When original Pretender adventures disappeared from the airwaves in 2001, fans were still left with a lot of questions. Fortunately, the show’s creators haven’t forgotten about them and are working on a way to bring the series back, albeit in a different form.
The Pretender debuted on September 19, 1996 and aired for four seasons on NBC. In the series, Michael T. Weiss plays the lead character, a beyond-genius “Pretender” named Jarod. As a young boy, Jarod was abducted from his parents and trained by The Centre to be able to flawlessly integrate himself into any profession or lifestyle. As an adult, Jarod discovers that the organization is using him for no good and he escapes. Jarod travels the country trying to help those in need while managing to stay a step ahead of his captors. When the series ended on May 13, 2000 after four seasons, it looked like Jarod, Miss Parker (Andrea Parker), and Ethan (guest Tyler Christopher) didn’t survive a huge train explosion.
Fortunately, the cliffhanger was later resolved. The Pretender was picked up for syndication and ran successfully on cable station TNT. That success paved the way for two television movies that aired in January and December 2001. When the second movie ended, there were still many questions left unanswered. Fans petitioned for more TV movies but they didn’t happen.
Pretender creators Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle have long said that the show was a labor of love and that they’re interested in continuing the Pretender story. A few months ago, the creators suggested that the show might be continued online.
In a recent interview with Sci Fi Wire, Mitchell and Van Sickle shared a few more details. “We created the show The Pretender, and we’re working on bringing that back in a whole new form, in a digital form and in a digital platform,” Mitchell shared. This would allow viewers to be able to tap into more information and be able to follow the progress of the new stories.
A new format doesn’t mean however that they’re forsaking the series’ star or the existing Pretender storylines. Van Sickle notes, “We had breakfast with Michael… he just finished up a play out here in New York. I guess kind of the best thing we can say is that we have a timetable of within, hopefully, the next five or six months that we can have something really unique and different out there.” Stay tuned! 
PLEASE BRING IT BACK!!!! I love this show and would really like to see it again. it is my all time favorite show and i need it to come back.
Someone commission a straight to DVD Movie please this show needs to be started up again in someway, when watching the way Prison Break went towards the end I half expected Miss Parker, Sydney, Broots and Jarod (helping Scofield) to pop up in it and have something to do with Scylla and the Company actually being part of The Centre 😆
I want more Pretender as well … if Futurama can get picked up again so can The Pretender surely
muster up, that is…
Sounds like a good idea. So what happened in the past more than year and half to keep it from happening?!? It’s obvious it’s the show is still popular, I’m by far not the only one who’s still commenting on this blog post. I don’t think many shows can must up this much excitement close to ten years later. PLEASE do SOMETHING.
Bring it back! We love it. Whoever thought the XFL was better than The Pretender needs to be shot!
Love this series. Started watching it with my husband a few months ago. Why can’t the questions be answered??? Please answer them and let us know what happens.
Just started watching the first season with my kids, I always loved this show and they are becoming just as much a fan….any ideas on if this will ever come back or have another tv movie????
This was an excellent series That I have watched many times. Andrea played a fantastic character. What happend to the 3rd movie where all was to be revealed??
Please bring it back with the original cast. It was well written and deserves to be brought back.
Bring it back!!!
What the Hell Man! You guys always let us hanging. We just want our questions answerd and for the Pretender Legacy to finaly come to a close or something. He is my Fav-hero he is like the Punisher but with style.
I want more PRETENDER!.
It’s 2009! We still long for more Pretender. Please bring it back!
I love the Pretender!!!! I have all the DVDs and play them all the time. Please can we have more of Michael as Jarod he is fabulous in the part. We Fans have all been waiting for the answers to all the questions we have about Jarod’s family, Miss Parker’s family and the truth about the scrolls!!! NBC should pick up the franchise again and run with it till the end!!!! I have been waiting for the movie where Jarod takes down the Triumvirate and the Center, but is able to save the children and of course Sidney, Broots, Angelo… Read more »
Here in the UK we are way behind the USA in TV programming, BUT I love the Pretender too. I have all the dvds and play them all the time. Please can we have more of Michael as Jarod he is brilliant in the part, we need more to answer all the questions we have about Jarod’s family and Ms Parkers, are they related in some way?? If not it would be great if they could get together.
NBC need to pick up the franchise again and run with it till the end.
I, like so many others love The Pretender. In fact, I loved the character Jarod so much that I named my first son after him. I have just ordered the complete series and movies so that I may share my absolutely favorite television show ever, with both of my sons. I hope the creators will make the finalmovie this year. It would be a true gift to their loyal fans. I truly appreciate their “labor of love.”
I would love to see an ending. So many serial based shows get canceled and we never get and ending. It all drives me nuts and I have no faith in new programs anymore. I would love it if they would bring the series back to complete it. Maybe it will start a trend and we will get an ending to “Invasion”, “Kiddnapped”, and a number of other shows. Wouldn’t that be something!