‘Cupertino’ Review: Robert and Michelle King’s Slick and Spiky Legal Drama Takes on Today’s Most Noxious Tech

“I’m sick of being exploited, and my guess is you are, too.” Technically, when Michael Price (Mike Colter) makes the above statement to Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller), he’s talking about getting fleeced by their former employer. Both lawyers were recently fired from S-Talk, an on-the-rise Silicon Valley start-up, for reasons that don’t add up. Michael was a co-founder whose reputation is so solid he’s still in demand post-termination. Olivia was just an associate, but she’s a hard-worker with impressive skills — the kind of exciting young attorney any business would eagerly lock down early for a long career ahead. And yet they both find themselves jobless right before the firm they helped build is expected to make a boatload of cash. Of course, neither of them deserved to get canned. S-Talk is up to some shady shit, and our crusaders’ moral compasses are sound. But knowing they didn’t do anything wrong isn’t enough; they have to prove their former bosses did. So through the power of the law (and the magic of television), they get their day in court against a schlubby, hoodie-sporting tech genius and his slickly dressed but utterly soulless money men. That’s just the beginning. Michael and Olivia’s initial campaign only comes together because they, too, come together. Although they worked for the same company, in the same building, they first meet when they’re both thrown out of said building and dumped just outside their ex-company’s property line. Michael tries to comfort his younger cohort, and she returns the favor by sharing what she knows about his dismissal. He then shares what he knows about hers, and from there, a partnership is born, a new firm is built, and their fortunes turn. People helping people. What a concept! But “Cupertino,” the new legal drama from Robert and Michelle King (of “The Good Fight,” “Evil,” and “Elsbeth” fame), isn’t another warm-and-gooey network drama meant to pacify an audience who tunes in with their mouths already half open. It’s a balm for anyone who’s been burned, especially as it applies to today’s most noxious tech companies and their pervasive, predatory creations. But it’s also rage — composed rage contained within bespoke suits, but rage nonetheless — against the machine. Michael’s plan stems from a gap in the market: “There are no Silicon Valley law firms representing the exploited,” he says. “They all just make money from working for the Goliaths. It’s a niche we can serve.” Olivia, who can barely afford her apartment in a converted motel under a highway, agrees. Soon, they’re securing six-figure retainers and fighting for million-dollar payouts. Rachel Keller, Ella Stiller, and Mike Colter in ‘Cupertino’Courtesy of Elizabeth Fisher / CBS All the while they’re seeking vengeance under the blindfolded eyes of Lady Justice — and not just for them. Price & Siffre is fueled by the intuitive anger of the exploited; the ire that springs forth every time you have to prove you’re human before you can access a webpage, or when you’re forced to contest an insurance claim with a chat bot, or when you’re suddenly spammed with ads for items you were just discussing with a friend. “Cupertino” amps up these annoyances to litigation-worthy levels — deadly drones, illegal surveillance, sentient A.I. systems — while preserving the relatable emotional reactions that make it so satisfying to see our TV attorneys stick it to surrogate wannabe world conquerors. Accountability! It may only happen on scripted television, but let’s take it where we can get it, folks. Through the first 10 episodes (yes, the first 10 — Season 1 will consist of 20 total episodes in a coup for telephiles everywhere), “Cupertino” effortlessly balances its grand and intimate perspectives. Cases of the week often extend into what feels like contemporary science-fiction, where the drastic implications of Big Tech’s overreach represent the existential threat to humanity they’re often feared (or touted) to be. Organ transplants are assigned by AI algorithms, gambling sites are used to influence elections, and data is sold to the highest bidder, whether it’s law enforcement agencies gathering evidence for a homicide investigation or airlines looking to spike ticket prices by targeting sons and daughters who need to fly home for their parents’ funerals. Using these immoral (and hopefully illegal) breaches, the series relishes putting its argumentative attorneys (apologies for the redundancy) through their paces. Reality-based legal arguments often need to be stretched to subsume the strange conditions of our brave new world, but the debate often peaks when opposing counsels each make a convincing argument. Michael gets to square off against his towering ex, Nichole (Renée Elise Goldsberry), in a richly prolonged will-they-won’t-they (hook up? get married? kill each other), while Olivia, a devout Christian, has to untangle a few nasty characters without losing her faith in people. The two leads even go toe to toe with each other in one of the Kings’ giddiest tests of their leads’ developing dynamic. Toss in the expected slew of exemplary character actors (including Jackie Earle Haley and Jackie Hoffman as folksy and cranky ol’ judges, as well as Marin Ireland as a devastated client whose broken heart has as much bearing on the verdict as our attorneys), and the cast is more than capable of keeping up “Cupertino’s” crackling energy. (Ella Stiller and Busy Philipps’ burgeoning and proven comic skills, respectively, are well-utilized, too.) Episodes are propulsive, often requiring a mad scramble of resources and regularly shifting battlegrounds, and there’s a serialized plot about an actual rogue A.I. (named “Bo”) that’s all the more engaging for its (his?) ambiguous intentions. (Is it going to put Price & Siffre on the map, or wipe them off the face of the earth? Huh, where have I heard that question before?) The constant creativity, exacting command, and lively sense of humor make “Cupertino” as easy to enjoy as its pertinent subject matter proves bone-chillingly bleak. But in yet another sterling success from network TV’s Kings of consistency, it’s the deft blend of benevolence and viciousness that makes the series so enthrallingly human. Michael and Olivia are good people. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to smile as crooks run roughshod over their lives. In fact, it means the exact opposite. They’re sick of being exploited. Aren’t you? Grade: A- “Cupertino” premieres Thursday, October 8 at 10 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.