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The Pretender
RELEASED·SERIES·EN

The Pretender

Thu, Sep 19, 1996
  • Drama
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Series · Synopsis

Synopsis

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.

Trailer

Watch the trailer

Where to watch

Streaming on

  • NBC↗
Cast

Top of the call sheet

  • Michael T. Weiss
    Michael T. Weiss
    as Jarod
  • Andrea Parker
    Andrea Parker
    as Miss Parker
  • Patrick Bauchau
    Patrick Bauchau
    as Sydney
  • Jon Gries
    Jon Gries
    as Broots
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Episodes

4 seasons · 86 episodes

Ended · 86 aired
Season 1
22 episodes · 22 aired
▾
  • E1
    Pilot
    Aired · Fri, Sep 20, 1996 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a doctor to help a boy whose spinal cord was severed.

  • E2
    Every Picture Tells a Story
    Aired · Sun, Sep 29, 1996 · 60m

    To help the widow and daughter of a drowned fisherman, Jarod joins the Coast Guard.

  • E3
    Flyer
    Aired · Sun, Oct 20, 1996 · 60m

    While posing as a test pilot, Jarod tries to find out the circumstances surrounding the death of an Air Force lieutenant killed in a crash.

  • E4
    Curious Jarod
    Aired · Sun, Oct 27, 1996 · 60m

    In Las Vegas, Jarod uncovers a casino's cash leak, becomes security chief and tries to learn the facts behind a showgirl's assault.

  • E5
    The Paper Clock
    Aired · Sun, Nov 3, 1996 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a lawyer in order to help a wrongly convicted, mentally challenged janitor who's serving time.

  • E6
    To Serve and Protect
    Aired · Sun, Nov 10, 1996 · 60m

    To solve the killing of a security guard in a robbery, Jarod poses as a policeman.

  • E7
    A Virus Among Us
    Aired · Sun, Nov 17, 1996 · 60m

    In the guise of a virologist, Jarod tries to find a missing scientist.

  • E8
    Not Even a Mouse
    Aired · Sun, Dec 15, 1996 · 60m

    Posing as a medical examiner, Jarod tries to solve the murder of a homeless person.

  • E9
    Mirage
    Aired · Sun, Jan 5, 1997 · 60m

    While posing as a sky-diving instructor, Jarod investigates the death of the company's co-owner.

  • E10
    The Better Part of Valor
    Aired · Sun, Jan 12, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a fireman to uncover an arson plot and the true circumstances surrounding a firefighter's death.

  • E11
    Bomb Squad
    Aired · Sun, Jan 19, 1997 · 60m

    As a member of a bomb squad, Jarod attempts to piece together clues to identify the "fax bomber."

  • E12
    Prison Story
    Aired · Sun, Feb 2, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a penitentiary guard in order to try to prove the innocence of a prisoner scheduled to be executed for killing another inmate.

  • E13
    Bazooka Jarod
    Aired · Sun, Feb 9, 1997 · 60m

    Lt. Cdr. Jarod goes to Long Beach, where he investigates a petty officer's death aboard a destroyer.

  • E14
    Ranger Jarod
    Aired · Sun, Feb 16, 1997 · 60m

    Posing as a forest ranger, Jarod joins the search for a missing ornithology student and also finds himself falling in love for the first time.

  • E15
    Jaroldo!
    Aired · Sun, Mar 9, 1997 · 60m

    While posing as a TV-news cameraman, Jarod discovers the true details of a shooting that left his predecessor incapacitated.

  • E16
    Under the Reds
    Aired · Sun, Mar 23, 1997 · 60m

    In Atlanta, Jarod is an ambulance attendant who uncovers an insurance scam between a driver and a doctor.

  • E17
    Keys
    Aired · Sun, Apr 6, 1997 · 60m

    Miss Parker catches up to Jarod in Florida---during a hurricane---and winds up involved in his efforts to thwart a corrupt marine-patrol officer and tend to an orphaned girl with a high fever.

  • E18
    Unhappy Landings
    Aired · Sun, Apr 27, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod is a U.S. Marshal trying to ensure the safety of a witness in a drug case.

  • E19
    Jarod's Honor
    Aired · Sun, May 4, 1997 · 60m

    Posing as a hit man, Jarod is hired to kill a jazz-club owner and his wife. Meanwhile, Sydney and Miss Parker attend a twins convention.

