The New Maverick

The New Maverick is a 1978 American made-for-television western film based on the 1957–1962 television series Maverick starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, Charles Frank as newcomer cousin Ben Maverick (son of Beau Maverick), Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick, and Susan Sullivan as Poker Alice Ivers. James Garner and Jack Kelly had been 29 and 30 years old, respectively, at the beginning of the original series and were 50 and 51 while filming The New Maverick. The TV-movie was a pilot for the series Young Maverick, which featured Frank and only lasted a few episodes. Directed by Hy Averback and written by Juanita Bartlett, the movie was filmed while Garner's series The Rockford Files was on hiatus. Garner would later star in Bret Maverick, another attempt at a television series revival inspired by this TV-movie, for the 1981-82 season.