USA Network's 'The Rainmaker' Is Good, Actually

The Rainmaker premiered on the USA Network in August, with the first two episodes dropping simultaneously on Peacock. After that, new episodes arrived weekly on Peacock, until I switched to Peacock on Prime Video (because it’s easier to bundle all my subs there) and, thanks to licensing quirks, suddenly had to wait two weeks for new installments. It was frustrating and annoying, and honestly, it’s the same reason I stopped watching Revival on SyFy. Figure it out, Peacock.

But all of The Rainmaker is now streaming in full for Peacock subscribers, and it’s good, actually. Good in that classic USA Network sense. If you enjoy The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, there’s every reason to think you’ll like The Rainmaker too. Both have that “blue-sky” energy: light but not fluffy, clever without overreaching, and entirely satisfying.

Loosely based on John Grisham’s 1995 novel, The Rainmaker follows Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan), a brilliant young lawyer with authority issues. On his very first day at a corporate law firm, he clashes with managing partner Leo Drummond (John Slattery) over a legal interpretation and is promptly fired, leaving behind his girlfriend, Sarah (Madison Iseman), who will obviously end up pitted against Rudy in court.

Despite his stellar record, Rudy can’t land another job in Charleston, South Carolina (the series moves the story from the novel’s original Memphis setting) until he’s hired by Bruiser (Lana Parrilla), the no-nonsense head of a small, ethically flexible personal injury firm. The team includes Deck Sheflett (P.J. Byrne), a paralegal with a law degree who’s repeatedly failed the bar exam.

During his short stint with Leo’s firm, Rudy met a woman whose son died of an overdose in the hospital. Leo’s firm wanted to settle, but Rudy decides to represent her instead, pitting himself against his old firm and his ex-girlfriend in a David-versus-Goliath showdown (we’ll gloss over the obvious conflict-of-interest issues). There’s also a subplot involving Melvin Pritcher, a nurse who may have played a role in the overdose, adding another layer to the drama.

The setup and execution are straightforward, but the writing is solid, the cast is sharp, and The Rainmaker knows exactly what kind of show it wants to be: a high-stakes underdog story anchored by charisma and conviction. John Slattery makes for an excellent villain, Milo Callaghan is a worthy-ish enough successor to Matt Damon, and some of the supporting performances even outshine their film counterparts (Lana Parrilla > Mickey Rourke; John Slattery > Jon Voight). Still, as fun as P.J. Byrne is, there’s only one Danny DeVito.

All told, if you’re already subscribed to Peacock and want something light, engaging, and smart enough to keep you hooked, The Rainmaker hits the mark. And surprisingly, it has already been renewed for a second season — it had the highest debut ratings for a USA Network original in seven years (which may also be the last time that the USA Network aired an original?). Where the second second will stream remains unclear, as the USA Network is now owned by Versant, a company separate from NBC and Peacock. It probably also means that one should watch The Rainmaker sooner rather than later, before it is pulled from the streamer for parts unknown.