It's clear why Chris Hansen doesn't approve of A24's 'Primetime'. It's exaggerated, melodramatic and fantastical. It also makes him out to be a fool. The film acts as a commentary on exploitation, and director Lance Oppenheim ('You Can See Everything', 'Some Kind of Heaven') isn't afraid to demonstrate a level of hypocrisy in the way he frames the polarising 'To Catch A Predator' TV star. It raises a real question: Is it ever okay to use someone's life as entertainment?
In the opening scene, we watch as a man enters a room with gusto, pushing aside a curtain to reveal himself and relishing the fear he sees in the eyes of the man standing below him. Step by step, the man descends the stairwell with grace, closing in on the man waiting in the living room. He stalks this man like a predator. Except he isn't the predator. He is Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC, and he's doing a story on adults who try to meet teens online.
In 2006, journalist Chris Hansen hosts the Dateline NBC series 'To Catch a Predator', where he teams up with the anti-pedophilia vigilante group Perverted-Justice to conduct sting operations. Acting as children online who are open to engaging in sex, the team lure would-be child predators to houses where an of age "decoy", Hansen and his camera crew confront them before they're arrested by local authorities. 'To Catch a Predator' is a huge success, and is assigned NBC's primetime slot to compete with the ABC hit series 'Lost'. The film leads to the most controversial event of the already controversial show's history – the suicide of a would-be predator during filming.
Robert Pattinson ('The Drama', 'Mickey 17') is the perfect choice to play this caricature of Hansen. He is handsome, well-presented and carries an air of importance. He also has the creativity and goofiness to emphasise how ridiculous Hansen's self-importance comes across. Pattinson nails Hansen's iconic interrogation expression: tight, downturned lips, eyes slightly narrowed, just the hint of a furrow to his brow. As soon as the cameras stop rolling, however, he shows us another side of Hansen. This well-curated figure is exactly that – curated. He stands in the house waiting for would-be predators, running his lines. He rushes around the house, finding the most exciting position to reveal himself from. He records his voiceovers dozens of times, much to the exasperation of his production team. And now, due to the show's new primetime position, Hansen is feeling the pressure. He needs to secure larger targets and bolster the show's entertainment value. He is becoming desperate to "hook a whale".
'PRIMETIME' TRAILER
To help hook new would-be predators, greenhorn actor Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo, 'Licorice Pizza', 'Focker-In-Law') is hired to take on the role of decoy. After the success of his first sting operation, Hansen excitedly dubs him "Decoy Dan". Dan is an interesting character; his discordant feelings towards his role help explore the exploitative nature of 'To Catch a Predator'. Dan is told he's doing the right thing, and he knows the men they have arrested were planning to do atrocious things, but he still finds himself saying "I don't want to be a bad person." Dan sees that 'To Catch A Predator' is blurring the lines between journalism, entertainment and vigilantism. He has taken on the role to launch his acting career, but understands the other people involved aren't actors. Even though they're objectively bad people, they're being broadcast, shamed and arrested for the entertainment of others.
As the film continues, Hansen's spiral into desperation is exacerbated by the stress of his extra-marital affair being leaked by the media. The pressure on him is immense, and he's feeling it. But, although based on true events, the affair subplot is bland when compared to the fictionalised and dramatised subplots. The addition of the fictitious producer Andi Bender (Merritt Wever, TV's 'Severance', 'Marriage Story') provides another layer of tension. She sees Hansen is on a downward mental trajectory, and she is finding him harder and harder to handle. When an ABC executive attempts to poach her for their reality show 'What Would You Do?', she is torn. She wants to give in, but she can't seem to give up the thrill of 'To Catch A Predator'. She can see the show's problems, but like much of its audience, she is hooked on the "humilitainment". She may even think she is doing good in the world.
As Hansen creeps closer to catching his "whale", his grasp on reality begins slipping. He starts seeing demons everywhere – literally.
As Hansen creeps closer to catching his "whale", his grasp on reality begins slipping. He starts seeing demons everywhere – literally. The real Hansen never claimed anything like this, but the genuine horror elements, reminiscent of other A24 films that producer Ari Aster (director of 'Hereditary' and 'Midsommar') has worked on, warps the audience's sense of fiction and reality. It reminds us that this isn't a biopic; it's a highly dramatised psychological horror. Yet, we as an audience are still drawn into the story as it's shown to us on the big screen. Oppenheim does a brilliant job of making 'Primetime' feel real. Instead of a single standard digital camera, the production used more than a dozen different camera formats simultaneously to mimic the frantic, voyeuristic and chaotic aesthetic of mid-2000s television. The camera quality decreases as Hansen's mental stability decreases, and we, as an audience, feel as though we are being drawn further and further into his messy, chaotic world. This comes to a head in the final sequence.
When life-altering (and ending) events occur, we expect great drama – but in real life, tragic moments occur around us every day, going unnoticed by the people who aren't directly involved. The suicide of Bill Conradt is another moment that 'Primetime' sensationalises. If you've seen the 2025 documentary 'Predators' by David Osit ('No Man's Land', 'Mayor'), you know just how differently the events played out in real life. As Pattinson stands in the rain, dark skies thundering overhead, Hansen waits in afternoon sunshine. As Pattinson stares into the eyes of his "whale", Hansen ponders aloud to his crew about what's going on in the house. As Pattinson flinches at the gunshot of his would-be predator's suicide, Hansen asks the detective once more if she can share any further information on the situation.
'Primetime' and 'To Catch A Predator' have both had mixed responses. Both exploit controversial figures for entertainment. Both are loved by the audiences they cater to. It's up to you, the viewer, to decide if what they're doing is right or wrong.