Review: In 'Cupertino', Mike Colter is fired by an AI company, builds a firm with other castoffs and sues Silicon Valley — 'The Good Wife' creators hit the target but fumble the jokes and product placement

Robert and Michelle King spent a decade turning Chicago courtrooms into a mirror of American politics in 'The Good Wife' and 'The Good Fight'. In 'Cupertino', which premiered Thursday (Oct. 8) on CBS, the couple changes zip code and enemy: the target is now the tech billionaires. Mike Colter, the Kings' partner on 'Evil', plays Michael Price, a lawyer fired from an artificial intelligence start-up on accusations of leaking secrets — and convinced the company just wants his valuable equity. The same day, Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) is fired too, and with no firm willing to take on Big Tech, the two open their own practice with help from assistant Christy Palladino (Ella Stiller).

The pilot, 'Michael and Olivia', written by the couple and directed by Robert King, works because the premise is easy to root for: ordinary people pulling the powerful off their pedestal, with claims of wrongful dismissal, identity theft, harassment and racism. Colter has leading-man presence, Keller balances the tone with irony, and the supporting cast is a luxury, from Renée Elise Goldsberry as an ex and adversary to Joe Morton as Michael's famous father, plus Busy Philipps as the billionaire divorcée bankrolling the firm. Critics who saw the first five episodes cite cases about a chatbot-encouraged murder and workers underpaid to train AI — ground where the Kings have always known how to turn headlines into courtroom drama.

The stumbles are in the finish. Two sexual jokes feel out of place in a prime-time drama, Christy's family flirts with the stereotype of the Italian-American who fixes everything through connections, and product placement for candy and restaurant uniforms jumps off the screen. Still, with 20 episodes ordered, an early 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a theme that could not be more timely, 'Cupertino' has everything it needs to be the smartest procedural on American broadcast TV this season — even without the venom of 'Evil'. Score: 7/10