This Reboot Makes the Least Sense of All

Let’s start with the theme song.

The 1970s gave us a crush of great ones, from “Barney Miller” to “Happy Days” and “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

“The Rockford Files” theme may be the very best, a ditty that meshed with the cop show’s irreverent charm.

The rest, of course, was up to James Garner.

The actor also starred in iconic films like “The Great Escape” and “The Americanization of Emily,” even earning an Oscar nomination for 1985’s “Murphy’s Romance.” For many, his TV work is his legacy.

He’ll always be the rumpled detective living in that less than glamorous trailer.

What series wouldn’t be blessed to have Garner as its star? His Jim Rockford was handsome and charismatic, reticent to fight but capable of finishing a brawl if needed. In short, “The Rockford Files” wasn’t “The Rockford Files” without him.

It was just another detective yarn. Tell that to Hollywood.

We’re getting a “new” Jim Rockford, the latest attempt to revive an aged IP. Does it matter that today’s TV viewers may have never heard of Jim Rockford, his “Files” or that inimitable theme song?

Of course not.

NBC has given out a pilot order to a reboot of the classic series “The Rockford Files.”https://t.co/T1wbUgiucv pic.twitter.com/gs7AessDIb

— Variety (@Variety) January 13, 2026

The show’s DNA will remain the same, from the hero’s prison past to his unorthodox sleuthing. But who can step in for Garner?

Good luck!

Some classic TV shows soared thanks to precise casting, not any remarkable premise. That hasn’t prevented other reboots from hitting the boob tube.

Remember “Kojak,” but this time starring Ving Rhames instead of Telly Savalas? That 2005 reboot failed to launch, with no insult to the versatile Rhames. That signature lollipop could only do so much heavy lifting.

The 2004 “Starsky & Hutch” big-screen adaptation failed to spark a franchise, but its $88 million U.S. haul proved the concept had some appeal. It helped to have “It” comic actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson above the title.

Back to the small screen, CBS revived “Magnum P.I.” without Tom Selleck in 2018, and the show’s lush setting and likeable lead (Jay Hernandez) helped it reach the five-season mark.

More recently, “Matlock” came back to life via Oscar-winner Kathy Bates. Once again, the late Andy Griffith couldn’t be replaced, duplicated or imitated, but the gender switch at least let viewers know the concept was the same, but little else.

That show remains a hit, and it likely explains the “Rockford” reboot.

Chances are, longtime fans will watch the new version with arms folded tightly across their chest, daring the show to recapture that ’70s magic. The very least they can do is bring back that theme song without a single note updated.