It’s a testament to Cupertino‘s writers that the CBS drama has now brazenly dissected real-life issues for four consecutive weeks without getting monotonous or sanctimonious about it. “A.J. & Buddy” unpacks the ongoing crises of betting apps/“prediction markets” like Polymarket and Kalshi, particularly in terms of—timeliness alert—election interference. The case seamlessly acts as a jumping-off point to go deeper into its protagonists’ inner lives, particularly as Michael and Olivia go through the classic “My client’s personality mirrors my own” experience. The various elements of “A.J. & Buddy” will remind you of Robert and Michelle King’s abundant network TV expertise—they do know how to keep an episode zippy, impactful, and highly entertaining.
Written by Joey Hartstone, this particular hour opens as a charming little rom-com. Christy has a meet-cute, dances, and hooks up with a stranger named A.J. Cutter (Ben Cook) at a club. The next morning, when she’s unknowingly whisked away in his private jet to the island of Saint Kitts, Christy learns this suave, sweet tech bro is fleeing the United States because he’s about to be arrested—and now Christy is trapped by his side. Luckily for A.J., his new beau has an in with two of the best lawyers in town. Christy quickly ropes Michael and Olivia in, who hop aboard upon realizing that the loaded A.J. can pay a $100,000 retainer, even if it means they have to personally dig out the cash from shoeboxes and baking powder cans in his lavish home and get briefly taken in by the cops for it.
Why is A.J. on the run, and why has his college pal/business partner, Buddy Lachlan, been arrested? A.J. explains to Michael and Olivia over the phone that the two of them co-founded the gambling app Wager Mode, and have made enemies out of their competition, another site called Polybetting. (I see what you’re doing there, Cupertino, and I respect it.) A.J. and Buddy started Wager Mode for fun, posing ridiculous questions like “Will Taylor Swift’s first birth be caesarean or vaginal?” as a way for users to place a bet and earn money if they win. Of course, this spiraled out of control. Bets are now being placed about which world leaders could be assassinated next or how many people might die due to a disease by 2027.
An obvious side effect of this, as District Attorney Sarah Clausen (Amanda Warren) puts it to Olivia, is the fear this could encourage deranged weirdos out there to go and kill a politician in order to collect on a big bet. The episode quite poignantly points out how such gambling apps are manipulated to try and affect election outcomes as well because they help push a narrative of which candidate is winning, which may or may not influence how people vote. It’s a complex and messed-up web.
So it’s a little surprising that Michael and Olivia—who have both been so anti-Big Tech—get caught up in A.J. and Buddy’s case wholeheartedly. It’s because they see a part of themselves in their respective clients. Olivia, in particular, sympathizes with the quieter Buddy, who has trouble speaking up for himself and is often given the short end of the stick. Clearly, she sees him as a kindred spirit, and that’s why she wants to give Buddy a voice. When the time comes for A.J. and Buddy to turn against each other to take a plea deal—it’s the only way one of them will make it out—Michael and Olivia also go up against each other (He’s representing A.J.; she’s representing Buddy).
Thankfully, their rivalry is short-lived, because the case doesn’t drag on for too long. Both A.J. and Buddy refuse to turn on each other. After spending hours bonding on the private plane as it flies above the U.S.-Mexico border, Christy convinces A.J. to do the right thing and turn himself in for further investigation, especially because Michael will be around to help him. Meanwhile, Olivia learns that Buddy is also a high roller on his own app, and has anonymously been placing bets on a couple of different elections. This anonymous account called Go For Broke is the DA’s real target, but for now, no one gives him up.
While all of this is going on, another dynamic brews inside the walls of the Price, Siffre, & Associates office. Natalia pops up to “check in on her investment,” only to be met with total silence. Eventually, Nichole drops in, and the two women connect over a friendly boxing match. As far as B-plots go, reuniting two stars of Girls5eva is as amusing as it gets—it’s just as fun to watch Busy Philipps and Renee Elise Goldsberry spar as it was to hear them harmonize together on the canceled-too-soon musical comedy.
Nichole reveals to Natalia that CultAI is suing the firm for illegally accessing the chatbot Bo, which means Michael and Olivia now have to fill in their investor on the shenanigans they’ve been up to with the so-called sentient AI. Knowing Natalia, though, I don’t think Bo’s presence is going to scare her off at all.
Stray observations:
- •As a prize for winning the case, Christy opens up a $3000 bottle of champagne that she stole from A.J.’s jet (along with other expensive toiletries). And it leads to Olivia taking her first sip of alcohol ever.
- •Natalia edits the 50/50 sign on the wall that Michael and Olivia put up to say 33/33/33 to indicate the trio’s equal partnership. With her finding out about Bo, I suspect Cupertino is about to make her a main character moving forward.
- •We find out that Olivia’s downstairs neighbor is a video game designer whose computers are so loud, she can’t get any sleep. Considering how randomly this scene is thrown in, I assume he’ll come into play later on.
- •A lot of great performances in “A.J. & Buddy,” but I wanted to shout out the easygoing chemistry that Stiller and Cook immediately developed for their characters. It’s the only way to believe A.J. is a decent guy, despite his mistakes, and why Christy would endeavor to support him. I hope he pops up again.
- •Programming note: Cupertino will air as usual on Thursday, November 5 and 12, but there’ll be a bonus episode between them on Sunday, November 8. Watch for my recaps of episodes five, six, and seven on the 5th, 8th, and 12th, respectively.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
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