Very similar to a rainmaker is an individual adept at bringing in new enterprise and income to an organization, USA is putting its wager on “The Rainmaker,” a brand new drama sequence premiering Friday and primarily based on John Grisham’s 1995 bestselling novel, to deliver viewers hungry for scripted content material again to the community.
As soon as a beacon of “blue sky” sequence like the sunshine, character-driven hit reveals “Monk,” “Fits” and “White Collar,” adopted by darker fare like “Mr. Robotic,” over the previous a number of years NBCUniversal, the father or mother firm of USA, has targeted totally on unscripted programming together with actuality, sports activities and different dwell occasions. Within the final 5 years, the community’s solely scripted sequence had been the second season of “Soiled John” (after the primary season aired on sister channel Bravo) and “Chucky,” which aired concurrently on Syfy and USA till the sequence resulted in 2024.
Whether or not “The Rainmaker,” developed by Michael Seitzman and Jason Richman with Blumhouse Tv, ushers in a brand new period of scripted sequence and viewers for the community stays to be seen, however the swing they’re taking is a giant one with a property identified in each the literary and movie house. It’s been 30 years because the “Rainmaker” novel was launched, changing into one of many fastest-selling books on the time — 300,000 copies had been bought in its first 4 days of launch. Adapting it for the large display screen was a no brainer; two years later, the function movie starring Matt Damon would hit theaters.
For the 10-episode sequence, of which Grisham is an govt producer, the e book’s Memphis locale has been shifted to present-day Charleston, S.C., the place scrappy however good regulation college graduate Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) will get sacked on his first day at prestigious agency Tinley Britt when he rubs authorized legend Leo F. Drummond (John Slattery) the flawed method. Determined for a job, he lands at a much less respected agency, J. Lyman Stone & Associates, owned by robust lawyer Jocelyn “Bruiser” Stone (Lana Parrilla) whose one different staffer is ambulance-chasing paralegal Deck Shifflet (P.J. Byrne).
However the stress is on instantly when Bruiser asks Rudy point-blank if he has what it takes to be a rainmaker for the agency. Proving himself might come ahead of he thinks when he digs into the mysterious hospital loss of life of a shopper’s son that begins trying extra like homicide, which opens a can of nefarious worms that retains issues heated for the drama’s first season.
Milo Callaghan stars as Rudy Baylor in “The Rainmaker,” a personality performed by Matt Damon within the function movie.
(Christopher Barr / USA Community)
Right here, newcomer Callaghan and TV veteran Slattery discuss sparring onscreen, what their characters might be taught from one another and the challenges Callaghan, a British native, had talking a South Carolina dialect — although the present was shot in Dublin, Eire.
With an adaptation like this, did you learn Grisham’s novel or stick to the present scripts?
John Slattery: I learn the e book and it has a slower develop than the present, by necessity. The present has to have some extra peaks to maintain folks’s curiosity, whereas the e book appears to be an extended curve. However I used to be excited as quickly as I learn it. I believed that it’s good to be the antagonist so far as having one thing energetic to play. I believed, “You recognize, if we execute this effectively, it’ll be a very entertaining courtroom potboiler.”
Milo Callaghan: We had all 10 scripts from the off, which is sort of uncommon, so I actually deep-dived the scripts, that are so tight. I felt prefer it sat in my chest rather well. Then I watched the movie, I learn the e book, and I believe John Grisham’s superb.
What was it about your characters that drew you in while you signed on?
Callaghan: Essentially, for me, Rudy Baylor is a child who’s grieving [his brother], after which he’s making an attempt to take duty for himself. His coronary heart’s at all times in the fitting place, and the great thing about the interactions he has with the opposite characters is all of them mentor him into realizing that the world’s possibly not the idealistic haven that he anticipated. Generally he has to be taught to bend and transfer his traces within the sand, however he has a very sturdy ethical character.
Slattery: You suppose Leo’s one factor, and then you definately see a facet that you just didn’t anticipate however, yeah, he’s a self-described bully. And being a profitable trial lawyer, there’s a bag of methods that in all probability grows with annually, so he’s in all probability fairly adept at utilizing all of them or no matter he wants given the scenario.
Leo and Rudy don’t hit it off proper off the bat, one thing evident when Leo challenges Rudy on his first day and is subsequently fired. Why precisely did Leo try this?
Slattery: The actual motive he fires him just isn’t, clearly, what he tells him, however possibly he sees a risk within the child being that his ethical code would possibly differ from the current administration [at Tinley Britt], so possibly you eliminate these folks. However Rudy’s good and I believe given Leo’s ego, he in all probability sees anybody adept as, “You remind me of myself.” However the benefit of Leo is you’ll be able to’t belief something he says, and that I discover fascinating.
