‘Cupertino’ Stars Break Down Series Premiere, ‘Michael & Olivia’

The opening shot of Cupertino is a tidy introduction to the series’ two leading characters, as the contents of their desks are thrown into cardboard boxes while they’re canned from their respective jobs. Michael Price (Mike Colter) has his Columbia University relics and some fidgets, while Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) is packing up Bible gear, Liberty University swag, and crochet supplies.

Michael has been accused of leaking proprietary information by his firm partner, and upon seeing Rachel also ejected and confused, he offers her a Lifesaver. It’s not just a mint; it’s a symbolic gesture, as he’ll later give her a partnership opportunity that saves her from a life of mundanity with her evangelical parents in the Midwest.

After discovering that Olivia has been fired for rejecting her boss’ inappropriate advances — including sending her an image of a certain body part — he decides to join forces with her to fight back against both of their former employers: His will be for wrongful termination, and hers for sexual harassment.

“It’s really unfortunate what happened to her, and the timing couldn’t be worse for her, but better for him,” Colter tells TV Insider of this moment. “He looks at her as a person who brings value immediately.”

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

Olivia has no interest in taking her claim public, though, given her “conservative” upbringing. As Keller explains, “There’s a lot of young women out there that feel like, ‘Gosh, do I really want to take on this responsibility to speak on behalf of someone else’s behavior? Is that going to be what people Google about me when they look me up?’ It’s a horrible thing to take on… And she has a huge religious family. That might not go over well with them. So I think it’s overwhelming to her until it just becomes inevitable.” That “inevitable” moment comes when she finds out about Daisy, an AI companion with her vocal and personality likeness — plus a spicy option.

To say the two have a humble start to their joint venture is underselling it; their first meeting is at an iHop, even though he continues to sport his instantly-signature power suit. (Of that costuming mainstay, Colter says, “I talked to the Kings about it because at first I was like, ‘I’m always in costume.’ It’s a very important part of the character, and I need to figure out why a person is wearing what they’re wearing because it influences how they feel and operate. I was very interested in understanding what it was. And at first, I was like, ‘He does wear a lot of suits… Can he  just relax?’ [But] this is California and Silicon Valley. I think it goes back to appearance and perception… It’s like, yeah, the millionaires and trillionaires may walk around in khaki pants or whatever. Well, that’s them, right? They are in a different space. For me, I have to impress, and I have to gain respect immediately. I’m not in a position of leverage where I can afford to have someone mistake me or misjudge me or misinterpret me.”)

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

Soon, the two are joined by Michael’s former assistant Christy (Ella Stiller), whether they like it or not, since it’s his call that’s gotten her fired.

“I think immediately he saw value in Ella’s character, Christy. Yeah, she’s a utilitarian. She has a lot of connections. She’s a person who’s a fighter. She’s a scrapper. She wants to prove herself. She basically volunteered her services. So it’s almost like, ‘OK, who is that?’ It’s like Dennis Rodman. It’s, ‘Oh, you just came off out of nowhere. You want to be a what? And now let’s see you prove it.’ Well, she’s making herself useful, and she’s making herself valuable,” Colter says.

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

Michael’s father’s colleague, Ry Vance (Steven Pasquale), whom he has consulted about this very case, is on opposing counsel, much to Michael’s surprise, and he runs the show in the courtroom until Michael gets the judge recused for bias, and his replacement isn’t so quick to gavel the case out of his courtroom on dismissal. In fact, he decides to hear both cases on the merits the very next day.

Christy makes her first (of what will be many in the series) call to a relative to help and finds Michael and Olivia some office space on the cheap thanks to her Uncle Chuck (Max Casella), who comes through with an unfinished office front for a failed startup. For them, it beats the iHop, and for Christy, it beats the TGI Fridays late shift.

