The Impossible Missions Force (IMF) is a fictional agency with varying designations depending on the media, an independent espionage agency in the television version or a governmental agency of the United States government in the film version. The IMF was introduced in the TV series  that was broadcast from 1966 through 1973, and later in the shown from 1988 through 1990. Beginning in 1996, the IMF has been featured in a number of motion pictures that starred Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, including , , , , and .