Released in theaters on Sept. 25, A24’s “Primetime” is a 2026 film that feels more like a 2000s television fever dream. Documentarian Lance Oppenheim’s feature film debut, “Primetime,” follows Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) and his glorious ascension and gradual downfall as the host of Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” (2004–2007). The reality show exposed adult men trying to meet up with children in a sexual setting by luring them into a home with hidden cameras, law enforcement on-site, and a young adult actor decoying as a teenager.
The film is specifically set in 2006, when NBC moved “To Catch a Predator” to the highly-viewed 9 p.m. slot on Thursdays, also known as “primetime,” where it is directly competing against ABC’s hit show “Lost.” With this new pressure to create higher stakes and find more shocking predators to draw more viewers in. Hansen, Dateline NBC producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), and young decoy-actor Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo) face the ultimate task of building an Emmy-winning, rating-smashing phenomenon.
The genius of the film comes from that exact dilemma though; can a show that is doing “the Lord’s work” (as is repeated in the film) truly be considered righteous if it is being made for the wrong reasons? As the title suggests, “Primetime” is all about the behind-the-scenes mayhem of the show itself and does not put its focus on the sensitive topic of the show whatsoever.
That focus is a direct parallel to where Hansen’s mind is, as the movie explores his self-centered obsession to make the show bigger and better no matter the mental or emotional toll the contents of the show take on him, his coworkers, or his family.
Out of any actor that could have possibly conveyed such a poetically flawed character so flawlessly, Robert Pattinson was the best choice on this planet. Pattinson embodied Chris Hansen, not just in the mind-blowing transformation into Hansen’s look, voice, and mannerisms, but in the contrast between his on-camera facade and off-camera instability.
Every second he is on screen, he demands your attention with sharp comedic timing and creative decisions in his gestures, line delivery, and movements. He truly nails Hansen’s slow descent into madness as he realizes the control he has over the show is falling out of his hands, oddly feeling just as helpless as the subjects on his own show.
Lance Oppenheim directed this film like a true visionary. “Primetime” has a grainy, weirdly nostalgic, and unsettling aesthetic that feels inescapable and oddly addicting. The color grading is beautifully intense, the cinematography is gorgeously precise, and the score is eerily haunting. If the general landscape of cinema in 2026 is described as cookie-cutter and lifeless, this film could not be farther from that, with Oppenheim’s style injected into every frame.
However, that overt style is matched with a clear dramatization of the real-life events and Hansen. This strongly upset Hansen himself, and as such, he has been vocal about his thoughts on the film online. Yahoo reports that Hansen was not involved in the making of the film, and when A24 finally asked him to be involved in the promotion of the movie, he declined.
According to TMZ, Hansen initially claimed that A24 asked him to “sign away [his] rights to [his] name, image, and brand” as well as his right to take legal action against A24 in a “very restrictive agreement.” However, TMZ later found out that what Hansen refused to sign was a standard non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which all early viewers of the film have to sign solely to ensure the movie is not spoiled online. Hollywood Reporter also explained that Hansen purchased advertising for his own predator investigation streaming network, TruBlu, that will play before every screening of “Primetime.”
Thus, Hansen watched his own biopic just like any viewer: at the theaters on opening night. Right after exiting the theater, Hansen reacted on his X stating, “It was so bizarre and so in and out of reality … it was so detached from reality or anything I’ve ever experienced, then or now, doing the investigations … I’m not sure what the point of it was.”
With that warning in mind, “Primetime” may not be designed to tell the story of Hansen and “To Catch a Predator” in the most authentic way possible. However, if you’re looking for a surreal experience packed with energy, color, bizarrely mesmerizing visuals, unbelievable performances, and layered themes about the dynamic between media and morals, “Primetime” is undoubtedly worth seeing in theaters.
