Larry Gelbart (MAS*H) was one of the first industry professionals to recognize Rogers' talent and consequently made a personal effort to find him an agent. He started his television career as story editor and head writer of the PBS program, "Parent Effectiveness", a highly regarded informational series dramatizing the child-rearing precepts of Tom Gordon. His mentor, veteran screenwriter Howard Browne, brought Rogers' work to the attention of The Rockford Files (1974). Subsequently, one of the producers, David Chase, hired Rogers to develop two pilots and to write multiple episodes for other series. In addition to his produced episodic credits, Rogers has penned several television movies and feature film screenplays. He's also written, produced and directed various documentaries, infomercials, promos, music videos and public service announcements, as well as a number of magazine articles and songs, which have been published and recorded. In 2000, he won the Western Heritage Award for writing the Outstanding Television Drama of the Year: "The Regulator" episode of the Showtime series, Dead Man's Gun (1997).