While the material mostly shines once it gets going, The Rainmaker greatly benefits from having a great cast carrying the proceedings forward.

The series is at its best when we are introduced to Pritcher and watch in horror as his character is exposed to the outside world. However, the story isn’t as fluid or solid in scenes involving Rudy and Sarah, which should evoke emotional resonance that doesn’t memorably materialize.

What’s strange and ultimately damning about this adaptation is that, despite the broadly detailed but engaging roster of lawyer characters, there’s very little courtroom drama in the first half of the series, and instead quite a lot of kidnapping, murder, and extraneous conspiracy.

There’s a noticeable lack of fire behind it. Which sums up The Rainmaker in a nutshell: It’s a likeable enough soap opera that’s only worth half of your attention.

It’s remarkable how much the older generation of lawyers ends up outshining their mentees. .... “The Rainmaker” labors mightily to give its protagonist some dimension, from a backstory about a death in his family to a subplot about intervening in his neighbor’s abusive marriage. None of it works.

While everyone does a good job in their roles, the story at the center of The Rainmaker feels like something we’d see in a CBS law procedural, not a Grisham-based legal drama.

The biggest impediment to enjoying a show that’s made to be nothing more than enjoyable is Rudy himself. Without more motivation than a boilerplate tragic backstory (his brother, who wanted to be a lawyer, died before he could realize that dream) and a general desire to be successful on his lost loved one’s behalf, there’s very little reason to invest in Rudy’s struggle, especially when compared to his easy-to-root-for past iterations.