Cupertino Review Roundup: Mike Colter’s Legal Drama Shines

There’s a feeling on the pilot that something has finally decided to take on Big Tech—and it does so with swagger. Cupertino drops you into Silicon Valley litigation where the stakes are not just money, but rights, reputation and the hidden human cost of digital growth. Mike Colter anchors the series with a calm ferocity; he’s not just a lawyer on-screen, he’s the moral compass dragged through the mud of corporate power.

Created by Robert and Michelle King, the minds behind The Good Wife and Evil, the show follows Michael Price, a lawyer who loses both his job and his company shares in what he says was an unjust firing. Instead of giving up, he teams up with Olivia Sifer, another attorney recently displaced by the tech industry’s churn. Together they open a boutique firm with a simple, urgent mission: defend people chewed up by large tech companies.

The King siblings know how to craft procedural beats that double as cultural commentary. Cupertino isn’t content to be a run-of-the-mill courtroom drama; it interrogates ethics, corporate accountability and the rapid, often reckless expansion of Silicon Valley. The series title nods to the city synonymous with big tech, and the show uses that association as both setting and antagonist. Expect courtroom tension, smart character work and an underlying critique of algorithms, surveillance and the legal gray zones of modern tech.

What critics are saying

Early reactions skew positive. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists six reviews and shows a perfect 100% critics’ score, a rare feat for any new network drama. Metacritic aggregates five reviews and sits at a strong 87 out of 100, signaling broad critical approval without leaning into hyperbole.

TV Insider (Matt Roush) gave the series a top mark—praising it as one of the most entertaining new shows of the season. Short, punchy, and very watchable, Roush writes as if the series arrives at exactly the right moment.

Newsday’s Verne Gay scored Cupertino 88/100 and called it another win for the Kings, crediting their knack for blending legal smarts with human drama. The A.V. Club (Saloni Gajjar), at 83/100, noted that while the overall framework may feel familiar to veteran viewers, the Kings’ timing and cultural sensibility make the series feel timely—especially as a drama that reads as skeptical of sweeping AI and corporate narratives.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg awarded the show 80/100, describing it as a promising start that maintains quality across its early episodes, even if it hasn’t yet achieved the rapid leap in storytelling momentum seen in The Good Wife or Evil at comparable points. Randy Myers of The Mercury News gave Cupertino 75/100, but framed that score as praise: a bright and entertaining surprise among the fall schedule’s offerings.

Those numbers suggest a series that plays to strengths rather than reinventing the wheel. Solid acting, tight plotting, and a topical edge: it’s the kind of show that rewards viewers who like their legal drama mixed with cultural critique. The performances—most notably Colter’s steady center and a compelling turn from Rachel Keller as Olivia—help the series avoid melodrama, even when the stakes feel enormous.

So should you tune in? If you’re drawn to courtroom battles with contemporary teeth, to stories that interrogate power rather than celebrate it, Cupertino feels made for you. And if you enjoy work that marries individual character arcs to broader industry anxieties, the series sets up a conversation that will keep you thinking long after the credits roll.