EXCLUSIVE: A famous PI is plotting an NBC return. The network has given a drama pilot order to The Rockford Files, a reboot of the classic Stephen J. Cannell series starring James Garner that ran on NBC from 1974-80. The project comes from writer Mike Daniels (The Village), producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly (Elementary) and Universal Television. Bringing back an iconic IP is a high-profile way to kick off the 2026 pilot season as the first order of this year’s broadcast cycle. As networks have pulled away from pilots and moved to year-round development, NBC is looking to bring back a yearly cadence many in the industry miss — greenlighting drama and comedy pilots in January and February and producing them in time for the May upfronts for a spot on next season’s schedule. RELATED: 2026 TV Cancellations Photo Gallery: Series Ending This Year & Beyond It’s still early days, but I hear NBC is aiming to make a sizable (by current standards) number of pilots this season during the traditional window — 3-4 dramas and 2-3 comedies in addition to Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici’s PI half-hour, which has a pilot production commitment and received a California tax credit. (The Rockford Files makes it two PI pilots — a drama and a comedy — at NBC.) If the network hits the high end of its tally target, it would be the most pilots any broadcast network has done in a cycle since the pandemic. Written by Daniels, The Rockford Files is a contemporary update on the classic 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. RELATED: 2026 TV Series Renewals Photo Gallery Daniels executive produces alongside Timberman and Beverly via their Timberman/Beverly banner, with the company’s Chris Leanza co-executive producing. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio on the project which is sure to spark a closely watched casting search for the lead. The Rockford Files is a marquee title in the Universal TV library, and finding a smart, contemporary way to bring it back has long been on the studio’s wish list. The last major stab at a remake of the series came a decade and a half ago, also at NBC, with House and The Good Doctor creator David Shore as writer and Steve Carell as producer. The project went to pilot, starring Dermot Mulroney in the title role. Universal also developed a movie take with Vince Vaughn attached to star more than a decade ago. Created by Roy Huggins and Cannell, The Rockford Files starred Garner as ex-con turned L.A. private investigator Jim Rockford, who lived in a trailer in a beach parking lot. The show also starred Noah Beery Jr. as his father, a retired truck driver, as well as Joe Santos, Gretchen Corbett and Stuart Margolin. It received 18 Emmy nominations during its run with five wins, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting awards for Garner and Margolin. RELATED: Stuart Margolin Dies: ‘The Rockford Files’ Two-Time Emmy Winner Was 82 Daniels has a long history at NBCUniversal, where he created/executive produced the NBC drama series The Village and also worked on the network’s Shades of Blue, Taken, The Brave and Bluff City Law and on Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper In Berlin and Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. In addition to CBS’ Elementary, Timberman and Beverly’s TV series producing credits include CBS’ SEAL Team, FX’s Fleishman Is In Trouble, Netflix’s Unbelievable and ABC’s upcoming RJ Decker. Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy. Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong. Comment Name Email Website Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Reboot is likelyy to be nothing more than use of the name to attract curiosity. Detective living by or on a beach on-the-cheap? Not interesting any more and has been repeated in Magnum, P.I. and Harry O. Hook of being a former prison inmate released on pardon for being innocent – barely mentioned in original and, except for Isaac Hayes episodes, irrelevant. A P.I. with a relationship with a high ranking police detective–repeated even more often than beach-residing P.I. What really characterized Rockford Files was the James Garner persona. If this new show, REGARDLESS of its name, turns out to be a well-written, well-acted “SoCal beach” detective series (whether the protagonist is Rockford or Harry O (which ended a few months before Rockford Files began), it could still be fun. You don’t mess with perfection. Leave it alone. Bring back FOUND! I’d actually give it a shot if it were on any different channel, but NBC has that reverse-Midas touch I hope it’s grounded and has grit. Football, basketball, baseball, Olympics, Law & Order, One Chicago… NBC doesn’t have the shelf space for a traditional pilot season.