Question: What happened to ...

Question: What happened to The Pretender, on NBC? I didn't see it on your fall preview, and I wasn't able to find it on nbc.com. Did they cancel it? If so, why? I didn't think it was doing that badly, and I didn't hear any news about the cancellation. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. — Dan

Televisionary: The bad news, Dan, is that the Pretender has indeed been cancelled, along with the rest of NBC's Saturday sci-fi "thrillogy" (Profiler, the Others). The reason? Business as usual: Bring in the ratings or out you go.

I clued a distraught reader in on its cancellation some time ago, but it's a testament to the show's rabid fan base that every day brings the same question. (I'll reserve comment on those who refrain from checking in on a weekly basis and thus missed the answer the first time around, however.)

The good news, though, is that TNT plans to produce two TV movies wrapping up the loose ends left by the series-ending cliffhanger. (The network already airs Pretender reruns.) If the ratings are strong enough, it will consider two more. The show's creators and executive producers are back for the projects, as is star Michael T. Weiss. Andrea Parker, Jon Gries and Patrick Bauchau are also along for the ride.