  • E20
    Baby Love
    Aired · Sun, May 11, 1997 · 60m

    After finding a baby in a dumpster, Jarod cares for the child while trying to determine why he was left there.

  • E21
    The Dragon House (1)
    Aired · Sun, May 18, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a Federal agent to help his childhood friend, Kyle, who's now a fugitive.

  • E22
    The Dragon House (2)
    Aired · Sun, May 18, 1997 · 60m

    While helping an old friend, Jarod finds a link to his mother and discovers that he's not an only child.

Season 2
22 episodes · 22 aired
▾
  • E1
    Back From the Dead Again
    Aired · Sun, Nov 2, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a professor to solve a murder.

  • E2
    Scott Free
    Aired · Sun, Nov 9, 1997 · 60m

    In order to help a parolee who wants to go straight, Jarod takes the place of a safecracker.

  • E3
    Over the Edge
    Aired · Sun, Nov 16, 1997 · 60m

    Jarod investigates an apparent suicide attempt by a member of a search-and-rescue team.

  • E4
    Exposed
    Aired · Sun, Nov 23, 1997 · 60m

    Posing as a photographer, Jarod tries to track down a stalker who harasses models. And Miss Parker discovers more about her parents.

  • E5
    Nip and Tuck
    Aired · Sun, Dec 7, 1997 · 60m

    Working as a plastic surgeon, Jarod discovers the truth about a singer's botched operation.

  • E6
    Past Sim
    Aired · Sun, Dec 14, 1997 · 60m

    After Jarod realizes that one of his simulations has been used to kidnap the only witness in a trial against a crime lord, he tries to rectify matters.

  • E7
    Collateral Damage
    Aired · Sun, Jan 4, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as an Army Ranger to investigate the 25-year-old death of a Vietnam vet whose daughter wants his name cleared.

  • E8
    Hazards
    Aired · Sun, Jan 11, 1998 · 60m

    Following a deadly chemical accident, Jarod saves the life of a suicidal engineer who blames himself for three co-workers' deaths.

  • E9
    F/X
    Aired · Sun, Jan 18, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a special-effects coordinator to try and learn the truth about an explosion that injured a stunt driver.

  • E10
    Indy Show
    Aired · Sun, Feb 1, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a race-car driver to learn about a crash that injured a racer. Meanwhile, Sydney brings his brother home from the hospital.

  • E11
    Gigolo Jarod
    Aired · Sun, Feb 8, 1998 · 60m

    While working as an escort, Jarod uncovers a wealthy woman's past, learns the truth about an 8-year-old's death, and plays Cupid for an estranged couple.

  • E12
    Toy Surprise
    Aired · Sun, Mar 8, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod warns Miss Parker that someone is going to kill her father. He also tries to help a teen who blames himself for a friend's death.

  • E13
    A Stand Up Guy
    Aired · Sun, Mar 15, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a counterfeiter working with mobsters in order to learn the facts about an FBI agent's murder. Meanwhile, Miss Parker goes after Mr. Lyle, who was thought to be dead.

  • E14
    Unforgotten
    Aired · Sun, Mar 22, 1998 · 60m

    While an eccentric holds Jarod captive, the Centre interrogates Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots.

  • E15
    Bulletproof
    Aired · Sun, Mar 29, 1998 · 60m

    SWAT officer Jarod tries to find a lieutenant's killer; Sydney searches for someone close to him.

  • E16
    Silence
    Aired · Sun, Apr 5, 1998 · 60m

    As a DEA psychiatrist, Jarod tries to get a traumatized 5-year-old murder witness to speak.

  • E17
    Crash
    Aired · Sun, Apr 12, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod investigates the crash of an airplane on which he'd given his seat to a student.

  • E18
    Stolen
    Aired · Sun, May 3, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod takes the place of a millionaire whose son has been kidnapped, in order to negotiate with the kidnapper.

  • E19
    Red Rock Jarod
    Aired · Sun, May 3, 1998 · 60m

    A message supposedly from Jarod begins an adventure that sees him taken prisoner and soon reveals that two people who were believed killed are alive.

  • E20
    Bank
    Aired · Sun, May 10, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod and Miss Parker become hostages in a bank robbery, and among the other customers is a stranger who holds a key to their pasts.

