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The Pretender(TV show/series, 1996-2000)

43min per episode | Genres: Drama, Mystery, Science-Fiction & Fantasy

Scripted Reality in 4 seasons with 86 episodes

The PretenderRating: 3.7/5 (with 87 votes)
The Pretender is an American action drama television series created by Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle, that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to May 13, 2000. The series follows Jarod, a young man who is a "Pretender", a genius impostor able to quickly master the complex skill sets necessary to impersonate a member of any profession. He was kidnapped as a child by The Centre, a sinister think tank located in the fictional Blue Cove, Delaware. It exploited his Pretender abilities, but Jarod escaped as an adult and goes on the run. He is chased by a trio of Centre agents—Miss Parker (the daughter of a pivotal figure within The Centre), Sydney (a Centre psychologist who raised Jarod) and Broots (a Centre computer expert). In each episode, Jarod assumes a new professional identity (such as a doctor, lawyer, soldier, pilot) to investigate a crime framed on someone else, and deliver justice to the actual culprits. In the meantime, Jarod searches for his origins, and leads Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots on a chase to discover the dark secrets of The Centre, including how they are involved in the death of Miss Parker's mother. The series was inspired by serial impostor Ferdinand Waldo Demara. It was a part of the network's Saturday night lineup until its cancellati... ()
Poster of The Pretender

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About The Pretender

Raised in a secret facility built for experimenting on children, Jarod is a genius who can master any profession and become anyone he has to be. When he realizes as an adult that he's actually a prisoner and his captors are not as benevolent as he's been told, he breaks out. While trying to find his real identity, Jarod helps those he encounters and tries to avoid the woman sent to retrieve him.

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Trailer for The Pretender + Featurettes/Teaser/Clips

The Pretender Season 1(Trailer, 1:50)

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The Pretender Seasons and Episodes

09/25/1999Season 4 - 20 episodes
#1 | 09/25/1999The World's Changing
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
Once again a prisoner of the Centre, Jarod discovers a plot to murder a team of nuclear researchers, giving him even more motivation to escape. Meanwhile, Sydney and Broots try to find Miss Parker and Miss Parker tries to find her father -- and figure out who to trust.
#2 | 10/02/1999Survival
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod joins the Army CID to investigate the suicide of a soldier in POW survival training. Meanwhile, he gives Mr. Lyle and Miss Parker a taste of that training by trapping them together in a shipping container.
#3 | 10/30/1999Angel's Flight
3.3/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod infiltrates a Goth con game to locate a missing girl. Meanwhile, a faceless wax head sent by Jarod leaves Miss Parker and company trying to fill in the pieces.
#4 | 11/06/1999Risque Business
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod pretends to be a sex therapist to investigate a brutal assault on a doctor. Meanwhile, Broots tries to summon up the courage to reveal his feelings to Miss Parker.
#5 | 11/13/1999Road Trip
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod finds himself on a road trip to help a mysterious young woman, whom he falls for. Meanwhile, he tells Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots to 'follow the yellow brick road'.
#6 | 12/04/1999Extreme
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod Pretends to be an extreme sports enthusiast in order to learn what happened to a comatose young man. Meanwhile, Miss Parker, Sydney, and Broots follow Jarod's "game show" clues, and find themselves investigating Mr. Lyle.
#7 | 12/11/1999Wild Child
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod Pretends to be a psychologist to help a young girl found living alone in the wilderness. Meanwhile. Miss Parker finds out a Centre contract has been taken out on her father's life, leading her to look more closely at Mr. Cox.
#8 | 01/08/2000Rules of Engagement
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod tries to stop a hostage situation in a hospital. Miss Parker is confused by an encounter with her father.
#9 | 01/15/2000'Til Death Do Us Part
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
On the anniversary of Thomas' death, Jarod challenges a haunted Miss Parker to resume her hunt for his killer. But the search leads back to her father and Brigitte, who is close to giving birth.
#10 | 02/05/2000Spin Doctor (I)
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod tries to track down the killer of a man who helped him escape from The Centre. Meanwhile, Miss Parker tries to help Sydney deal with his past. The crossover continues on Profiler S04E10 Clean Sweep (II).
#11 | 02/12/2000Cold Dick
3.3/5 (with 2 votes)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - After being contacted by Argyle, Jarod becomes a Las Vegas private investigator to save a showgirl in trouble with with the mob. Meanwhile, Broots and Miss Parker try to outwit Jarod by posing as a newlywed couple and checking into the honeymoon suite. But come sunrise, they find they've gotten more involved with each other then they ever have chasing Jarod...
#12 | 02/19/2000Lifeline
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod becomes a bodyguard to reunite an undercover ATF agent and her daughter. Meanwhile. Miss Parker sets out to prove Raines' religious 'conversion' is nothing of the kind.
#13 | 02/26/2000Ghosts From The Past
2.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod infiltrates a white supremacist group to stop the bombing of a Unity event. Meanwhile, Angelo fights his way through Jarod's past to find the old enemy currently threatening Jarod's life.
#14 | 03/11/2000The Agent Of Year Zero
3.3/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod tries to help a Cambodian woman avenge the death of her family at the hands of a war criminal -- who is also an ally of Mr. Lyle. Meanwhile, Miss Parker tracks that connection from the Centre.
#15 | 03/25/2000Junk
3.3/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod goes undercover as a junkie in a rehab clinic to help a woman regain custody of her son. Meanwhile, Miss Parker and company find Jarod's connection to the woman through her father and the Centre.
#16 | 04/22/2000School Daze
3.5/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod poses as an elementary school teacher to protect a young witness in a murder trial. Meanwhile, Miss Parker encounters a ghost from the past.
#17 | 04/29/2000Meltdown
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod infiltrates a gang of burglars to discover which of them killed a little girl. Meanwhile, an email that isn't there leads Miss Parker to someone who might have answers about her mother's death.
#18 | 05/06/2000Corn Man A Comin'
3.8/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod follows the trail of a kidnapping, documented by a camcorder he finds in a pawn shop. Meanwhile, Miss Parker continues her search for Edna Raines, with Jarod's help.
#19 | 05/13/2000The Inner Sense (1)
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
Jarod finally locates his sister Emily, just in time to see her nearly assassinated by The Centre. Meanwhile, Miss Parker's search of the secrets behind her mother's death lead her and Jarod to the same place -- and a mysterious young man named Ethan.
#20 | 05/13/2000The Inner Sense (2)
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)
10/17/1998Season 3 - 22 episodes
11/01/1997Season 2 - 22 episodes
09/19/1996Season 1 - 22 episodes
10/15/1997Specials - 3 episodes

Additional Information

Production country: United States of America (USA)
Original language: English (EN)
Spoken languages: English (EN)
Translated into 15 languages: Bulgarian (BG), Bosnian (BS), Czech (CS), German (DE), English (EN), Spanish (ES), French (FR), Hungarian (HU), Italian (IT), Korean (KO), Lithuanian (LT), Dutch (NL), Portuguese (PT), Russian (RU), Chinese (Mandarin) (ZH)
Status: Ended
First episode released on: 09/19/1996
Last episode released on: 05/13/2000
Appearing Characters: Jarod, Miss Parker, William Raines, Sydney
Composer: John Debney

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WatchPlayStream ID: SHOWS:1992, Added: 05/11/2018, Last updated: 04/22/2024