. They don’t work for free. The attorneys are the highly experienced Michael Price (Mike Colter, who previously starred in the Kings’ brilliant religious-themed “X-Files” riff “Evil”) and the junior but talented Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller, best known for her work in Noah Hawley’s “Fargo” and “Legion”). Michael — the son of a famous Hollywood entertainment lawyer (Joe Morton) with whom he has a contentious relationship — was forced out of the startup he co-founded for spurious reasons before its IPO, while the devoutly religious Olivia was fired from her associate position at the same company after refusing Michael’s co-founder’s advances. That co-founder also trained the company’s AI chatbot using Olivia’s voice and personality without her consent or compensation, and so in the first episode Michael and Olivia team up to bring an intellectual property suit against the company, setting the template for what’s to come in the series. Colter brings the decency and quiet intelligence he previously brought to “Luke Cage” and “Evil” to Michael Price. He always strives to do the right thing, but he also always wants to win, which leads to some always friendly and collegial tension with Olivia, who’s his partner but also his mentee. He has smoldering sexual tension with Nicole E. Ferebee (Renee Elise Goldsberry), a rival attorney with whom he shares a romantic history. Keller, meanwhile, is a revelation in her most prominent TV starring role to date. She imbues Olivia with an effervescent goodness that’s totally charming and disarming. Olivia also always wants to win, and she uses people’s tendency to underestimate her to her advantage. Ella Stiller in “Cupertino.” (Elizabeth Fisher/CBS) Eventually, Michael and Olivia are joined by Christy Palladino (Ella Stiller, daughter of Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor), a young woman who works as their secretary/investigator and brings a vast network of blue-collar family members who do all manner of favors for the firm, from providing office space to law enforcement intel; and Natalia Boutella (Busy Phillipps), the brash ex-wife of a billionaire who uses her money to fund things that annoy him. At first Natalia, a non-practicing attorney herself, is just bankrolling the firm, but eventually she joins it, which is a welcome addition, as Phillipps is funny, unpredictable and vulnerable as this wisecracking Mackenzie Scott — if Mackenzie Scott put up a punching bag in her office. And Stiller is a hoot as Christy, with a delightfully spunky energy. “Cupertino” balances season-long arcs with case-of-the-week episodes, and every case feels ripped-from-the-headlines timely. There are episodes dealing with — to name just a few examples — prediction markets, use of AI in medicine, and people allegedly being driven to kill by chatbots. These cases are handled with complexity and ambiguity — “Cupertino” is not “all AI is bad” propaganda, but it does make a strong case for regulation and guardrails. There’s a season-long arc I can’t reveal, other than to say it is even more timely now than when it was written, and that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is doing more than anyone to make “Cupertino” must-see TV. “Cupertino” is more successful at dealing with the current moment in tech than AMC’s somewhat similarly themed satire “The Audacity” because the Kings are very obviously interested in understanding AI technology and the issues around it, and using the show as a way to process what they’re learning, as we’re all trying to do in real time. The timeliness makes “Cupertino” vital and urgent. Busy Philipps in “Cupertino.” (Elizabeth Fisher/CBS) It’s also just very entertaining and funny. The Kings are masters of the procedural form, and they make all the big ideas go down smoothly in a crisp and polished package. They know how to use every tool at their disposal, from wardrobe and production design to editing to sound, in service of making the show as pleasurable to watch as possible. The only problem with it is that it’s set in the Bay Area but very clearly filmed in New Jersey; and even that’s not really a problem, just a funny quirk. “Cupertino” is quite simply another wonderful show from TV’s most underrated auteurs. “Cupertino” premieres Thursday, Oct. 8 on CBS.