Classic ’70s crime series with ‘maybe the best detective character ever conceived’ to get reboot

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The popular 1970s detective show, The Rockford Files, is being revived for a new series. This isn’t the first attempt – there have been two previous reboots in the last 15 years. The original show, which aired from 1974 to 1980 and continued with TV movies until 1999, followed a private investigator working to solve crimes while struggling to rebuild his life after being wrongly convicted and released from prison.

NBC attempted to bring the show back with House and The Good Doctor creator David Shore, and Universal later tried to make a movie starring Vince Vaughn, but unfortunately, neither effort came to fruition.

NBC has ordered a pilot for a new drama series from Mike Daniels, who previously worked on The Village (2019), according to Deadline.

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The network is quickly moving forward with pilot episodes in January and February, aiming to have them ready for the May presentations. These presentations are designed to convince decision-makers to order a full season of the shows.

According to the report, NBC plans to produce seven to nine pilot episodes, potentially setting a new record for the most pilots created by a network in a single season since the start of the pandemic.

James Garner, famous for The Great Escape, played the main character Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files and earned an Emmy Award for his performance. The show received a total of five Emmy Awards throughout its run, from a total of 18 nominations.

Fans still love this film, giving it an average rating of 8.2 out of 10 based on more than 12,000 reviews on IMDb.

I honestly think Jim Rockford is one of the greatest TV detectives ever! A lot of fans – and I totally agree – say he’s even among the best characters in television history. It’s really James Garner, though. He just brought so much charm to the role and played Rockford perfectly.

Critics also loved the show’s writing, highlighting its blend of exciting action, thrilling suspense, witty humor, heartfelt emotion, and genuine human connection. They appreciated that it was enjoyable for everyone without being overly simplistic or talking down to the audience.

Honestly, a lot of us were bummed when the show ended back in 1980. We all wanted more! But we totally understood it had to happen because the actor was dealing with some health problems at the time, and his well-being came first.

The Rockford Files will air on NBC if picked up for a full season.

The latest issue of Living Legends is out now, and it’s dedicated to the incredible Dolly Parton! You can find a copy of ‘Dolly at 80’ at newsagents and online for only £8.99.

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2026-01-15 14:55