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USA Network's The Rainmaker, based on John Grisham's 1995 best-selling legal novel, premiered on August 15, 2025.
The novel was also adapted into a 1997 film starring Matt Damon in the lead role of lawyer Rudy Baylor.
While Grisham's story is primarily set in mid-1990s Memphis, Tennessee, the USA Network's latest series takes some creative liberties by changing the geographical and cultural landscape of the story. The series is set in present-day Charleston, South Carolina, providing a new aesthetic and regional subtext to Grisham's legal tale.
The Rainmaker follows a recently graduated lawyer, Rudy Baylor, who is fired from his prestigious white-collar firm on his first day. Desperate for a job, he starts working for a less reputable firm, J. Lyman Stone & Associates, under Jocelyn Bruiser Stone and takes on a wrongful death suit against his former employer.
The series stars Milo Callaghan, John Slattery, Dan Fogler, Lana Parrilla, and Madison Iseman in the lead roles.
More on The Ranimaker's changed setting in our story.
Where is The Rainmaker set? Exploring the setting of the USA Network's adaptation
Like many other adaptations, USA Network's The Rainmaker takes many creative liberties and makes some minor changes to this popular Grisham adaptation. However, one of the major changes featured in the show is the setting of John Grisham's story.
The 1995 novel is set in Memphis, Tennessee, US, where protagonist Rudy Baylor is a graduate from Memphis State Law School. Grisham's story follows Rudy as he secures a job in a large Memphis law firm, Tinley Britt, and his subsequent firing on day one.
While USA Network's The Rainmaker keeps the particulars of Grisham's story the same, the adaptation is moved to present-day Charleston, South Carolina. Rudy Baylor is a hotshot young law graduate from a South Carolina Law School. In addition, the adaptation also shifts Grisham's Memphis-based law firm, Tinley Britt, to Charleston, bringing in a different regional subtext in the adaptation.
In addition, Matt Damon's 1997 film adaptation was also set in Memphis. like Grisham's novel, which makes the USA Network series different. Setting it apart from its predecessor, The Rainmaker series shifts the cultural and regional flair of Grisham's Memphis-based story and instead pivots it to a present-day Charleston.
What are the other changes in The Rainmaker novel and the series?
In addition to the setting of the show, The Rainmaker series also makes a bold change from the novel, which eventually complements its shift to present-day South Carolina.
Tapping into fresh character dynamics and women in power positions, the series gender-swapped Bruiser Stone's character, played by actor Mickey Rourke in the 1997 movie. The latest adaptation re-imagines Bruiser's character as a woman named Jocelyn "Bruiser" Stone, played by actress Lana Parrilla.
Gender-swapping Rudy's boss as a woman is certainly a bold choice on the show's part, and it achieves it flawlessly by geographically shifting its story to present-day South Carolina. Discussing this key change in an interview with ScreenRant, Parrilla said:
"First of all, I love that Bruiser's a woman. Let's just start there. How cool is that? And it did give me the freedom to explore all these different characteristics that weren't in the novel and weren't in the film."
In addition to these major changes, The Rainmaker series also made some minor changes, essential for a more soapier and thrilling story, necessary for a television adaptation.
While Rudy's personal life is not given much focus in the novel or the film, the series explores Rudy's relationship with Sarah (his girlfriend), opting for a more character-based approach.
Many minor characters from Grisham's novel are also given the spotlight in the series, as Slattery told USA Network:
“It lends itself well to 10 episodes. Michael Seitzman, the showrunner and writer of the show, made some changes... There are characters who are not prominent in the book who are in the show, and it’s tailored to leave you with a little cliffhanger after each episode."
The Rainmaker will release weekly episodes on the USA Network every Friday.
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