Robert Pattinson would like America to take a seat. A24 has released the official trailer for Primetime, casting the actor as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen in a psychological crime thriller about television success, moral certainty and the intoxicating pursuit of a bigger target. Watch the trailer above and read on for what to know.
Robert Pattinson Is Ready for His Big Night
“Big night planned. Why don’t you have a seat right there,” Pattinson’s Hansen tells one unsuspecting target, played by Tony Revolori, as the cameras begin rolling.
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“I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC, and we’re doing a story on adults who try to meet teens online. You see how this looks, right?”
The familiar confrontation is delivered in Hansen’s controlled cadence, although Pattinson brings something distinctly unnerving to the part. His composed expression and camera-ready delivery suggest a man who understands exactly how compelling he is on television, even as those around him struggle to process how effectively the formula is working.
Set in 2006, Primetime follows Hansen and his team during the rise of To Catch a Predator, the recurring Dateline NBC investigation that used online decoys, hidden cameras and coordinated police operations to confront adults who believed they were arranging sexual encounters with minors.
‘America Loves It’
The success soon attracts the attention of NBC’s upper ranks. Former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Zucker appears as himself, delivering Hansen a backhanded promotion. “I don’t really like your show, but America loves it,” Zucker tells him. “So I’m going to move you to primetime.”
Hansen responds by celebrating in the network’s hallway with a colleague played by Merritt Wever (Severance). “We’re gonna be bigger than Lost!” he declares.
“I want something that matters. No more bottom-feeders. I want a whale,” Hansen says as the show’s growing audience emboldens him to pursue increasingly significant targets.
He tells one of the decoy performers, played by Skyler Gisondo (Superman), that they are not simply acting but “cleansing the world of an ancient evil”. The language pushes Hansen beyond the role of reporter, presenting a man who may have begun to view himself as the indispensable hero of his own televised crusade.
The Controversial Story Behind the Show
To Catch a Predator aired as a recurring Dateline NBC investigation from 2004 to 2007. The programme worked with online watchdog group Perverted Justice to arrange encounters with men who believed they were communicating with minors, confronting them at sting houses with police frequently waiting nearby to make arrests.
The segments became a major ratings success and a pop-culture phenomenon, although their methods also raised questions surrounding journalistic ethics, entrapment, cooperation between television producers and law enforcement, and the transformation of criminal investigations into entertainment.
The programme’s darkest chapter came during a November 2006 operation in Texas involving Rockwall County assistant district attorney Bill Conradt. Conradt had communicated with a decoy but did not travel to the sting house. Police and the television crew instead went to his home with search and arrest warrants, where he killed himself as officers entered.
The incident led to intense scrutiny, an investigation by ABC’s 20/20 and a lawsuit filed by Conradt’s sister. It also became central to Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article ‘Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die’, on which Primetime is based.
Who Is Behind Primetime?
Primetime marks the narrative feature debut of director Lance Oppenheim, whose documentary work includes Some Kind of Heaven, Spermworld and the HBO series Ren Faire. The screenplay comes from first-time feature writer Ajon Singh.
Alongside Pattinson, Wever and Gisondo, the cast includes Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine and Anna Faris. Pattinson also serves as a producer, with Ari Aster among the film’s producing team through Square Peg.
Release Date
Primetime will have its world premiere in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival before A24 releases the film in U.S. cinemas on September 25.
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