The Rainmaker, on USA

After the great stress and expense of law school, incoming associate expect to take their place as newly minted masters of the universe. Unfortunately, Rudy Baylor couldn’t quite cross the finish line into the promised land, because he was unwilling to pay the final costs of admission: his dignity and his personal integrity. Instead, he talked back to the bullying senior partner. At least Baylor will see Leo F. Drummond again, as opposing counsel, in showrunner Michael Seitzman’s The Rainmaker, based on John Grisham’s novel, which premieres Friday on USA.

Reportedly, Grisham considered Francis Ford Coppola’s 1997 movie to be the best film adaptation of his books, so the pressure is on for co-creators Seitzman and Jason Richman. It is hard to remember, but back then, getting cast as Baylor was career-making coup for Matt Damon, so British thesp Milo Callaghan can only hope for a similar boost. As a promising start, he sounds passingly accentless as the working-class Charleston kid on the verge of making good.

However, Drummond tries to use Baylor as a punching bag during new associates’ orientation at tony Tinley Britt. Baylor talks back, which gets him fired. The only firm left that will touch him expects their lawyers to cover their salary by drumming up personal injury business. Jocelyn “Bruiser” Stone and her luckless paralegal Deck Shifflet (a six-time bar exam flunker) might lack prestige, but they are colorful.

Baylor also has a line on a potential money-maker. Dot Black wanted to sue the hospital whose malpractice allegedly killed her son, but Baylor could not previously advise her, because the corporate medical group was a Tinley Britt client. Now, he would happily give his former (briefly) firm a black eye. However, things will get complicated, because his girlfriend Sarah Plankmore happens to be a junior Tinley Britt associate, who was just assigned to the hospital account.

As Baylor’s relationship frays, he risks the wrath of his neighbor’s abusive husband, who (rightly) suspects the trainee-attorney has eyes for his wife. Baylor also has the increasingly risky task of finding Melvin Pritcher, a former nurse fired by the hospital under suspicious circumstances, who will likely be news to fans of the book and movie.

Ironically, Seitzman & Richman’s departures from the source novel will make the series more “Grisham-esque” for viewers who only know the author from movies like The Firm and The Pelican Brief. Based on the first five episodes provided for review, they give the story a decidedly more thrillerish tone.

Indeed, Dan Fogler is massively creepy as Pritcher. His character might be new and different, but his performance works. Of course, John Slattery is back on familiar ground playing the arrogant and devious Drummond, but he still chews the scenery with relish.

Weirdly, Lana Parrilla can now proudly lay claim to playing the same role as Mickey Rourke, that of “Bruiser” Stone. Obviously, Seitzman & Richman did a bit of gender-swapping and backstory fudging. In their defense, it is a lot of fun to watch Parrilla sashay through her scenes, snarling at all the dumb men around her. Frankly, her portrayal of the cynical, hard-drinking, sexual confident Bruiser would not be out of place in a Bravo reality series.

Scare Tactics (Reboot), on USA

Most Star Trek and Star Wars fans would love to jump into the movies they love, but you wouldn’t want to be a part of the action if you are a horror fan. Except, maybe you would, if you were a psycho-killer. Hopefully, participating (as the “prankster”) in horror-themed practical joke shows offer a harmless way of satisfying those impulses. Scare Tactics was the brand-name of horror reality TV, outliving most of its imitators. Since nobody has any better ideas, executive producer Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw production company help reboot the franchise, but he does not host, when “Bedeviled,” the first new episode of Scare Tactics, premieres tonight on USA.

Peele was a solid host of his Twilight Zone reboot, so hopefully he is saving his hospitality cachet for something of similar cultural heft. Instead, we get “Flip,” a demonic horror-obsessed teen with a TV for a head. Flip feels like something a committee agreed on, so it won’t be shocking if a real host eventually replaces him. (Frankly, there are ought to be a dedication to original host Shannen Doherty, who passed away in July.)

Regardless, the first punking is quite cleverly executed. Two friends just “happened” to be passing by a chapel, where a mega-pregnant woman and her bridegroom are desperate to get married, but they have no witnesses, because all their invited guests were too scared to attend. It seems she is carrying Rosemary’s Baby, who will indeed become the Antichrist, if it is born out of wedlock.

There is plenty of gore and the old school stagecraft is impressive. However, some of the funniest lines sound like inspired ad-libs. Even the target laughs, despite the gross-out lunacy staged for his benefit.