NBC is officially dipping back into television history.
The network has ordered a pilot for a reboot of The Rockford Files, a genre-defining detective series that made James Garner a full-fledged TV icon after his five-season run on Maverick in the 1950s and '60s.
According to Deadline, the contemporary update is being written by Mike Daniels, with Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly executive producing. Universal Television will serve as the studio. The pilot marks NBC’s first drama order of the 2026 broadcast cycle and signals the network’s renewed interest in a more traditional pilot season model ahead of the May upfronts.
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The reboot will reimagine Jim Rockford for a present-day setting while staying true to the character’s core appeal. In the original series, Rockford was a wrongly convicted ex-con who rebuilt his life as a private investigator in Los Angeles, relying more on charm, wit, and persistence than brute force.
That offbeat approach set The Rockford Files apart from the sharper-edged TV detectives of its era and helped make the show a long-running hit for NBC from 1974 to 1980.
Created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell, The Rockford Files earned 18 Emmy nominations during its original run and won five awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. Garner and co-star Stuart Margolin both received acting Emmys for their work on the show.
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The series has remained a standout in television history, even landing on TV Guide’s list of the greatest TV shows of all time. Its influence can still be felt in modern detective dramas that favor flawed, reluctant heroes over polished super-cops.
The Rockford reboot also isn’t NBC’s first attempt to bring the franchise back. A previous remake effort reached the pilot stage in the 2010s, and Universal Television has explored multiple revival concepts over the years, underscoring the enduring appeal of the character.
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Perhaps the Next in a Line of Successful '70s Reboots
Over the past two decades, several reimagined ’70s and ’80s TV series have found new life with modern audiences, including Battlestar Galactica, Hawaii Five-0 , One Day at a Time and Dallas. NBC is clearly hoping The Rockford Files can follow a similar path by pairing nostalgia with updated storytelling.
Casting details and a potential premiere window have not yet been announced, but the pilot order alone signals that Jim Rockford may soon be back on the case.
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