Classic 1970s crime series with legendary detective tipped for TV reboot with "contemporary" approach

Beloved detective drama The Rockford Files is getting a modern update over 45 years since the series last aired.

According to Deadline, NBC has ordered a pilot reboot of the James Garner-fronted show which ran from 1974-80.

Created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J Cannell, the original Rockford Files follows ex-convict turned private investigator James "Jim" Rockford, who lives in a weathered mobile home in Malibu.

Renowned for his cautious, if unconventional, approach to conflict, Rockford represented a very different kind of hero, using his wit and ingenuity to outsmart his opponents.

The show received 18 Emmy nominations during its run and five awards, including Outstanding Drama Series in 1978. Garner also won an award for his acting, along with co-stars Stuart Margolin and Rita Moreno.

The reboot project will be written by Mike Daniels (Bluff City Law) and is said to bring a “contemporary update” to the classic show. As in the original series, the reboot will see Jim Rockford use his charm and intellect to solve cases around Los Angeles.

According to the official logline, it won’t take long for his quest for legitimacy to “land him squarely in the crosshairs of both local police and organised crime”.

No more details have been provided yet, with no suggestion as to who will step into Garner’s sizeable shoes as the atypical detective. It’s sure to be a highly contested role and we’ll be watching the casting search closely.

This isn’t the first time NBC has tried to bring Rockford back to our screens. In 2009, Steve Carell produced a reboot starring Dermot Mulroney and Alan Tudyk, for which a pilot was filmed but never broadcast.

Universal Pictures also began development of a feature adaptation in 2012, but the project was ultimately postponed following Garner’s death in 2014.

Despite previous reboot attempts failing to get off the ground, this news marks a significant decision by NBC to pick up new shows this year. Deadline reports that the network is aiming to make two or three more dramas in addition to several new comedies – the most pilots picked up by any broadcaster since the pandemic.

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