{"id":2482652,"date":"2025-09-05T00:14:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-rainmaker-explores-what-it-takes-to-make-john-grisham-bad\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T00:17:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T04:17:47","slug":"the-rainmaker-explores-what-it-takes-to-make-john-grisham-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-rainmaker-explores-what-it-takes-to-make-john-grisham-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Rainmaker&#8217; explores what it takes to make John Grisham bad"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-rainmaker-explores-what-it-takes-to-make-john-grisham-bad%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2482652&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary discusses the television adaptation of John Grisham&#8217;s novel *The Rainmaker*, originally published in 1995 and previously made into a film by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997. The new TV series, airing on USA Network and Peacock, acts more as an homage than a direct adaptation, with significant changes to characters, their backgrounds, and motivations. <\/p>\n<p>While the novel centers on Rudy Baylor, a na\u00efve but resolute young lawyer fighting against a corrupt insurance company to help a grieving mother, the series transforms Rudy into an arrogant, top-tier law graduate who clashes with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-judicial-nominees-highlight-conflict-between-progressives-civil-rights-groups\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Judicial Nominees Highlight Conflict Between Progressives, Civil Rights Groups\">elite law firm<\/a> before fighting for justice. The character Dot Black is also reimagined as a clever and sassy Black woman, diverging from the book&#8217;s portrayal of a blue-collar Southern white woman. Another notable change is the conversion of bruiser Stone from a gruff male mentor figure into a female character with conflicting traits.<\/p>\n<p>The series shifts the main antagonist from an insurance company to a hospital involved in a wrongful death cover-up, further introducing a fabricated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trust-me-im-a-nurse-mother-walked-in-on-alleged-serial-killer-nurse-murdering-her-newborn-court-hears\/\" title=\"\u2018Trust me, I\u2019m A Nurse\u2019: Mother Walked In On Alleged Serial Killer Nurse Murdering Her Newborn, Court Hears\">serial killer nurse<\/a> character, which moves the narrative away from systemic critique toward a sensationalized, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >true-crime style drama<\/a>. The article criticizes several storytelling choices-such as overly explicit dialog and on-the-nose visual cues-arguing that these underestimate viewers&#8217; intelligence and reflect broader issues in mass-market TV writing. Ultimately,this adaptation illustrates the tension between prestige television and popular entertainment,sacrificing the novel&#8217;s original political and narrative strengths for ideological reimaginings and crowd-pleasing formulas. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">&lsquo;The Rainmaker&rsquo; explores what it takes to make John Grisham bad<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/politics\/535024\/grisham-im-not-good-at-being-accurate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">John Grisham<\/a>&rsquo;s <em>The Rainmaker<\/em> started life as a novel (1995), became a film by Francis Ford Coppola (1997), and is now a television series on USA and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2796636\/peacock-exclusive-playoff-game-most-streamed-event-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Peacock<\/a>. Somewhere, creative teams are readying a rock opera and a Saturday morning cartoon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The new show is better described as an homage to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/movies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> movie<\/a> than as an adaptation of them. Familiar names pepper the script, but characters&rsquo; circumstances, identities, and motivations have been significantly altered. To be sure, creator Michael Seitzman, previously an executive producer on the network thrillers <em>Code Black<\/em> and <em>Quantico<\/em>, is under no obligation to retell the same story. Still, the show&rsquo;s changes are instructive, as is usually the case when Hollywood types reveal what they think we want to see.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/3793476\/youtube-tv-carrying-great-american-family-federal-communications-commission-involvement\/\">YouTube TV carrying Great American Family after FCC involvement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/3793046\/andy-beshear-podcast-national-platform-siriusxm-deal\/\">Andy Beshear&#8217;s podcast gets national platform with SiriusXM deal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3790692\/coldplay-chris-martin-faces-backlash-after-calling-israeli-fans-equal-humans\/\">Coldplay Chris Martin faces backlash after calling Israeli fans &#8216;equal humans&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Grisham&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/novel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">novel<\/a> tells the story of Rudy Baylor, a fresh-out-of-law-school upstart who stumbles onto the case of a lifetime. Unable to secure employment with a white-shoe practice, the young man joins the law offices of &ldquo;Bruiser&rdquo; Stone, a hulking miscreant with the ethics of a card sharp. For 450 pages, Rudy learns to chase ambulances, falls in love, and serves his single important client, a bereaved mother whose son&rsquo;s medical insurance claim was illegitimately denied. To the extent that the book has politics, they are pure Clintonian populism: Unless a champion intervenes, working-class Americans will get screwed by The Man every time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">John Slattery as Leo F. Drummond in &ldquo;The Rainmaker.