  • E21
    Bloodlines (1)
    Aired · Sun, May 17, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod tries to prevent the Centre from taking a boy to be trained to be another pretender.

  • E22
    Bloodlines (2)
    Aired · Sun, May 17, 1998 · 60m

    As Jarod tries to protect a boy, Miss Parker discovers that she has a twin brother.

Season 3
22 episodes · 22 aired
▾
  • E1
    Crazy
    Aired · Sun, Oct 18, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod is confined to an asylum and Miss Parker learns the identity of her brother.

  • E2
    Hope and Prey
    Aired · Sun, Oct 25, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod gets closer to learning his father's identity after he meets a man whose life Jarod's father once saved.

  • E3
    Once in a Blue Moon
    Aired · Sun, Nov 1, 1998 · 60m

    In order to try to find a kidnapped girl before she's killed, Jarod launches into a battle of wills with a kidnapper whose capture he caused without managing to save the victim.

  • E4
    Someone to Trust
    Aired · Sun, Nov 8, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a professional arsonist to expose a corrupt lawyer, only to find himself falling for the lawyer's wife.

  • E5
    Betrayal
    Aired · Sun, Nov 15, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod and Broots team up to try to prevent an act of terrorism that's being planned by an old enemy of Jarod's.

  • E6
    Parole
    Aired · Sun, Nov 22, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as an ex-con in order to find a parolee's killer. Meanwhile, Sydney is reunited with some people from his past.

  • E7
    Homefront
    Aired · Sun, Dec 13, 1998 · 60m

    Jarod poses as an arms dealer, in order to try to reunite two children with their mother.

  • E8
    Flesh and Blood
    Aired · Sun, Jan 3, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod tries to rescue Sydney's son and three others who are taken hostage by a militia group.

  • E9
    Murder 101
    Aired · Sun, Jan 10, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a psychology professor in order to learn what happened to his predecessor.

  • E10
    Mr. Lee
    Aired · Sun, Feb 7, 1999 · 60m

    A visually impaired man insists that he will find Jarod if he's able to speak to seven people who have crossed paths with the elusive quarry.

  • E11
    The Assassin
    Aired · Sun, Feb 7, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod helps a woman whose children have been abducted. Meanwhile, Miss Parker is attracted to a stranger.

  • E12
    Unsinkable
    Aired · Sun, Feb 14, 1999 · 60m

    Bound in chains and thrown off a pier, Jarod recalls the Atlantic City events that led to his current predicament.

  • E13
    Pool
    Aired · Sun, Feb 21, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod becomes a pool player in order to help a young singer and to settle a score with a wealthy bigot.

  • E14
    At the Hour of Our Death
    Aired · Sun, Feb 28, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod and Miss Parker each face life-threatening experiences after his plane crashes and she's rushed to an ER.

  • E15
    Countdown
    Aired · Sun, Mar 21, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod goes to a Mexican prison, in order to arrange for an inmate to donate a kidney to a son he didn't know existed.

  • E16
    P.T.B.
    Aired · Sun, Apr 4, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod tries to help a radio talk-show host, who's on the run from a mysterious stalker. Meanwhile, Miss Parker must decide whether to leave the Centre and join Thomas, who's moving to Oregon.

  • E17
    Ties That Bind
    Aired · Sun, Apr 11, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod befriends a runaway youth. Meanwhile, Miss Parker announces her intentions concerning the Centre.

  • E18
    Wake Up
    Aired · Sun, May 2, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod and Miss Parker meet---more than once---in order to try to find the "missing pieces" involved with a murder.

  • E19
    End Game
    Aired · Sun, May 9, 1999 · 60m

    While posing as a police detective, Jarod investigates the abduction of a teenage chess expert, and Sam of "Profiler" is called in to assist on the case.

  • E20
    Qallupilluit
    Aired · Sun, May 23, 1999 · 60m

    In an attempt to find his father, Jarod poses as a climatologist and journeys to an arctic research station, unaware that it's operated by the Centre. Shortly after his arrival, murders begin to occur.

  • E21
    DoNotErase (1)
    Aired · Sun, May 23, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod and his father are finally reunited. However, assassins from the Centre are hot on their trail.

