The new CBS legal drama “Cupertino” may be set in California, but it’s all filmed on stages and locations in New Jersey, where show business is booming.
The show follows attorneys Michael Price and Olivia Siffre, played by Mike Colter and Rachel Keller, who have been scorned by big tech companies and dedicate themselves to defending others who have been wronged.
“We wanna entertain them, but we wanna sort of raise their eyebrows and their attention to something that’s pretty important,” Colter said.
“Cupertino” is set in northern California, but it films in Kearny.
“It’s kind of great,” Keller said. “We have these beautiful stages because we’re trying to make beautiful New Jersey look like Cupertino.”
Emory Edwards, president and CEO of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, says it’s “absolutely fantastic” to have such a big production in the Garden State.
“This particular studio is 90,000 square feet,” Edwards said. “The state is seeing about $1 billion a year in film revenue, another $900 million investment in infrastructure.”
Actor Ella Stiller, who plays legal assistant Christy Palladino, says it’s “the honor of a lifetime” to make TV magic in New Jersey.
“You get access to the most amazing theater actors, and I’m a theater actor,” she said. “And then to get to go home and sleep in my own bed every night, it’s great. It’s the best.”
“It’s important because of the jobs that this business creates. It’s because of local vendors, the mom-and-pop folks that are being serviced by this business,” said David Schoner, senior advisor for the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission.
“It’s so amazing because it means the message is going out and it means a lot of people have jobs,” said actor Renée Elise Goldsberry, who plays attorney Nichole Ferebee.
“Cupertino” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on CBS.
A new episode will also air at a special time at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, followed by two encore episodes.
