‘The Rockford Files’ Adds Michaela McManus To Ensemble Cast; Greg Mottola To Direct Pilot

Michaela McManus (One Tree Hill, Law & Order: SVU) has joined the ensemble cast of NBC‘s The Rockford Files pilot, starring David Boreanaz.

The project 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 (Boreanaz) 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.

McManus will play Kate, an East Hollywood detective whose romantic relationship with Rockford got complicated after he publicly accused fellow officers of framing him. Kate is a new character created for the potential NBC series, not one that existed as part of the original which ran from 1974 to 1980 with James Garner leading the cast as the titular detective.

While The Rockford Files is set in Los Angeles, the pilot will shoot in Atlanta with additional filming in Los Angeles. It has not been determined where production on the potential series would be based should the pilot get picked up; it’s possible that the show applies for a California tax credit.

The project comes from writer Mike Daniels, producers Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly, and Universal Television. Chris Leanza co-executive produces. Daniels executive produces alongside Timberman and Beverly via their Timberman/Beverly banner, with the company’s Chris Leanza co-executive producing. Boreanaz is a producer. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.

McManus is repped by CESD and Strand Entertainment.