Screenwriter Ryōta Kosawa, known for The Confidence Man JP, was invited in 2012 by Wit Studio producer Joji Wada to create an original anime, and developed the con-game story together with director Hiro Kaburagi; this was actually his first anime script, written before The Confidence Man JP TV drama.

Because it is difficult to set up and pay off plot twists within a single episode, Kosawa decided to structure the story as four separate movie-length arcs, called 'Cases', each focusing on a different scam and deepening a different character.

Unlike The Confidence Man JP, where the three lead characters' backgrounds remain mysterious, Great Pretender was designed so that each Case reveals more about its protagonists' pasts.

The character Igarashi is a crossover cameo from the live-action series The Confidence Man JP, voiced in both productions by the same actor, Shinya Kote.

The opening theme 'G.P.' and the score were composed by Yutaka Yamada, while the ending theme is a cover of 'The Great Pretender', originally recorded by The Platters and famously covered by Queen's Freddie Mercury, whose version is used in the anime.

The animated ending sequence for 'The Great Pretender' mimics Freddie Mercury's original music video for the song, depicting Mercury and his backing singers as cats.

A manga adaptation by Daichi Marui began serialization in June 2020 in Mag Comi and LINE Manga, but was put on hiatus in September 2020 due to the artist's poor health and was later announced as discontinued in December 2020.

A stage musical adaptation titled 'GREAT PRETENDER' was performed in July 2021 in Tokyo and August 2021 in Osaka, supervised by original screenwriter Ryōta Kosawa.