Robert Pattinson Plays Chris Hansen in 'Primetime'
Robert Pattinson plays Chris Hansen in "Primetime," a drama about Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator." The film traces how Hansen built ratings by luring suspected child predators in front of network TV cameras, according to ABC News.
Distributor A24 lists "Primetime" for release on September 25, 2026. It credits Lance Oppenheim as director and lists Pattinson as a starring cast member, alongside Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers and Bokeem Woodbine.
It is Oppenheim's first feature film. He previously worked primarily in documentary, including the HBO series "Ren Faire." The script is by first-time screenwriter Ajon Singh.
ABC News, in its review, describes Pattinson's Hansen as played "with malicious precision." In the film, Hansen is an ambitious TV journalist chasing a breakout moment. The sting operation gives him one. Cameras roll as men arrive at a house expecting to meet a minor.
The ensemble fills out the operation around him. Wever plays "Predator" producer Andie Bender. Matthew Maher plays online vigilante Xavier Von Erck. Gisondo plays actor decoy Dan Plumb.
Bridgers plays Del Harvey. Tony Revolori appears as a Long Beach man cornered after arriving to meet someone he thinks is a 13-year-old girl.
Former NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker also appears as himself. In the story, his character puts "To Catch a Predator" in primetime on Wednesday nights opposite ABC's "Lost."
Early coverage has framed the film as a media story more than a true-crime story. The Associated Press, under the headline "'Primetime': Robert Pattinson brings 'To Catch a Predator' to life," described it as a tale with shades of "Network," "Ace in the Hole" and "To Die For." Other headlines have been blunt about its point of view, including the New York Post's "'Primetime' review: No wonder Chris Hansen is furious" and the CBC's "Robert Pattinson's Primetime hates Chris Hansen."
What makes this stand out is the angle. This is not a rerun of the stings. It is a look at the people who staged them, sold them and watched them.