“Christy takes her job very, very seriously, and that’s my favorite part about her. She loves this job and is so invested from day one, despite the casual and kind of cool, chic, edgy clothing, which I find funny because I think that’s sort of a statement or just a testament to what my generation is, and the weird cultural thing that Gen Z is, which is that there’s a different understanding when it comes to what is casual and what’s more formal,” says Stiller. “I think that her more unconventional approach to the job actually is what makes her so good at it and so committed… Disregard what all the old people have to say about how the world works. She’s got her web of connections, and she’s gonna break some rules, but she’s gonna get it done at the end of the day, and for the good of the firm.”

In court, Michael questions Olivia on the stand to reveal that, in her role at her former tech firm, she was given prompts to read and had to keep a taped diary of her life. Her testimony is convincing.

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

However, Michael is somewhat thrown off his game by the arrival of his famous entertainment lawyer father. “It is a relationship that is layered with experiences that start out as a child,” Colter says of their dynamic. “What I’ve realized as I’ve gotten to a certain age and I have my own children, there’s no such thing as a trauma-free childhood. It’s just how much you’re just mitigating how much trauma they’re going to get… He’s a successful man in Silicon Valley. I tell people, to give a comparison and context, in our industry, the more successful the actor is, the more usually messed up their child is. You could translate that to sports athletes, whatever. The harder you work at your craft, the more you work, the more success you have. Sometimes there’s a price to pay. You cannot be two places at once. You cannot be a great parent and a great whatever. You just can’t.”

The defense then offers a rebuttal witness who testifies that she was the one who voiced Daisy, and the case seems to be in big, big trouble. (Fun fact: Despite the storyline’s suggestion, that’s still Keller’s voice in both modes.)

Michael gets an offer from Ry to end it and join their firm in a rather sweetheart deal, but he, perhaps surprisingly, decides to pass. “Certain people can be bought and certain people can’t,” Colter reasons. “It’s inherent in some people’s DNA. Some people would rather die than to work for someone they despise or be compromised on their principles… The fact they’re offering him money, I think he looks at it as, ‘Oh yeah, you know what? I must be doing something right. I got you. There’s something there.’”

Instead, he’s going to continue trying to get justice for himself and Olivia, this time by arguing that it’s not just about her voice, but also her persona. On the stand, her diary is compared to the way that Daisy says to pray, and it seems like they’ve regained the upper hand. Ry, however, switches on spicy mode for Daisy, and, well, it’s not exactly a carbon copy of Olivia’s diary anymore. The judge sides with the plaintiff in their countersuit.

Instead of slinking into oblivion, though, Olivia steps up as Michael’s lawyer in his suit and turns the tables on S-Talk, calling Richard Everett to the stand to explain why the company’s only Black employee was fired. However, even this self-proclaimed “country judge” isn’t swayed; he needs to hear evidence of wrongful termination.

They don’t have it, but what Olivia does have is an unsolicited shot of Everett’s manhood, and he does not want that entered in the official court record. Instead of seeing it through any further, Everett decides to settle the claims. Quietly.

Back at the office, Christy has filled the only finished room in the place, the lobby, with a gaggle of fake employees and clients — they’re all her former colleagues at TGI Fridays she’s recruited for this little show — to intimidate Ry, and it works.

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

With a timely fake call from a “Mr. Diamond” (Price’s dad) and “Bezos,” their intimidation tactic works, and they are paid enough to officially rent the place, pay off Christy’s new hires, and move on to other client prospects.

Why team up again, though? Per Keller, “I think they have a good time working together in that the juxtaposition between the two of them is actually was kind of good. They realize that this actually could be interesting. I also think she feels equal to him in some way and learning from him. So it feels like such a good match between them.”

Adds Stiller, “It’s not until the three of them come together and actually win this case and realize what they’ve done in this David versus Goliath way… that they’re like, ‘Oh, this is what we need to be doing.’”

Their first potential new client literally stumbles in at the last minute: Vik Malhotra (Nik Dodani), a man with slashes in his face who needs a lawyer ASAP. With that, Price and Siffre is booked and ready.

Cupertino, Thursdays, 10/9c, CBS