NBC Sets January Premiere for David Boreanaz’s Rockford Files

NBC will give its new version of The Rockford Files a special broadcast on January 2 at 8 p.m. ET, following the network’s NFL telecast. The episode will be available on Peacock the following day. The series moves to its regular slot on January 7, airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT, ahead of Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order.

Boreanaz plays James Rockford, a private investigator who returns to work in Los Angeles after prison. The character was convicted of a crime he did not commit, and his effort to establish himself brings him into conflict with police and organized crime.

Michaela McManus, Ilfenesh Hadera and Jacki Weaver also star. Mike Daniels is the writer and showrunner, and shares executive-production duties with Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman and David Hudgins. Universal Television is producing the drama.

To promote the show, NBC has set up a phone hotline at (760) JIM-ROCK. Callers can listen to Boreanaz’s recorded greeting and register for text updates. The promotional idea draws on the answering-machine message associated with the original series.

The original Rockford Files starred James Garner and aired on NBC from 1974 to 1980, running for more than 120 episodes. Garner later returned as Rockford in eight television movies made for CBS between 1994 and 1999.