&rdquo; (Courtesy of USA Network)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>USA&rsquo;s series is up to something different. The new Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) is no average Joe, but a top-of-his-class superstar with a massive ego. Fired from elite law firm Tinley Britt after an argument with his boss (John Slattery), Rudy barely pauses for breath before launching into righteous combat. The show&rsquo;s litigant par excellence has been updated as well. Beneath Grisham&rsquo;s pen, Dot Black was a blue-collar chain-smoker meant to stand in for all downtrodden Southern whites. Here, played by the black actress Karen Bryson, the character is all brains and sass. &ldquo;A little tart,&rdquo; she remarks of a glass of lemonade. &ldquo;So am I.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There is, of course, no harm in broadening a story&rsquo;s &ldquo;representation.&rdquo; If a black Dot Black heals a wound or two, who am I to quibble with the decision? The problem comes when ideological casting choices begin to undermine the narrative, contravening Grisham&rsquo;s famously effective structure and pacing. Case in point, the character of Bruiser Stone (Lana Parrilla), reimagined here as a buxom seductress with a heart of gold. Never mind that Coppola cast Mickey Rourke in the role &mdash; tough shoes to fill. It simply makes no sense, dramatically, that Rudy&rsquo;s crooked taskmaster should also be an ardent defender of the dispossessed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Other changes are even less thoughtful. Whereas the book&rsquo;s and the movie&rsquo;s antagonist is a cut-rate insurance house that denies a bone marrow transplant, the series&rsquo;s big bad is a hospital guilty of wrongful death. At a glance, this makes a cynical kind of sense. The notion that black Americans receive inferior care has had renewed political purchase at least since the publication of a now-debunked 2020 study on black infant mortality. Yet, bizarrely, the TV show undercuts this angle by inventing a serial killer nurse from whole cloth, a move that shifts the blame away from systemic forces and toward a motiveless scoundrel. Throw in automobile stakeouts and several other hard-boiled flourishes, and one ends up with a different genre altogether: the courtroom thriller reborn as a half-woke, &ldquo;true crime&rdquo;-inflected dramedy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the literary magazine <em>n+1<\/em> made a splash by exposing Netflix&rsquo;s &ldquo;casual-viewing&rdquo; strategy, whereby characters &ldquo;announce what they&rsquo;re doing&rdquo; onscreen so that even distracted audiences can follow along. That virus, I fear, is spreading. Note, for example, Rudy&rsquo;s first introduction to Bruiser&rsquo;s converted offices. First, the camera lingers on a fading &ldquo;Taco Hut&rdquo; sign. Next, a character remarks, &ldquo;It used to be a Taco Hut.&rdquo; Given the attention deficit of many of my fellow Americans, I suppose I shouldn&rsquo;t be offended. Nevertheless, the moment is tough to swallow. Would any self-respecting show really risk insulting the viewer&rsquo;s intelligence so flagrantly?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, <em>The Rainmaker<\/em> is perhaps most useful as a case study in the difference between prestige and &ldquo;popular&rdquo; television. An exchange between Rudy and his girlfriend, Sarah (Madison Iseman), provides a neat illustration of the point:<\/p>\n<p>Sarah: &ldquo;You know how my father says the flip side of everyone&rsquo;s best quality is their worst quality?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rudy: &ldquo;What&rsquo;s my best quality?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sarah: &ldquo;You never back away from a fight.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rudy: &ldquo;What&rsquo;s my worst quality?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/3758103\/outlander-blood-of-my-blood-series-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HIGHLAND PREQUEL <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sarah: &ldquo;You never back away from a fight.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There, in a single exchange, is nearly everything that is wrong with mass-market TV writing. In a good script, Sarah&rsquo;s last answer would be replaced with silence, accompanied, if necessary, by a raised eyebrow. <em>The Rainmaker<\/em>, by contrast, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-selection-of-jd-vance-as-his-running-mate-could-have-significant-consequences-for-ukraine-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s selection of JD Vance as his running mate could have significant consequences for Ukraine - Washington Examiner\">simply doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t believe we&rsquo;ll get the joke without help. &ldquo;How stupid do they think we are?&rdquo; my wife asked, watching alongside me in a state of increasing perplexity and dismay. Let&rsquo;s not keep watching long enough to find out.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Graham Hillard is editor at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal and a <\/em>Washington Examiner<em> magazine contributing writer.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rainmaker&#8217; TV show strays far from Grisham&#8217;s original<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":956,"featured_media":2482653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/LA.TV_.091025.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32557,62632,62634,62633,62635],"class_list":["post-2482652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-book-review","tag-john-grisham","tag-legal-thriller","tag-the-rainmaker","tag-writing-style"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/LA.TV_.091025.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/956"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2482652"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2482656,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482652\/revisions\/2482656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2482653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}