‘The Rockford Files’ Reboot Adds Jacki Weaver to Cast

NBC’s The Rockford Files reboot pilot has added another star.

Variety reports that Oscar-nominated actress Jacki Weaver is joining the cast, led by David Boreanaz.

Weaver also joins Michaela McManus in the reboot of the James Garner-led ‘80s detective drama. Weaver is set to portray Karma in the pilot, an original character who was not in the original series. Per the character description, Karma is “Rockford’s long-time trailer park neighbor, she’s a tough, outspoken activist and think-tank analyst.”

NBC handed out a pilot order to The Rockford Files reboot in January, with Boreanaz taking on the role of Jim Rockford, a “witty, world-weary and chronically broke private investigator whose charmingly gruff exterior masked a strong moral core.” The series comes from writer and executive producer Mike Daniels, as well as EPs Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman. Chris Leanza co-executive produces, with Greg Mottola directing and executive producing the pilot. Universal Television is the studio.

According to the official logline, The Rockford Files reboot is a “contemporary update” on the classic series of the same name. “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.”

Weaver has received Oscar nominations for her roles in the 2010 crime film Animal Kingdom and the 2012 dramedy Silver Linings Playbook. She is also known for The Five-Year Engagement, Parkland, Magic in the Moonlight, The Disaster Artist, Bird Box, Blunt Talk, Secret City, Perpetual Grace, LTD, Bloom, and Yellowstone. On the theater side, Weaver has appeared in stage productions of Little Red Riding Hood, The Legend of King O’Malley, Peter Pan, Applicant, The Seagull, Three Sisters, Emerald City, Love Letters, Six Degrees of Separation, Shadowlands, and Uncle Vanya.

Since The Rockford Files is one of several pilots in contention at NBC, it’s too early to predict whether this show has a chance or not. With the star power already attached and the fact that it’s a reboot of a beloved series, it definitely has a chance. There are more and more reboots and revivals happening lately, so you never know.