NBC has long been interested in reviving the classic James Garner detective series The Rockford Files and now they may finally have found the right man to take Garner’s job. EW says they’ve heard rumors that Lost’s recently retired Sawyer Josh Holloway could be up for the part. Why? Because he’s a perfect fit.
There aren’t any serious talks involving Holloway at the moment, this is all just whispers in the hallway. But they’re good whispers. Right-headed whispers. Nobody will ever replace James Garner but I can’t imagine anyone else coming closer to slipping into Rockford’s sly shoes than Josh. Still David Shore, who’s in charge of the Rockford reboot, says it’s too early to start naming names and Holloway’s reps aren’t talking either. But Sawyer’s brief stint as a cop in Lost’s alternate universe episodes couldn’t have hurt as an audition.
The Rockford Files originally ran on NBC from 1974 – 1980. The show starred James Garner as an LA private investigator named Jim Rockford. Basically they took Garner’s popular wild west Maverick character and found a way to put him in a modern setting. Rockford was an ex-con who served time for a crime he didn’t commit. He lived in a squalid mobile home on the beach, being a PI didn’t really seem to keep him in luxury, and Rockford didn’t really seem to care about keeping things neat and clean. One of the things that set Rockford apart from the dozens of other PIs on TV at the time was his aversion to violence. He’d as soon talk his way out of a jam as pick up a gun. Whenever there was trouble, you’d usually find Rockford running away from it.
It may be too early for the reboot’s producers to start making a cast list but it’s not too early for us. What do you think, fellow TV viewers? Is Josh Holloway the perfect replacement Rockford?
