‘Cupertino’s Nik Dodani Breaks Down Vik’s Deadly Drone Case & What’s Next

After the big law brawls in Cupertino‘s premiere, it was time for Michael Price (Mike Colter) and Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller) to get to work on their first real case that, quite literally speaking, walked through their front door. Warning: Spoilers for Cupertino Episode 2, “Vik & Bo,” ahead!

Vikram “Vik” Malhotra (Nik Dodani) arrived at the tail end of the premiere, covered in dirt and various lacerations, and said he desperately needed an attorney. For what? Well, it turned out, he was in the middle of a deposition in the building next door and started to realize that the line of questioning was targeting him as the fall guy for a deadly incident.

After a drone in a show Vik had programmed fell and killed a man in front of his family, the victim’s widow was (understandably) furious and filed suit against the company that produced it. Since Vik was the one to code the event, he was, obviously, a witness in the case. During his testimony, though, he realized he was being thrown under the bus.

Once Price & Siffre got involved, the real truth of the catastrophe was slowly revealed through gamely and methodical questioning by Vik’s lawyers (though not before the widow smacked Vik in a moment of rage). In the end, Vik’s programming wasn’t the problem, even if he did play an unfortunate prank on his fellow coders therein. Since the company was also testing drones for military use and implemented budget cuts, faulty batteries were used during the show, and that’s what caused one to crash into the unfortunate spectator.

As a result, Michael and Olivia were able to secure a deal for Vik, along with attorney fees and a substantial settlement, and the case was closed (with the widow getting millions from the real culprits, of course). But Vik’s time with the firm didn’t seem done…

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After their mysterious new client, Bo (Rob McClure), video-ed in for a meeting, Vik spotted his visage as a deepfake, which allowed them to discover the truth: Bo was not a person, but an artificial general intelligence. Considering how many tech-centric cases Price & Siffre would be getting themselves into, Vik thereby made his potential value to the newfangled company known right away.

TV Insider caught up with Nik Dodani to break down the introduction of Vik and find out what’s next for him on Cupertino.

Let’s start with the dynamic shift that occurs once Olivia and Michael step into that room on Vik’s side. Does that change his confidence, or is he still super scared?

Nik Dodani: I think what’s cool about Vik is he’s client number one. He’s the first David taking on a Goliath, but I don’t think he’s looking at it that way. His company’s screwing him over. He is terrified, but he knows that the right thing to do is to fight back anyway. And so he’s one of those characters that I think will put himself in the scariest situations, but still do it because he knows it’s the right thing to do. He bets on Michael and Olivia when they barely even have a firm, and that kind of goofy courage is kind of what propels him through this episode and also the rest of the season.

Do you think he feels responsible or guilty at all about what happened to the man with the drone, or does he know that he just didn’t have anything to do with it?

He didn’t have anything to do with that. He really didn’t, and I think he knows his work. He knows that he is not responsible. I think, obviously, he feels incredibly sad and sorrowful and empathetic about what happened and that video that they show. I’m surprised at how many times they showed it.

Yeah, it’s brutal.

I admit, I was like, “Oh my God, we’re watching it again!” It is brutal, but it’s also real, and I think regardless, though, of the sadness of the tragedy, you ain’t gonna let another tragedy happen and get blamed for it. So he’s gonna fight back.

Elizabeth Fisher / CBS

The widow slaps him in the face. What’s he thinking in that moment? I mean, does he just understand why she feels away, or is he mad, or what?

When the widow slaps him, I think it makes him confront himself and grapple with the reality that even if he himself was not responsible for this particular accident, he is part of this industry and world that does cause a lot of harm and death. I think that slap like slaps it right into him, and it feels like a turning point for him, and that slap is partially why he sticks around with this team to help them whenever he can, because he realizes that the world that he’s been a part of needs to change.

Do you think there’s any part of that slap that’s why he maybe decided to try and take the deal that they had on the table initially, for him to take responsibility?

Oh, I think so. My favorite part about the slap is that I really begged them to let her do that for real. They just wouldn’t. They’re like, “It’s a liability.” And I’m like, “But I’m consenting!”

Like you said, they show it so many times, the video. Why do you think it took Vik so many times to notice the military battery thing?

Vik’s looking at the video in a way where he was being analytical, and I think obviously anyone watching the death of another human is going to be really disturbed and distracted. And I think Olivia helps him kind of focus in and be a grown-up for a second and be like, “Let’s figure this out.” Because it’s not just Vik’s innocence [at stake]; it’s also justice for this widow and their kids, right? She also deserves the truth, and we’ve got to do the right thing.

Another big moment in the episode is when his house gets invaded by fake officers. I just wonder: Do you think Vik would have been wise to the fact that these guys weren’t the real deal, or do you think he would have fallen for it like the manager did?

I certainly did not know that that was a thing that happened. It blows my mind that that’s a thing.

I don’t think Vik would have been any wiser because Vik is not like senior leadership at any of these companies. He doesn’t know about the shady operations going on in that way, and so I think he would have just been like, “OK.”

James Dimmock / CBS

We talked about how he didn’t notice the drone issue before, but he is the first one to notice that “Bo” is not a real person. What is it about that observation that comes so quickly to him?

I think he has probably seen so many different versions of deep fakes and AI-generated nonsense that he was able to spot it. I think he’s very much in that world. I think he is fascinated by the technological advancements and capabilities of the tech, and I like to think he grapples with the ethics of it. So he just knows it really well. And when he sees Bo, he’s like, “Oh, I recognize this.”

You mentioned earlier that maybe the pursuit of justice is what motivates him to join the team. But do you think it’s also that moment when he realizes, “Hey, I’ve got something to offer this team,” since he can see things they can’t?

Yeah, I think so. I think he realizes that his skill set and experience can be useful not just in furthering the industry, but taking it to account.

The first episode ends with what we just talked about. So, what can you tell fans about your character’s arc throughout the series? I mean, there are 20 episodes in this first season alone. So, what are we going to see from you going forward after this episode?

I think this experience in the first couple of episodes, along with the work that the law firm is doing, really opens up Vik’s eyes to the darker side of the tech world and the world that he’s been a part of for so long, helped build, made money from, and I think he turned a blind eye to a lot of the darker things for so long. I think over the course of the season, he gets a little more aware. He becomes more aware and gets a little more confident in his desire to help. So you see him become a witness on the stand to testify in different cases, and you see his confidence grow in that way in the courtroom. You also see his willingness to do things that are maybe a little not above board, technically speaking, to help them, because he wants to do what’s right. Also, I think he just likes hanging out with Christy.

Cupertino, Thursdays, 10/9c, ABC