John Grisham (novel) & Michael Seitzman (creator)

CAST

Milo Callaghan
John Slattery
Madison Iseman
Lana Parrilla
P.J. Byrne
Robyn Cara
Dan Fogler

Review

I checked out the pilot of The Rainmaker, the new TV adaptation of John Grisham’s book, and honestly, it’s got that classic legal drama vibe with just enough twists to keep me hooked. I’m not quite sure if it’ll be a case-of-the-week structure or one big case for the season, but either way, they threw me for a loop in the pilot when my assumptions about a situation completely flipped. I thought someone was in danger, not the danger. I love it when a show does that, just enough to make you rethink the “template.”

The character setups are pretty on the nose: Rudy’s dealing with some family drama, dad’s gone, mom’s checked out and under her new boyfriend’s thumb, and he’s helpless (all muscle, no action) to step up. I’m calling it now: we’ll probably have to wait until around the latter half of the season, maybe episodes 6 or 8, before anything actually changes there. And then there’s Sarah, Rudy’s girlfriend from law school. She’s smart, ambitious, working at the big firm, and somehow still okay with looking the other way when the men in the room throw their weight around. Let’s just say I’m not rooting for this relationship to last. Rudy, buddy, you can do better.

But here’s the thing: this show is fun. It’s not trying to be the most realistic courtroom drama on TV, but it has that easy, breezy energy that reminds me of the old networks’ lineups, shows you could binge on a weeknight without feeling like homework. The mix of Rudy, Bruiser, and Deck already has some scrappy, underdog charm, and Slattery as Leo Drummond is just chewing scenery in the best way.

Bottom line? The Rainmaker feels like it might just scratch that itch for a slick, entertaining legal drama. Familiar? Sure. But sometimes, familiar done well is exactly what you want.

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