The film “Primetime” attempts to mirror the same voyeuristic thrill that fueled the television series “To Catch a Predator,” capturing the intense, often disturbing desire to witness alleged criminals apprehended on camera. However, the film struggles to maintain a connection to reality, opting instead for a heightened, almost fantastical portrayal that renders it more of a fever dream than a serious examination of the program or its host, Chris Hansen.
Robert Pattinson plays the newsman-turned-host, though Hansen himself was not consulted during production. Pattinson’s interpretation is manic and stylized, resembling something akin to a David Bowie performance, which feels detached from the actual personality of the Metro Detroit-raised broadcaster. But he needn’t have worried: Robert Pattinson’s maniacal portrayal of Hansen is overblown to the point of caricature. He’s like David Bowie playing an alien playing a human playing a TV personality. He’s psyching himself up before he goes onstage.
The film opens with a visceral look at the show’s signature sting operations. Pattinson’s version of Hansen is shown obsessively rehearsing scripts of illicit online chats before taking the stage. As he emerges to confront the unsuspecting subjects, he functions less as a reporter and more as an executioner. The film highlights the “secret sauce” of the original series: rather than simply documenting an arrest, the show focused on the public ritual of humiliation before turning the individuals over to law enforcement. “Primetime” opens with one of the show’s infamous sting operations, as Hansen prepares to take down a perv who thinks he’s meeting up with a minor for an encounter. Getting arrested is one thing; being the subject of ritual humiliation is another.
“Primetime” portrays Hansen as a man consumed by ego and ratings, painting his motivations in broad strokes. His domestic life is shown as nearly nonexistent, with his marriage to a character played by Anna Faris depicted as failing. His interactions with his children are cold, limited to watching segments of his own show. The narrative focuses heavily on the pressure he faces from the “National Enquirer” regarding incriminating photos and his competitive desire to outperform network rival Stone Phillips. “Primetime” definitely has feelings on Hansen, “To Catch a Predator” and the show’s ethical practices, but it paints them in broad strokes and turns Hansen into a ratings-hungry egotist out to claw his way to the top by.
The behind-the-scenes world of the show involves an intense collaboration between Hansen and his producer, Andie Bender, portrayed by Merritt Wever, who is equally determined to capture compelling television. They work alongside Xavier Von Erck, played by Matthew Maher, an online vigilante who orchestrates the deceptive digital interactions. The emotional core of the film is found in Skyler Gisondo’s performance as Dan Plumb, an aspiring actor dubbed “Decoy Dan,” who finds himself caught in increasingly dangerous scenarios in his pursuit of a serious acting career. His mouth practically foaming as he repeats the words, “I’ll undress you, you will undress me, pattinson-as-Hansen is poring over a script of the online chat between the perpetrator and the decoy he believed to be a young girl.
Director Lance Oppenheim makes his narrative feature debut with this project, utilizing a grainy aesthetic reminiscent of mid-2000s low-resolution digital media to evoke a sense of claustrophobia. While “Primetime” aims to critique the ethics of turning law enforcement into entertainment, it ultimately falls into the same traps as its subject matter. Unlike the 2025 documentary “Predators,” which provided a critical analysis of the show’s influence, “Primetime” lacks a deep exploration of the protagonist’s psyche, opting for a portrayal that critics suggest is as ghoulish as the spectacle it seeks to examine.
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