Image via Paul Drinkwater / © NBC / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Television history is full of fascinating one-season experiments that quietly disappear before audiences ever have the chance to discover them. That’s especially true when those shows feature major creative talent, leaving viewers to wonder how they somehow slipped through the cracks. As streaming platforms increasingly dig through network archives, some of those forgotten projects are finally getting a second life, allowing overlooked series to find new audiences years after they first aired.
One such example is Raines, a short-lived but intriguing police drama that debuted on NBC in 2007. Created byJustifiedand Silo creator Graham Yost, the seven-episode series stars Jeff Goldblum as an unconventional LAPD detective whose unusual investigative style sets it apart from traditional procedurals. While Raines never found a wide audience during its original run, the series is now available to watch for free on The Roku Channel, making it the perfect time to discover this strange and stylish crime drama.
What Is the Police Drama ‘Raines’ About?
Raines follows Michael Raines (Goldblum), an LAPD homicide detective with a highly unusual investigative technique. After returning to duty following a shooting that killed his partner, Charlie Lincoln (Malik Yoba), Raines begins coping with the trauma in an unexpected way: he involuntarily hallucinates the victims in his cases. When he arrives at a crime scene, Raines imagines conversations with the victim, creating vivid projections of who they might have been and how their life ended. As each investigation progresses, those imagined versions shift and evolve, correcting themselves as Raines learns more about the victim and the circumstances surrounding their death.
At first glance, the device might remind viewers of supernatural procedurals like Medium or Ghost Whisperer, where investigators communicate with the dead to solve crimes. Raines, however, takes a different approach. Rather than being supernatural, the hallucinations represent Raines’ method of processing the emotional and psychological dimensions of a case. The imagined conversations allow him to explore the human story behind the crime, with each interaction reflecting his attempt to understand the victim as a person while uncovering new clues. Once he solves the murder, the hallucinations disappear, underscoring that they are simply a manifestation of his mind working through the mystery.
The series also carries an impressive pedigree behind the camera. The pilot episode was directed by Frank Darabont, and the show’s structure often feels like a throwback to classic single-lead detective dramas, with Goldblum’s eccentric investigator guiding viewers through each case. At the same time, Raines features a strong supporting ensemble. Matt Craven plays Captain Daniel Lewis, Raines’ pragmatic and often skeptical superior, while Madeleine Stowe appears in a recurring role as Dr. Samantha Kohl, a psychiatrist who helps Raines navigate both the psychological toll of his work and his unconventional investigative instincts. Despite the compelling premise and talented cast, Raines lasted only seven episodes before NBC cancelled it, making it one of those intriguing network experiments that disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived. Still, Goldblum’s signature blend of warmth, curiosity, and dry humor makes the show well worth discovering.
Jeff Goldblum Is the Best Part of the Police Procedural ‘Raines’
Jeff Goldblum as Michael Raines and Dov Davidoff as Remi Boyer in Raines
Knowing Jeff Goldblum’s career, it’s easy to see why he was such a strong choice to play Michael Raines. From his performances in films like Jurassic Park and Independence Day, it’s clear that Goldblum has long had an uncanny ability to balance humor and sarcasm with warmth and sincerity. That mix of qualities works perfectly for a character like Raines, who often finds himself navigating both the emotional toll of homicide investigations and the strange mental process he uses to solve them. Even if the show’s premise wasn’t for everyone, it’s hard to ignore how watchable Goldblum is in the role.
The part plays directly to Goldblum’s strengths as a performer. His distinctive cadence, thoughtful pauses, and slightly eccentric energy give Detective Raines a personality that feels very different from the typical television detective. Instead of relying on toughness or bravado, Raines approaches investigations with curiosity and introspection, often trying to understand the human story behind the crime. Goldblum’s unique screen presence makes those quieter moments compelling, helping the show’s unusual storytelling device feel more emotional than supernatural.
Raines also served as something of a stepping stone for Goldblum’s television career. Just a couple of years later, in 2009, he joined Law & Order: Criminal Intent in its eighth season as Detective Zack Nichols, stepping in to replace Chris Noth as one of the show’s lead investigators. That role allowed Goldblum to further explore his offbeat take on the TV detective, and it’s easy to see some of the early groundwork for that performance in his portrayal of Michael Raines.
Although Raines ultimately aired only seven episodes after NBC halted production during its first season, it remains a fascinating reminder of how network television occasionally experimented with format and storytelling even before the streaming era made short-form series commonplace. Now that it’s free to watch, Raines works as a quick and easy binge, even if it wasn’t originally meant to be. For fans of Jeff Goldblum, or anyone curious to see a fun take on the genre before TV became saturated with quirky detectives and unusual investigative styles, it’s well worth seeking out.
