CBS' New Evil Legal Thriller Replacement Will Tackle The Biggest Modern Controversial Topics

EXCLUSIVE: The star of Cupertino has revealed how the new CBS legal thriller will take on some of the biggest and most controversial topics.

Cupertino was created by Robert and Michelle King, the minds behind the CBS shows The Good Wife, Elsbeth and Evil. Mike Colter, who starred on Evil, is back with Cupertino. He plays an attorney scorned by a tech start-up who starts his own firm, with the goal of standing up to the tech giants and protecting the people they exploit.

Since the series deals with Silicon Valley, technology will play a major role on Cupertino. In an interview with ScreenRant's Tatiana Hullender, Colter explained that his new show will dive head-first into controversial topics like AI, which the actor finds exciting because it speaks to something important.

Cupertino is, first and foremost, an entertainment show, but it will also seek to educate, which is something that the Kings have managed to accomplish with many of their projects over the years.

The Good Wife, for example, covered topics like political corruption, elections, government surveillance, police brutality and much more while still keeping it dramatic and entertaining for fans. Broaching these issues isn't about telling the audience how to think, explained Colter, who added that the Kings "don't try to beat you over the head with it."

In other words, the entertainment value won't be sacrificed just so the producers and writers can infuse the series with important real-world topics.

Colter hopes that Cupertino will present a story that captivates viewers while also including subject matter that's "applicable to our lives and something that resonates with us because we know it and we see it and we're dealing with it on some level."

ScreenRant: We hit the ground running in the pilot with the topic of AI and how it exploits humans. Do you feel any pressure when it comes to how these all-too-relevant storylines may be received, or is that part of the fun for you?

Mike Colter: "It gets me excited! It's just nice to work on a project that's speaking about something important. I think entertainment's great, but you want to entertain, and you want to inform and educate. It's hard to do all those things at once, but I think the Kings do a good job at it because I don't think they lead with a heavy hand. They don't come at you with the energy of, 'This is what we're trying to tell you,' and they don't try to beat you over the head with it. I don't think we sacrifice any drama or any entertainment for the sake of teaching someone something that they may or may not already know. At the end of the day, we are trying to create a story that captivates and pulls you in. I'm happy when the subject matter is something applicable to our lives and something that resonates with us, because we know it and we see it and we're dealing with it on some level."

Starring with Colter on Cupertino are Rachel Keller, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps, Ella Stiller, Nik Dodani, Rob McClure, Joe Morton and Steven Pasquale. Aside from being the creators and showrunners, Robert (who directed the first episode) and Michelle King are also executive producers with Liz Glotzer and Sam Hoffman.

Outside of Kings' shows, Colter played Luke Cage in the Netflix series of the same name, which ran for two seasons from 2016 to 2018.

He first played the character on Jessica Jones and continued on The Defenders before reprising the role for Disney+'s Daredevil: Born Again as a guest star. He'll be back for the upcoming third season, which is the farewell run for the Charlie Cox-led superhero series.

Colter's other TV and movie credits include Ringer, American Horror Story: Coven, The Following, Men in Black 3, Zero Dark Thirty and Plane. Now he can add Cupertino to that list as he reunites with Robert and Michelle King and makes a return to network TV.

Cupertino premieres Thursday, October 8 at 10 p.m. EDT on CBS.

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  Mike Colter

  Michael Price

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  Rachel Keller

  Olivia Siffre

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  Renée Elise Goldsberry

  Nichole E. Ferebee

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  Ella Stiller

  Christy Palladino

Cupertino is a 2026 drama that centers on a determined lawyer challenging a dominant tech conglomerate. Set in Silicon Valley, the show follows the intense legal battle and the attorney's pursuit of justice for the underdog, as she confronts the complexities of power and innovation.