New to ThreeNow in January

December 16, 2025 0 Comments

The Rainmaker (January 12) is the second screen adaptation of the John Grisham novel, about a newly-graduated attorney who, having been fired on his first day at the flash law firm where his girlfriend works, joins a street-law practice — where his first case pits him against the boss who sacked him and exposes a dark conspiracy.

The Hollywood Reporter said it “ditches the book’s cynicism for more frivolous pleasures“, calling it:

A somewhat satisfying, thoroughly conventional legal thriller offering very few rough edges or opportunities for viewers to venture out of its fictional universe and into conversation with the real world. It’s safe, a little bit cowardly, and yet still entertaining enough.

But most critics were less generous, with the Wall Street Journal dismissing it as “overwritten, underwritten or just cliched”.

Gloomy six-part drama Summerwater (January 7) is billed as “an unflinching yet empathetic look at human nature across generations that provides a riveting portrait of the divided nation that is modern Britain”. Reads the blurb:

In a Scottish holiday park enduring unpredictable weather, the residents of Summerwater retreat attempt to escape life’s problems in the serenity of isolation … It turns out to be a mysterious, all-knowing place, where residents are confronted with their deepest desires and darkest truths. Weaving together the lives of several families, as they are observed closely from their disparate cabins, Summerwater shows how the simmering tensions between holidaymakers leads to a devastating climax.

“This bleak drama is a mess,” The Guardian lamented. “The acting is melodramatic, the tone bewildering and the plot is full of cartoonishly grim situations that go nowhere.”

Other reviewers were just as harsh. The Financial Times thought it “”stodgy” and while The Telegraph said it “successfully builds tension towards a dramatic finale … you probably won’t stick it out that long.”

Dougray Scott (The Hack), Shirley Henderson (Dept. Q) and Arnas Fedaravicius (The White Lotus) star.

Streaming the same time as their yet-to-be-announced linear debuts on Three are seasons four of The Traitors UK and The Traitors US, and S2 of father-and-daughter comedy Daddy Issues.

Originally scheduled for last month, Daddy Issues returns with Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) coming to terms with parenthood while Malcolm (David Morrissey) is just thrilled to be a grandad.

Also new are Scottish procedural Karen Pirie S1 (January 1) and Australian dramedy Offspring S1-7 (January 4).