Callaghan: I’d say they’re extra alike than you’d suppose. They each clearly have a present for rhetoric, and so they’re each bullish. My sense is that Leo has discovered to curb his enthusiasm and discovered that energy isn’t essentially in bulldozing right into a scenario. And he lets Rudy slip up quite a bit. Loads of his victories are giving Rudy the chance to shoot himself within the foot versus capturing him within the foot, and that’s undoubtedly discovered conduct. However Leo’s the man that everybody needs to be. It’s a basic David and Goliath scenario.
Rudy is among the many new hires at Tinley Britt, however he doesn’t final the day.
(Christopher Barr / USA Community)
The younger legal professionals like Rudy and his girlfriend Sarah (Madison Iseman), who works at Tinley Britt, clearly have issues to be taught from Leo — however does he have issues to be taught from them?
Slattery: He might not suppose he does, however all people does. And Maddie’s character, Sarah, lets him understand it. He sees himself in her as effectively, and possibly he sees one thing that he might use to his benefit, which is her loyalty to Rudy. He’s at all times seeking to be taught one thing, whether or not it’s from somebody or simply the cracks of their armor or the knowledge he can wheedle out of any person.
Callaghan: I used to be the youngest particular person on that set and, in the identical method, Rudy is the youngest particular person within the enterprise that he’s in. He’s acquired Deck and Bruiser and even Leo and all of those individuals who have so a few years on him and so many experiences on him. Whereas I do suppose he teaches them issues, they’ll draw him right into a extra real looking view of the world.
There’s a scene within the first episode the place Sarah is speaking to Leo and he drops French fries on the ground for her to choose up. Are we supposed to love him in that second?
Slattery: Does he actually care what anyone thinks of him, like these youngsters who’re simply beginning out? I don’t suppose he’s frightened about anyone else’s opinion. So far as the viewers goes, I’m unsure how necessary that’s both whether or not you want Leo or not.
Authorized dramas include quite a lot of scenes set within the courtroom. How was engaged on these collectively?
Slattery: I wager you there isn’t quite a lot of a protracted record of actors who go, “Oh, good, I get to spend two weeks within the courtroom.” It’s not conducive oftentimes, and generally you’re like, “Wait, wait, what episode is that this and what scene?”
Callaghan: John instructions presence, and he’s additionally very unfastened and by no means does it the identical method twice. It’s at all times a dance. … In all probability the most important privilege of working with him is that it’s simply completely different each time. He may very well be a critic and he might inform you what he considered what you had been doing, however that first day was incredible. He acquired up and we simply went at one another, and it actually felt like that was a giant second.
Slattery: I believe doing one thing the identical method is a waste of time. I imply, why do it twice the identical method? They have already got that model. Having been on the opposite facet and edited a bunch and directed a bunch, it wasn’t till I did that that it actually sunk in.
“John instructions presence, and he’s additionally very unfastened and by no means does it the identical method twice. It’s at all times a dance,” says Milo Callaghan about his co-star within the courtroom. (Christopher Barr / USA Community)
Bruiser (Lana Parrilla) brings Rudy (Milo Callaghan) aboard at her agency, and he’s challenged by ethical questions. “His coronary heart is at all times going to be within the place, nevertheless it’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” Callaghan says. (Christopher Barr / USA Community)
Vets like Leo and Bruiser are used to crossing ethical traces, however how will Rudy react when his morals are challenged?
Callaghan: His coronary heart is at all times going to be within the place, nevertheless it’s a conundrum, isn’t it? Even in life, morality is such a humorous factor as a result of no matter your coronary heart being in the fitting place, nobody sees themselves because the unhealthy man besides Leo Drummond, who sees himself as a bully. So with Rudy, there’s at all times a component of: Has he lived sufficient years or had sufficient experiences to actually decide what’s proper and flawed?
Milo, how difficult was it to do the American accent? On prime of the present being set in South Carolina, it was additionally shot solely in Dublin, so that you in all probability additionally had an Irish accent floating about.
Slattery: I didn’t know … the state of present enterprise in the US was that you just go to Dublin to double for South Carolina. That’s how screwed up it’s in Los Angeles.
Callaghan: Any Brit doing an American accent feels a sure degree of tension, however I drilled it and drilled it. I had an awesome dialect coach known as Jude McSpadden who was incredible, and he or she saved me on observe. Then, additionally, P.J. Byrne (Deck) wasn’t shy to look me within the eye once in a while and say, “Why are you saying it like that?” I had an awesome group of people that had been actually hypercritical of it when the accent fell off, which wasn’t actually because I labored arduous.
Slattery: Milo was in each scene mainly, and he’s doing an American accent besides, which does bizarre issues to folks. Your voice goes up an octave otherwise you begin to stroll in another way. It’s a little bit of a head journey. However he did an awesome job.
