The Rainmakerhas revealed its release date at the USA Network, bringing the John Grisham novel to the small screen. Previously adapted into a 1997 film, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola andstarred Matt Damon,The Rainmaker’s television adaptation is part of the USA Network’s plans to once again have more of a presence in the scripted programming space, giving the popular legal drama genre some very personal stakes.
After the television adaptation was first announced in June 2024, a press release confirms thatThe Rainmakerwill be released August 15. The legal thriller will debut on10 PM ET on USA Network, with episodes beingavailable to stream on Peacock a week later.
The news was accompanied with some first-look photos of the series, which are included below:
What To Know About The Rainmaker TV Adaptation
It Blends The Professional & The Personal
The Rainmaker’s story centers on Rudy Baylor (Rivalsstar Milo Callaghan). Fresh out of law school, Rudy faces off against the legendary Leo Drummond (Mad Men’s John Slattery). He also has to face off against Sarah Plankmore (Jumanji: The Next Level’sMadison Iseman), his ex from law school. The cast of the USA Network show also includes P.J. Byrne, Dan Fogler, Wade Briggs, and Robyn Cara.
Grisham is executive producing as well, alongside Jason Blum and David Gernert.
The saga gets twisted further when Rudy, alongside his boss (The Lincoln Lawyer’s Lana Parrilla) and her disheveled paralegal, pulls back the curtain on two connected conspiracies. What they find only deepens the mystery surrounding the death of their client’s son. Befitting its thriller premise,The Rainmakerhails from Blumhouse Television. Michael Seitzman, who previously created the drama seriesCode Black, serves as showrunner and executive producer for theJohn Grisham book adaptation.
Our Take On The Rainmaker
Legal Dramas Are Welcome
The originalRainmakercame out during a different time in terms of moviegoing. A mostly straightforward thriller, without too much as far as bells and whistles, could debut at the box office and be seen as a continuation of a reliable trend rather than a rare outlier.The Rainmakerunderperformed compared toThe Firm, with the latter grossing six times its budget, but the legal thriller was generally on the upswing.
The legal drama, in the 2020s, has faded from the big screen. Outside of the success ofThe Lincoln LawyerandMatlock, it hasn’t found much of a place on TV. But with the debut ofThe Rainmaker, in the final stretch of summer, could play a part in turning things around, even if it’s not likely to reach the apex it was at during the 1990s.
