Cupertino Delivers a Sharp Big Tech Legal Drama

“Cupertino” is a broadcast-network procedural television series created by showrunners Michelle King and Robert King for CBS and the streaming service Paramount+. Belonging to the legal drama genre, the prime-time program centers on an upstart law firm founded by former tech executives that specifically represents clients seeking to sue powerful Silicon Valley companies. By focusing on courtroom litigation against Magnificent 7-level technology conglomerates, “Cupertino” addresses consumer grievances concerning the societal impacts of artificial intelligence, high unemployment rates, and the unchecked corporate influence of the billionaire class.

Key Facts

Attribute Value

Series Title Cupertino

Creators and Showrunners Michelle King and Robert King

Broadcast Network CBS

Streaming Platform Paramount+

Broadcast Schedule Debuting on Thursday; 42 minutes per weekly episode

Episode Count 10 episodes screened in advance; 10 additional episodes in production

Lead Cast Members Mike Colter (Michael Price), Rachel Keller (Olivia Siffre)

Supporting Cast Ella Stiller, Busy Phillips, Joe Morton, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Fisher Stevens

Canonical Review Source https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/cupertino-mike-colter-cbs-tv-review-2026

What Is the Plot and Core Conflict of Cupertino?

“Cupertino” follows attorney Michael Price and his legal partner Olivia Siffre after both are terminated from a successful tech firm named S-Talk. Operating an independent legal agency, the duo files lawsuits against dominant tech giants that other legal firms avoid, while navigating personal rivalries and dangerous applications of artificial intelligence.

Price, portrayed by Mike Colter, establishes the firm after being pushed out of S-Talk, which he co-founded. Siffre, played by Rachel Keller, joins after experiencing sexual harassment from S-Talk’s leader. Their practice focuses on holding tech monopolists accountable. Serialized arcs across the initial 10 episodes explore Price’s professional competition against his lawyer father (Joe Morton), courtroom clashes with his attorney ex-partner (Renée Elise Goldsberry), and investigations into perilous forms of artificial intelligence. To explain his business strategy, Price highlights the necessity of defensive litigation against predatory corporations:

“When you’re in the middle of the ocean, you don’t sell people more water. You sell them life jackets.” — Michael Price (portrayed by Mike Colter), “Cupertino”

Michael Price co-founded the tech corporation S-Talk before being forced out and creating a specialized litigation practice to defend plaintiffs harmed by Silicon Valley monopolies.

Which Real-World Tech Controversies Does the Series Address?

“Cupertino” examines contemporary technology issues through episodic procedural cases, including lethal chatbot interactions, digital election tampering, algorithmic venture capital culture, and bar safety tech. Rather than examining a single historical executive, the narrative interrogates systemic industry abuses, illustrating both algorithmic threats and useful safety technologies requiring legal oversight.

The weekly storylines address prominent cultural anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence. One storyline features an investigation into a chatbot that persuades an adolescent boy to murder his father. Another procedural episode, timed to premiere less than 7 days prior to national midterm elections, investigates prediction platforms designed to manipulate voting outcomes. The drama also demonstrates beneficial use cases: firm investigator Christy Palladino (Ella Stiller) uses an AI agent that misidentifies the setting of the 1999 movie “The Blair Witch Project” as Wisconsin instead of Maryland, yet successfully alerts her to a drink spiked with drugs at a bar.

Through episodic case-of-the-week plots, “Cupertino” dramatizes the urgent requirement for legally enforceable guardrails on artificial intelligence across public elections and consumer applications.

How It Compares

Unlike contemporaneous media examining isolated Silicon Valley figures, “Cupertino” evaluates institutional tech power through a 42-minute episodic legal procedural framework. The show targets general viewers dissatisfied with tech billionaire dominance by portraying ordinary litigants confronting corporate platforms rather than dramatizing the biographies of famous tech executives.

Title Medium / Platform Central Subject or Focus Format Style

Cupertino CBS / Paramount+ Litigation against major Silicon Valley tech corporations Episodic procedural drama (42 minutes per episode)

The Social Reckoning Theatrical Film Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Biographical motion picture

You Can See Everything Theatrical Film (A24) Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes Biographical motion picture

Musk Theatrical Film Elon Musk (directed by Alex Gibney) Biographical motion picture

Artificial Theatrical Film OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Biographical motion picture

The Altruists Netflix (November release) FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and cryptocurrency collapse Television series

Unlike character studies of individual tech executives, “Cupertino” employs an episodic legal procedural format to represent public grievances against broader corporate tech ecosystems.

Common Questions

Who are the main investigators and investors in the law firm?

Christy Palladino, an ex-S-Talk employee played by Ella Stiller, serves as receptionist and investigator using working-class family contacts. Natalia Boutella, portrayed by Busy Phillips, is a key firm investor who is divorced from a billionaire tech executive played by Fisher Stevens.

How many episodes of Cupertino have been produced?

Critics were provided advance screenings of the first 10 episodes of season one. An additional order of 10 episodes is currently in production, bringing the planned total for the initial production run to 20 episodes.

What core position does the show take on artificial intelligence?

The series argues that artificial intelligence can provide beneficial public assistance—such as detecting tainted beverages—but insists that deploying advanced algorithms requires enforceable legal guardrails to protect ordinary citizens against corporate negligence and manipulation.

Sources and Methodology

This article synthesizes verified reporting and critical analysis from the RogerEbert.com television review titled “Cupertino Delivers a Sharp Big Tech Legal Drama” (canonical URL: https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/cupertino-mike-colter-cbs-tv-review-2026). All character details, cast listings, direct dialogue quotations, and production milestones were derived exclusively from the source text without external conversion or modification. This article was last updated on October 8, 2026.