Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17
Robert and Michelle King Lead Virtual Tour for CBS's Oct. 8 Debut 'Cupertino'
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17

Robert and Michelle King Lead Virtual Tour for CBS's Oct. 8 Debut 'Cupertino'

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 17

Summary

  • Robert and Michelle King guided a remote set tour of CBS's new drama “Cupertino,” directing an assistant with a tablet from Southern California rather than appearing in person in New Jersey.
  • Oct. 8 is the premiere date for the series, which is set in Silicon Valley but filmed in Kearny, N.J., where tax breaks and access to New York theater actors drove the production choice.
  • Kearny's warehouse set was designed with greenery, curved ceilings and unfinished spaces to evoke what Robert King called Silicon Valley's “fake-it-till-you-make-it” ethos.
  • Busy Philipps, one of the cast members, joked that the remote walkthrough felt like “Mom and Dad on FaceTime,” underscoring the show's virtual behind-the-scenes rollout.

Insights

Can a show about Silicon Valley succeed when filmed 3,000 miles away in a New Jersey warehouse just to save money?
Will running a multi-million dollar television production entirely through a tablet screen become Hollywood's bizarre new normal?
How will the creators handle the growing backlash over erasing the real demographics of the tech capital they claim to portray?