  • E22
    DoNotErase (2)
    Aired · Sun, May 23, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod and his father team up to rescue the clone created by the Centre's project. Meanwhile, Miss Parker learns more about her mother's murder.

Season 4
20 episodes · 20 aired
▾
  • E1
    The World's Changing
    Aired · Sun, Sep 26, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod is a prisoner of the Centre, but he escapes to try to save the lives of two researchers. Meanwhile, Miss Parker is recovering from being wounded.

  • E2
    Survival
    Aired · Sun, Oct 3, 1999 · 60m

    As Miss Parker and Mr. Lyle struggle to survive in a trap that he set for them, Jarod investigates a soldier's supposed suicide during isolation training.

  • E3
    Angel's Flight
    Aired · Sun, Oct 31, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a San Francisco police detective, in order to try to find a teen who has disappeared; meanwhile, Miss Parker wonders about a Centre newcomer.

  • E4
    Risque Business
    Aired · Sun, Nov 7, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a sex therapist, in order to try to find out the circumstances surrounding an attack on a female therapist.

  • E5
    Road Trip
    Aired · Sun, Nov 14, 1999 · 60m

    While Jarod befriends a woman on the run, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots embark on a movie-inspired expedition.

  • E6
    Extreme
    Aired · Sun, Dec 5, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod investigates the events that left a bungee jumper in a coma; meanwhile, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots follow a "Let's Make a Deal" series of clues.

  • E7
    Wild Child
    Aired · Sun, Dec 12, 1999 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a psychiatrist, in order to try to learn the identity of a "wild child" found in the forest and the circumstances surrounding her ordeal.

  • E8
    Rules of Engagement
    Aired · Sun, Jan 9, 2000 · 60m

    While FBI hostage negotiator Jarod deals with two brothers who have taken over a hospital, Miss Parker tries to help her father, who's in hiding.

  • E9
    'Til Death Do Us Part
    Aired · Sun, Jan 16, 2000 · 60m

    Jarod gives Miss Parker information that may help her solve Thomas's murder; meanwhile, a killing at the Centre casts suspicion on Mr. Parker.

  • E10
    Spin Doctor
    Aired · Sun, Feb 6, 2000 · 60m

    A crossover episode with "The Profiler" finds Rachel and Bailey working with Secret Service agent Jarod to solve the murder of the man who helped in his initial escape from the Centre.

  • E11
    Cold Dick
    Aired · Sun, Feb 13, 2000 · 60m

    In the style of old detective movies, Jarod poses as a Las Vegas PI searching for a missing showgirl.

  • E12
    Lifeline
    Aired · Sun, Feb 20, 2000 · 60m

    Jarod becomes a bodyguard for a gunworks owner and his fiancée, who's hiding a couple of secrets.

  • E13
    Ghosts From the Past
    Aired · Sun, Feb 27, 2000 · 60m

    While Jarod poses as a member of a racist group, Angelo is convinced that someone from Jarod's past is out to kill him.

  • E14
    The Agent of Year Zero
    Aired · Sun, Mar 12, 2000 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a Government agent in order to help a visually impaired Cambodian woman who accidentally encounters the colonel responsible for the killing of her family.

  • E15
    Junk
    Aired · Sun, Mar 26, 2000 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a drug addict to help a mother who was once addicted and is now in rehab, but doesn't understand how she got there.

  • E16
    School Daze
    Aired · Sun, Apr 23, 2000 · 60m

    Jarod poses as a sixth-grade teacher to help a young murder witness; in another plotline, Miss Parker is reunited with a woman from her past.

  • E17
    Meltdown
    Aired · Sun, Apr 30, 2000 · 60m

    While Jarod plays gang member, attempting to find a little girl's killer, Miss Parker tries to learn about a project concerning her late mother.

  • E18
    Corn Man A Comin
    Aired · Sun, May 7, 2000 · 60m

    After buying a camcorder at a pawn shop, Jarod tries to find the mother and daughter on the tape, which ends with them in peril.

  • E19
    The Inner Sense (1)
    Aired · Sun, May 14, 2000 · 60m

    The fourth-season finale has Jarod being contacted by his father, who tells him where to locate his sister.

  • E20
    The Inner Sense (2)
    Aired · Sun, May 14, 2000 · 60m

    Facts become clearer concerning Ethan and Mr. Raines; Zoe is kidnapped.