Did you know AI is evil, actually?
Well, whether you can't stand the sight of AI-generated graphics at your local coffee shop or you embrace the use of ChatGPT in your everyday life
, there is no question that the debate of the use, ethics and future of generative AI is one of the most dominant topics of our modern life. And the creators of TV classics like "The Good Wife"and "Evil" have strong feelings about the technology.In "Cupertino" (CBS, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT, ★★★½ out of four), Robert and Michelle King, the best (married) writers of legal TV drama in Hollywood, move their attentions to the titular California playground of big tech. With help from their perennial collaborator Mike Colter (an alum of both "Wife" and "Evil") the Kings
have spun a story that has the procedural drama and addictiveness of weekly courtroom battles and fast-talking lawyers in expensive suits mixed with genuinely thoughtful discussions and questions about the technology that may or may not lead to the end of the world.
The Kings use "Cupertino" as a blistering critique of the technology, but that doesn't mean there isn't nuance to the narrative. The series revolves around Michael Price (Colter) and Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller), who both find themselves unceremoniously fired from a promising AI startup on the same day.
Mike, a co-founder of the business, is being pushed out technicalities by his former partner in a move of pure greed and discrimination, while Olivia is the victim of sexual harassment and retaliation. Spitting blood, Mike wants to sue, but soft-spoken and deeply conservative Olivia doesn't want to make a fuss. However, when it turns out that startup founder, who made unwanted advances onto Olivia, used her voice to make an X-rated AI chatbot, the midwestern church girl finds a very compelling reason to go to war.
The pair eventually form their own firm of misfits who want to represents the "Davids" in the battle against Big Tech Goliaths. And those mammoth monsters produce AI, surveillance products and every other doomsday tech you could think of that might leak out of the techbro minds.
The metaphor is a bit heavy handed but it's true: Everyday people harmed by Big Tech have very little recourse in the current set up of society, where all the money and power lies in the hands of a few who are creating so called "innovations" that might be revolutionary in all the wrong ways. There are a huge number of stories that can be mined from this very modern concept, and in the first few episodes, "Cupertino" finds plenty.
Colter is a joy to watch, as ever, perfectly suited to the Kings' rapid-fire dialogue as his character deals with inadequacy issues care of his celebrity-attorney father (Joe Morton). Olivia and the rest of the plucky crew − including bored investor Natalia (Busy Philipps), cynical assistant Christy (Ella Stiller) and tech-of-all-trades Vik (Nikdodani) − are playing second fiddle to his presence, but it's fine. He's that good at commanding a scene.
What the Kings are so uniquely talented at is their quick adaptation to the trends and problems of the moment, translating them not just into slapdash "from the headlines" TV episodes but thoughtful stories that resonate with the issues families debate around dinner tables.
AI isn't just a buzzword or a punchline in "Cupertino": it's part of a story about who gets power and who gets kicked to the (literal) curb. Even as our TV viewing habits shift to streaming (and indeed the Emmy Awards follow suit), this is something that can only be done on broadcast TV with its quick-to-air timetables and relentless pacing.
Even as technology races toward an uncertain future, good old-fashioned broadcast TV can still be vital.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CBS' new TV show 'Cupertino' is the one good take on AI you'll find in 2026
