People can’t get enough of the TV adaptation of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent. The popular 1986 novel was recently adapted into a series starring Jake Gyllenhaal for Apple TV+, and the legal thriller is getting rave reviews from critics. Now, the love for book-to-screen adaptations of this genre is continuing to go strong as one of John Grisham’s beloved novels is getting the treatment next. That’s right, The Rainmaker is heading to television, with strong talent involved behind the scenes.
According to a recent report by The Wrap, Grisham’s 1995 novel, The Rainmaker, is currently in series development at the USA Network. Michael Seitzman, who is known for creating Code Black for CBS, is set to be an executive producer on the project. He has been attached to the adaptation since it was previously in development at Hulu. Stumptown producer Jason Richman and Jason Blum are also involved in the project, and Grisham will be credited as a producer too.
The series will be the latest in a newfound collaboration between Lionsgate and Blumhouse Television, as they have a multi-project deal together. This will also be the second television adaptation of a Grisham novel as The Firm was adapted into a single-season show for AXN back in 2012. After the success of Suits this past year on streaming and the raves surrounding Presumed Innocent, the USA Network seems eager to reignite interest in legal dramas, and The Rainmaker may just be the perfect project.
The Rainmaker series will follow recent law school graduate, Rudy Baylor as he investigates conspiracies involving the death of his client’s son with his boss and a disheveled paralegal. He will be up against courtroom hot-shot Leo Drummond, who is working with his law school girlfriend.
The series is set to be a fresh new episodic take on the novel, which was previously adapted into a 1997 film of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Matt Damon and Danny Devito. The movie was met with critical acclaim, and it is widely considered to be one of Damon’s best films. So, the bar is high for this show.
Casting for the new series is yet to be announced, but it’s safe to say they will all have big shoes to fill.
However, if Presumed Innocent is an indicator of the potential this new series has, it’s a great sign. The Apple TV+ series also had a strong legacy to live up to, with the Turow material being previously adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford in 1990. However, the episodic nature of a series arguably gives more room for a mystery to unfold, and it will also be a beneficial storytelling structure for The Rainmaker.
Pre-production is still underway on The Rainmaker series, so it may be a while before it finally hits the small screen. In the meantime, you can revisit the previous 1997 adaptation of the John Grisham novel now with a Paramount+ subscription, and you can watch the latest book-to-screen adaptation of a beloved legal thriller by streaming Presumed Innocent with an Apple TV+ subscription.
For more information on other shows heading to the network and streaming in the near future, make sure to consult our 2024 TV schedule.
