USA’s “The Rainmaker” is a Traditional TV Legal Drama | TV/Streaming

To vibe with “The Rainmaker,” you first have to be down with its network, USA. The basic cable standard is not known for its cutting-edge or award-winning content (like, say, FX). But it has produced a reliable stable of procedurals, audience favorites, and even some cultural moments (see “Suits”). The USA Network certainly has its own aesthetic—a glossy veneer for beautiful people to traipse through. Plus, characters who deal, lightly, with some of the most dramatic events the human experience has to offer, including murder, betrayal, and the cost of ambition. 

“The Rainmaker” is true to type, and that’s not a bad thing. Yes, it seems the casting equally values sharp jawlines and acting ability. But the worst performance sin is a certain flatness from our two leads, Milo Callaghan and Madison Iseman. They’re not bad, but they’re not totally believable either. It is hard to step into Matt Damon’s shoes, perhaps especially in a serialized, network version of his 1997 movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Certainly, the weakest part of the show is the leads’ romantic tie. Their connection is all conflict and misunderstandings, which a few kissing scenes that fade to black do not counteract. This is not a couple to root for.

Based on a John Grisham novel with the author serving as executive producer, “The Rainmaker” also plays fast and loose with the details of the legal profession. Sometimes procedural law comes into effect. Other times, we’re just ignoring everything. And if you’ve even been friends with someone who took the Bar, you’ll know “The Rainmaker” is pure shenanigans when it comes to its student-to-lawyer pipeline.

THE RAINMAKER — Episode 110 — Pictured: (l-r) Lana Parrilla as Jocelyn “Bruiser” Stone, Milo Callaghan as Rudy Baylor — (Photo by: Christopher Barr/USA Network)

Still, the central case is compelling. A grieving mother (Karen Bryson doing the best possible with the role) is sure the hospital killed her recovering addict son when he went in for the flu. Rudy Baylor (Callaghan) decides to take her case after losing his job at the prestigious firm Tinley Britt, where his girlfriend Sarah Plankmore (Iseman) works. Tinley Britt is representing the hospital, and, surprising no one, the two baby lawyers end up on opposite sides of the case.

Along the way, there are courtroom battles, more deaths, some chases, clues to be found, and more. It’s pretty clear from the get-go who’s bad and who’s good, but not how it will all unfold. From showrunner Michael Seitzman, the action scenes are effective, thanks to strong pacing, music that enhances rather than distracts, and camera angles that build suspense. It’s old-fashioned TV/movie making, and when it’s done well, as it is here, it leads the audience by the nose.

Our young leads may be green around the gills, but their supporting cast is not. In a gender-flipped role that totally works, Lana Parrilla is Jocelyn ‘Bruiser’ Stone, Rudy’s sexed-up fighter of a boss. She’s having a great time and her eyes twinkle with mischief, her body oozes confidence, and when she’s challenged, her energy flares just right. P.J. Byrne plays Deck Shifflet, the Danny Devito role in the film, and Bruiser’s long-time associate and Rudy’s new partner-in-crime. He’s pitch-perfect, landing his comedic beats while never becoming grating. How he calls Rudy “boo-boo” made me chuckle every time.

THE RAINMAKER — Episode 110 — Pictured: (l-r) John Slattery as Leo Drummond, Madison Iseman as Sarah Plankmore — (Photo by: Christopher Barr/USA Network)

Then there’s John Slattery as the conniving partner at Tintley Britt. A self-described bully, he nails casual cruelty and pointed manipulation. But he is also able to embody a certain ambivalence and humor that keeps his character from descending into a snarling villain trope.

The costumes also signal well, with the characters even discussing their wardrobes. Bruiser’s sexy blacks and mauves and Sarah’s Farrah Fawcett hair transmit their different versions of femininity. Likewise, the variation in the male lawyers’ suits tells us whose fancy, whose not, and who values that type of class signifier.

Together, it all adds up to a comforting watch. “The Rainmaker” is stimulating enough without asking any broader questions. The closest we get is a single nod to painkillers leading to opioid addiction, but Kathy Bates’s “Matlock,” this is not. There’s no broader interrogation of the pharmaceutical industry, no mention of health insurance companies, and nothing that builds upon our COVID-era. Instead, “The Rainmaker” organizes itself around what appears to be a one-off crime with a cover-up, at least not in the first five episodes given to critics to screen.

Because the problem isn’t systemic, like, say, sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, “The Rainmaker” doesn’t have much to say. It’s a single story with, theoretically, no broader implications. Expecting an adaptation of a 30-year-old novel to offer meaningful insight into our current world may be too much. But “Forever” did it this year over on Netflix. “Nautilus” manages to keep the historical setting of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and resonate with our modern concerns. “The Rainmaker” doesn’t even try. It’s going for a politics-free world, and it achieves it. There’s nothing objectionable, but nothing much to chew on either.

Five episodes screened for review. Premieres on August 15th.

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