The Rockford Files (1974)

Crime · Drama · Mystery

Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.

IMDb rating: 8.2 (13,017 votes)
Episode average: 7.9 -0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons: 6
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 6 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1974)

7.86 avg 23 episodes 7.9 → 7.7 54 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
0	Backlash of the Hunter	7.9	1,318
1	The Kirkoff Case	7.7	757
2	The Dark and Bloody Ground	7.6	602
3	The Countess	7.6	594
4	Exit Prentiss Carr	7.5	510
5	Tall Woman in Red Wagon	7.9	548
6	This Case Is Closed	7.5	523
7	The Big Ripoff	8.1	540
8	Find Me If You Can	7.7	482
9	In Pursuit of Carol Thorne	8.1	489
10	The Dexter Crisis	7.7	469
11	Caledonia - It's Worth a Fortune!	7.8	472
12	Profit and Loss, Part 1: Profit	8.4	478
13	Profit and Loss, Part 2: Loss	8.4	444
14	Aura Lee, Farewell	8.1	487
15	Sleight of Hand	8.2	495
16	Counter Gambit	8.3	445
17	Claire	7.5	417
18	Say Goodbye to Jennifer	7.9	438
19	Charlie Harris at Large	7.6	425
20	The Four Pound Brick	7.9	403
21	Just by Accident	7.7	402
22	Roundabout	7.7	422

Season 2 (1975)

8.10 avg 22 episodes 7.7 → 8.0 50 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Aaron Ironwood School of Success	7.7	419
2	The Farnsworth Stratagem	8.4	476
3	Gearjammers, Part 1	8.2	391
4	Gearjammers, Part 2	8.3	361
5	The Deep Blue Sleep	7.7	375
6	The Great Blue Lake Land and Development Company	8.4	417
7	The Real Easy Red Dog	8.1	435
8	Resurrection in Black & White	8.0	371
9	Chicken Little Is a Little Chicken	8.5	429
10	2 Into 5.56 Won't Go	7.7	377
11	Pastoria Prime Pick	8.4	418
12	The Reincarnation of Angie	8.0	366
13	The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club	8.1	364
14	The Hammer of C Block	8.6	474
15	The No-Cut Contract	8.1	385
16	A Portrait of Elizabeth	8.6	409
17	Joey Blue Eyes	8.2	368
18	In Hazard	7.9	324
19	The Italian Bird Fiasco	8.0	376
20	Where's Houston?	7.4	341
21	Foul on the First Play	7.8	340
22	A Bad Deal in the Valley	8.0	350

Season 3 (1976)

8.09 avg 22 episodes 8.0 → 8.5 58 min avg

Rebound

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Fourth Man	8.0	391
2	The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit	8.1	382
3	The Family Hour	8.1	358
4	Feeding Frenzy	7.6	347
5	Drought at Indianhead River	8.4	399
6	Coulter City Wildcat	8.0	337
7	So Help Me God	8.9	464
8	Rattlers' Class of '63	7.7	343
9	Return to the 38th Parallel	7.6	312
10	Piece Work	7.9	330
11	The Trouble with Warren	7.5	326
12	There's One in Every Port	8.5	384
13	Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Waterbury Will Bury You	8.4	373
14	The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers: Part 1	8.4	372
15	The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers: Part 2	8.3	342
16	The Becker Connection	8.1	347
17	Just Another Polish Wedding	8.2	377
18	New Life, Old Dragons	7.4	312
19	To Protect and Serve: Part 1	7.9	335
20	To Protect and Serve: Part 2	8.1	317
21	Crack Back	8.3	343
22	Dirty Money, Black Light	8.5	338

Season 4 (1977)

7.90 avg 21 episodes 8.0 → 8.7 62 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Beamer's Last Case	8.0	376
2	Trouble in Chapter 17	7.4	342
3	The Battle of Canoga Park	7.7	340
4	Second Chance	8.0	344
5	The Dog and Pony Show	8.2	362
6	Requiem for a Funny Box	7.6	354
7	Quickie Nirvana	8.1	415
8	Irving the Explainer	7.5	379
9	The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls	8.0	342
10	Hotel of Fear	8.3	342
11	Forced Retirement	7.6	316
12	The Queen of Peru	8.3	352
13	A Deadly Maze	7.9	313
14	The Attractive Nuisance	7.9	320
15	The Gang at Don's Drive-In	7.2	296
16	The Paper Palace	7.9	311
17	Dwarf in a Helium Hat	7.8	335
18	South by Southeast	7.6	322
19	The Competitive Edge	8.6	360
20	The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall	7.7	285
21	The House on Willis Avenue	8.7	434

Season 5 (1978)

7.89 avg 20 episodes 8.2 → 7.7 64 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Heartaches of a Fool	8.2	393
2	Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead	7.7	305
3	The Jersey Bounce	8.1	341
4	White on White and Nearly Perfect	8.8	504
5	Kill the Messenger	8.5	331
6	A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights	7.5	295
7	Three Day Affair with a Thirty Day Escrow	7.4	282
8	The Empty Frame	8.4	310
9	Black Mirror	8.1	372
10	A Fast Count	7.7	290
11	Local Man Eaten by Newspaper	7.2	281
12	With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?	7.3	283
13	The Battle-Ax and the Exploding Cigar	8.0	298
14	Guilt	7.2	275
15	The Deuce	7.8	276
16	The Man Who Saw the Alligators	7.7	298
17	The Return of the Black Shadow	7.5	312
18	A Material Difference	8.3	301
19	Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job	8.7	400
20	A Different Drummer	7.7	272

Season 6 (1979)

7.53 avg 11 episodes 8.7 → 7.5 63 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Paradise Cove	8.7	374
2	Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs	7.7	367
3	Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die: Part 1	7.1	288
4	Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die: Part 2	6.9	272
5	Love Is the Word	7.2	305
6	Nice Guys Finish Dead	8.6	441
7	The Hawaiian Headache	7.5	296
8	No Fault Affair	7.3	269
9	The Big Cheese	8.1	265
10	Just a Coupla Guys	6.2	306
11	Deadlock in Parma	7.5	290