The Rockford Files Reboot Sets Its NBC Premiere Dates in January
NBC will give its new The Rockford Files a sneak peek on Jan. 2, right after the network's NFL telecast, before the show's regular premiere on Thursday, Jan. 7. Deadline reported the dates.
David Boreanaz stars as James Rockford, the private investigator James Garner made famous decades ago. This version updates the character to today. Rockford has just been paroled after doing time for a crime he did not commit. He picks up his old trade and takes on cases around Los Angeles.
Michaela McManus, Ilfenesh Hadera and Jacki Weaver co-star alongside Boreanaz. The show is produced by Universal Television, part of Universal Studio Group.
Writer Mike Daniels is the showrunner, meaning he runs the writers' room and oversees the day-to-day making of each episode. Daniels, Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman and David Hudgins are all executive producers. Hudgins, who ran the crime dramas FBI: Most Wanted and CIA, joined the project after the pilot was made.
The timing matters for viewers' evenings. The show takes the 8 p.m. Thursday slot in January, replacing The Traitors: New Blood. It then sits in NBC's Law & Order block, with Law & Order: SVU at 9 p.m. and Law & Order at 10 p.m.
NBC first gave the project a series order for the 2026-27 season in May, which means the network committed to a full run of episodes rather than shooting a pilot first, as The Hollywood Reporter reported. The network's fall lineup lists the show as debuting in January 2027.
NBC has also built a playful promotion around the character. It is running a mock billboard-style ad for "Jim Rockford," which includes a hotline number. Callers hear a recorded message from Boreanaz, modelled on the answering-machine voicemails of the original series.
For anyone who has not seen the 1970s show, the reboot starts with the same core setup: a private eye who works for himself and does not always play by the book. For everyone else, the first date to mark is Jan. 2.
