Cupertino Premiere Recap: Grade Robert And Michelle King's Sharp Silicon Valley Legal Drama

Can the little guys ever win against the humungous tech companies that rule our modern world? Price, Siffre & Associates, the scrappy law firm at the center of CBS' "Cupertino," certainly hopes so. And in the series premiere Thursday, we get to witness the upstart Silicon Valley firm's origin story.

In a moment, we'll want to hear what you thought of the newest legal drama from Robert and Michelle King ("The Good Wife," "The Good Fight," "Evil"). First, though, a brief recap of Episode 1, "Michael & Olivia." 

Can the little guys ever win against the humungous tech companies that rule our modern world? Price, Siffre & Associates, the scrappy law firm at the center of CBS' "Cupertino," certainly hopes so. And in the series premiere Thursday, we get to witness the upstart Silicon Valley firm's origin story.

In a moment, we'll want to hear what you thought of the newest legal drama from Robert and Michelle King ("The Good Wife," "The Good Fight," "Evil"). First, though, a brief recap of Episode 1, "Michael & Olivia."

We meet senior counsel Michael Price (played by Mike Colter, "Evil") and recent law school graduate Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller, "Fargo") on the day they're both fired from S-Talk, a rapidly rising technology company. After Michael is kind to Olivia as they stand on the curb, clutching their belongings and waiting for rides, she whispers that she heard company bigwigs seeming to plot about how to cut Michael out of the business just before it skyrockets. We later learn that Olivia was booted after she rebuffed romantic advances (and a nude photo) from one of S-Talk's skeezy founders.

Though Michael has an intriguing case, no firm in the area will take it, lest they run afoul of the tech giants known as "the Magnificent 7." Or, as another counselor reminds Michael: "Lawyers here don't make money from suing people. They make money by getting a piece of a startup."

With the help of his former assistant, Christy (Ella Stiller, "The Comeback"), Michael gets Olivia's address and visits her, after having realized that she likely was let go because of something untoward the S-Talk founder did. "We both have information about each other's firings," he says. "I think we use it to bring two lawsuits: wrongful termination and sexual harassment." But she politely refuses, citing her private and morally conservative family, who would have a hard time with such a public airing of what happened.

That night, though, Olivia is watching an interview with the founder in which he touts S-Talk's biggest innovation, an AI named Daisy that speaks in Olivia's voice (and that can get very smutty once its parental controls are turned off). Just like that, she changes her mind, announcing to her visiting parents that she's not going to go home with them, after all: She's going to stay and fight.

Michael is dismayed that Olivia wants to sue for cloning her voice and identity; Michael argues that it's not as strong a case as sexual harassment, but he eventually agrees. As they work out of an IHOP, they chat. We learn that her parents are Christian publishers who baby her, and his father is a high-powered celebrity attorney. Oh, and S-Talk is countersuing them for $18 million.

Olivia is nervous as they go to court, and with good reason: She and Michael represent each other, and his case gets thrown out right away. But when Michael steps up to represent her, he points out that the judge deciding the case has financial ties to S-Talk and should recuse himself; when the judge does, he's replaced by a new justice who's much more open to hearing both cases. And Christy, whom S-Talk has also fired for taking calls from Michael, winds up working with the duo as a fixer of sorts — when she's not taking shifts at TGI Friday's.

Christy works her vast network of family members in very helpful jobs to find Olivia and Michael an office they can afford. And the place is beautiful... until you walk past the lobby and see that the previous renters ran out of money and were unable to build the planned offices and conference rooms. "Look, we start winning some cases, we pay the rent, we build a new wall with each case," an optimistic Christy says. Michael grumbles that they're only going to need the space for a few weeks, but they do wind up taking it.

The court days don't go as smoothly as Michael and Olivia might've liked. Michael's father, Bayard (Joe Morton, "Scandal") shows up unexpectedly, throwing Michael off his game. Then Michael gets a very lucrative job offer, provided he sign a non-disclosure agreement and stop representing Olivia in her suit. Later, Olivia is unsuccessful in getting the court to agree that Michael's firing was racially motivated.

Things are looking bleak when Olivia decides to play her last available card. So she calls the S-Talk founder to the stand and, in a way that doesn't allow the judge or his lawyers to see what's on her laptop screen, flashes him the nude photo he sent her right before she was canned. Appropriately spooked, he urges his counsel to settle the suits with Michael and Olivia.

When they arrive at Price, Siffre & Associates, the lobby is bustling... with Christy's fellow TGI Friday's waiters, acting as employees and clients of the firm. There's a hairy moment where one of the temporary walls falls down, revealing the exposed ductwork and such in the otherwise empty office space, but the founder and his lawyers don't see it. (Phew.) Michael and Olivia accept their settlement sum soon after. What's more: We later learn that the settlement scared investors, setting S-Talk back a few years.

"There are no Silicon Valley law firms representing the exploited. I know. I tried to find one," Michael tells Olivia. He wants to start a firm that will stand up for the people the tech world exploits, and Olivia and Christy are into it. So they agree to rent the office for longer.

But before they can make anything official, a man shows up at the front desk, scratched up and yelling for help. "They're out to get me, and I need someone, right now. I need a lawyer," he says urgently.

"Welcome to Price & Siffre," Michael says with a smile. "Who's out to get you?"

Now it's your turn. Grade the premiere via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!