What To Know
- David Boreanaz will star as Jim Rockford in NBC’s reboot of The Rockford Files.
- Boreanaz shares what to expect from his version in a new interview.
- New series premieres in January 2027.
After consistently working since his Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel days — including starring in Bones and SEAL Team — David Boreanaz will be back on TV screens after just over two years off it with The Rockford Files in January 2027.
The series originally ran six seasons from 1974 to 1980 and starred James Garner as the ex-con-turned-private investigator Jim Rockford. Now, Boreanaz takes on that role in this update, which has, with its series order, gotten further than two previous tries at a reboot: Dermot Mulroney made a pilot in 2009, and Vince Vaughn could’ve starred in a movie in 2012. Neither went anywhere.
“Attempts to bring back The Rockford Files didn’t work out for reasons I don’t know about, but this feels like the right time to do it, and I feel like I’m now old enough to play him,” Boreanaz told Variety at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
He also shared, “People say that maybe you shouldn’t do it. But come on, how many James Bonds have there been? My attitude is, ‘How can I make James Garner proud?’ while still doing my own take on the character.”
That being said, it sounds like there will be plenty of nods for fans of the original series to enjoy, since the character’s backstory (time in prison for a crime he didn’t commit) remains the same.
Mark Hill/NBC
The series will also feature “the iconic car and Rockford still lives in a trailer home, and in a lot of ways parts of Miami still feel as though you’re in the 1970s,” Boreanaz revealed. (The pilot has been filmed.) “The scripts do a really great job of balancing that nostalgia with a fresh take.”
It also sounds like there should be some characters reminiscent of the original series — like Stuart Margolin‘s Angel, Jim’s former prison friend who was a con artist — based on the other details that Boreanaz shared.
“Within two days, he finds himself solving a case, and then there’s an even bigger case where people are after him, like the Mob and conmen, who he’s been involved with in the past. What I love about him is that he always gets the job done,” Boreanaz said.
That “bigger case” could be the through line of this new version of The Rockford Files. According to the logline of the NBC series, “Newly paroled after doing time for a crime he didn’t commit, James Rockford returns to his life as a private investigator using his charm and wit to solve cases around Los Angeles. It doesn’t take long for his quest for legitimacy to land him squarely in the crosshairs of both local police and organized crime.”
The Rockford Files, in addition to Boreanaz, stars Michaela McManus as an East Hollywood detective who has a romantic past with Rockford (complicated by him accusing officers of framing him); Felix Solis as Rockford’s best friend who turned his life around and is now a successful defense attorney; and Jacki Weaver as Rockford’s trailer park neighbor who’s an outspoken activist and think-tank analyst.
David Boreanaz’s son Jaden will also appear on the show, roughing up his father’s character in his debut role.
The “bigger case” that Boreanaz mentioned sounds just like the kind that would have Rockford mixed up with the cops and organized crime, bring him and Kate back in each other’s orbits, and make it even more messy with other officers’ involvement, given his previous accusations.
Writer Mike Daniels executive produces with Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman. Chris Leanza is a co-executive producer. Director Greg Mottola also executive produces the pilot.
What are you hoping to see in the new Rockford Files with David Boreanaz? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Rockford Files, Series Premiere, January 2027, NBC