Is America ready to relive the cultural phenomenon that was Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator? A24’s new film Primetime will star Robert Pattinson (The Odyssey) as the host of the now-defunct series, Chris Hansen. The film is directed by Lance Oppenheim (Some Kind of Heaven), from a script by Ajon Singh.
In the trailer, former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Zucker plays (what we hope is a dramatised version of) himself. We see him getting excited about the insane ratings that To Catch a Predator is getting. So he bumps the show up to a primetime spot, despite not liking it.
Then we cut to Chris (Pattinson) jumping up and down, screaming “We’re gonna be bigger than Lost!” Just in case you forget this was set in the early 2000s. Following this excitement, the trailer’s mood begins to shift. Teasing the tragic downfall of the show. (Discussed below the trailer.)
Primetime also stars Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, and Bokeem Woodbine.
Primetime hits theaters on September 25th.
To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator ran from 2004 to 2007 as a part of Deadline NBC. The show partnered with watchdog group Perverted Justice to lure predators by having them speak to adults online posing as minors. Once the trap was set, these “kids” would invite the would-be predator over. There they would meet Hansen and local law enforcement to answer questions about why a grown adult is talking (often explicitly) to a minor. Let alone why they are meeting in person to hang out.
The show was as controversial as it was successful, and not just because of how disgusting the topic is. There were accusations of entrapment due to the sting operations. Not to mention blending real law enforcement operations with entertainment will always be a tricky situation.
Writer’s note: the section below about the end of To Catch a Predator does contain mentions of suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
The End of The Series
Officially, the show ended because it had “proved our point,” according to Hansen. But the fact that its cancellation came shortly after the suicide of Texas prosecutor Bill Conradt as police and a camera crew entered his home can’t go unnoted. Conradt had been exchanging images with a decoy claiming to be 13-years-old online. While he was invited to a sting house in Murphy, Texas, he decided not to go.
So the police and the To Catch a Predator crew decided to go to him with an arrest warrant. Conradt shot himself as soon as they entered his home. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His sister, Patricia Conradt, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against NBC for $109 million, which was settled out of court. “The matter has been amicably resolved to the satisfaction of both parties,” her lawyer said at the time.
Walt Weiss, a former detective for the Murphy Police Department, was involved in and has since apologized for Conradt’s sting. “They went over there and did that at that house because it would do something for the show, not something for society, not something in the interest of law enforcement. And the role that I played in it, that’s a stain on my soul that I’m gonna live with if I’m any kind of a human being at all. I could’ve shut that thing down,” Weiss said in the 2025 documentary Predators. “At least that part of it, just simply by walking out the back door and going to see somebody.”
If you or someone you know is suffering from a mental health crisis, please reach out to 788 Lifeline. Help is available.
