CBS has sent new drama Cupertino, the latest legal project from Robert and Michelle King, creators of The Good Wife, and Elsbeth, to series order. Set in San Francisco, the title is based on the city where Apple's headquarters are, and the show has been described as a "David vs. Goliath legal show". Perhaps most exciting, though, is that Mike Colter will return to the world of the Kings as the protagonist, a lawyer who has been fired by a Silicon Valley start-up intending to cheat him out of his stock options.
"Refusing to back down, he joins forces with another recently fired attorney to represent those taken advantage of by the tech elite, and help them fight back in a high-stakes battle against the Goliaths controlling Silicon Valley," reads the synopsis. Mike previously appeared on The Good Wife and The Good Fight as Chicago drug lord Lemond Bishop.
Robert and Michelle will direct the pilot and serve as showrunners, and it is thought it will make its debut on CBS during the 2026-27 TV season. Twelve episodes were ordered by the network earlier in 2025, and it is expected to lean heavily in a different direction to Elsbeth, which is known for its quirky and easy howdunnit episodes.
Cupertino will focus on modern-day issues surrounding the law industry, including power imbalances and ethics. In The Good Wife, Emmy-winner Julianna Margulies starred as Alicia Florrick , the wife of a disgraced politician who assumes responsibility for her family and returns to her career as a defense attorney. Elsbeth Tascioni – played by Carrie Preston – was an idiosyncratic but astute attorney who worked alongside Alicia and was a character from the series, and the sequel, The Good Fight.
© CBSShe was given her own spin-off, titled Elsbeth, which saw her move to New York City and join the NYPD to catch murderers utilizing her unique point of view. Wendell Pierce co-stars, and each episode has a high-profile guest star, with the likes of Alyssa Milano, Keegan-Michael Key, Nathan Lane, Vanessa Williams, and Stephen Moyer appearing, as well as Carrie's own husband, Michael Emerson, as Judge Milton Crawford, an adversary to Elsbeth.
During the creation of the character in 2010, Carrie had to build the character within the context of an established show and not drastically change the tone with Elsbeth's quirks, something she recently told HELLO! was "a way to test my own creative boundaries".
That balance also had to be found for the standalone series to ensure eccentricities didn't alienate new viewers, and three seasons in, those fears have been assuaged, with Elsbeth a commercial and critical hit, finding itself in the Emmys conversation this past season.
