Mission: Impossible Was A TV Series Before Tom Cruise Made It Iconic – Here’s What You Might Not Know!

The eighth installment of the Mission: Impossible film series, titled ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ starring Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise, will be released in US theatres on 23rd May 2025 and a week earlier in Indian theatres on 17th May 2025. But did you know that long before Tom Cruise stepped into the shoes of the daredevil agent Ethan Hunt, there was a Mission: Impossible television series bearing the same name? Read on to know all about the series.

Created by Bruce Geller, the first season of the spy action television series Mission: Impossible aired in 1966. It was followed by six more seasons, which concluded in 1973. The basic plot of the show, spanning more than a whopping 170 episodes, revolves around an elite team of secret agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). They are assigned different missions and have to deal with unethical businessmen, ruthless criminals, unfriendly governments, and third-world dictators while facing various dangers.

An interesting thing about the Mission: Impossible series was that the IMF was led by a character called Dan Briggs (played by Steven Hill) in the opening season. However, in the next six seasons, the lead character was Jim Phelps (played by Peter Graves). On the other hand, in the Mission: Impossible film series, Ethan Hunt is always the main character.

The Mission: Impossible series bagged several prestigious awards, including multiple Primetime Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Dramatic Series category and Golden Globe awards for the Best Television Series Drama category. Later, the cult show became an inspiration for Tom Cruise’s highly popular Mission: Impossible film series, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Coming back to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth MI installment has been directed by franchise veteran Christopher McQuarrie, who also helmed the last three Mission: Impossible films. Tom Cruise reprises his role as the daredevil agent Ethan Hunt. In the previous movie, ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’, he teamed up with other IMF agents to prevent a deadly new weapon from falling into the wrong hands.

In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the story will most likely move forward with Ethan Hunt and his team desperately trying to prevent a man from acquiring a powerful AI program, which could lead to far-reaching consequences on a global scale. Besides Tom Cruise in the lead, the film also features Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett in important roles.

You can watch the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer below.

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