A24 dropped the first full trailer for Primetime, a crime thriller where Robert Pattinson plays television journalist Chris Hansen. The film looks at the rise of the controversial NBC series To Catch a Predator during its peak in 2006. The trailer shows Pattinson delivering Hansen’s famous line, “Won’t you have a seat right there?” as he confronts a suspected online predator.
The movie has brought Hansen back into the public eye. Many people are now asking where the real Chris Hansen is and what he has been doing since his show ended nearly two decades ago.
Robert Pattinson Transforms Into Chris Hansen for Primetime
Primetime marks the narrative feature debut of documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim. The film is set in 2006 and follows Hansen as he becomes more consumed by his goal to make television history. The story looks at how the show’s growing popularity raised questions about ethics and the cost of turning criminal investigations into entertainment.
The trailer shows Pattinson’s exact copy of Hansen’s calm and measured way of speaking. He tells his crew that the show will be bigger than Lost after learning it is getting its own primetime slot. The film follows Hansen’s move from a Dateline correspondent to a media figure driven by an obsession to catch a high-profile target.
Alongside Pattinson, the cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, and singer Phoebe Bridgers in her dramatic feature acting debut. Gisondo plays Dan Plumb, a young actor hired to pretend to be a 13-year-old boy online to trap suspects. Wever plays Hansen’s fast-paced television producer.
Primetime will make its world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival. The film has a running time of 107 minutes. A24 will release it in theaters on September 25, 2026.
Pattinson also serves as a producer on the project alongside Ari Aster and others. The film is based on Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article that examined the real-life events around To Catch a Predator.
Where Is Chris Hansen Now in 2026
Chris Hansen has continued his work in crime investigations long after To Catch a Predator ended in 2008. He remains active in the true crime space through multiple projects.
Takedown With Chris Hansen on TruBlu
Hansen co-founded the true crime streaming service TruBlu in 2020. He hosts the series Takedown With Chris Hansen, which premiered in 2022. The show follows a similar format to To Catch a Predator, with Hansen confronting adults accused of trying to meet minors they contacted online. According to TruBlu, Hansen’s investigations over two decades have led to more than 500 arrests. The series continues to release new episodes.
YouTube Channel and Podcasts
In 2019, Hansen launched his YouTube channel, Have a Seat With Chris Hansen. On the channel, he interviews alleged online predators and discusses criminal investigations. The channel remains active and provides updates on his investigations and livestreams.
Hansen also hosts the podcast Predators I’ve Caught, where he looks back at some of the most notable cases from his career.
Recent Sting Operations
Hansen continues to work with law enforcement on real sting operations. In 2025, he worked with police in Harford County, Maryland, during a sting that led to the arrests of nine men accused of trying to meet minors for sex. One suspect reportedly messaged an undercover deputy that he hoped he would not “see Chris Hansen” waiting for him.
More recently, Hansen worked with the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. The operation led to the arrest of 11 people on child sex crime charges in early February.
“I had reached out to the sheriff’s office and we were able to put together a sting operation,” Hansen said about the Livingston Parish arrests.
Hansen also spoke with political commentator Megyn Kelly on her podcast about the case of Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old who vanished on July 4 and was found dead two days later.
Other TV Work
After NBC decided not to renew his contract in 2013, Hansen went on to host other shows. He hosted Killer Instinct on Investigation Discovery in 2015, where he interviewed witnesses, victims, and law enforcement. He later fronted the syndicated program Crime Watch Daily in 2016, where he introduced Hansen vs. Predator, an independent version of his signature sting format.
The To Catch a Predator Controversy
To Catch a Predator began as a Dateline NBC segment and became a standalone program that aired between 2004 and 2007. The show was a huge success, averaging more than seven million viewers during its final season.
The show used hidden cameras and adult actors pretending to be minors in online chats. When men arrived at sting houses to meet who they thought were underage people, Hansen would confront them and ask them to “have a seat”.
However, criticism grew over the show’s production methods and ethical concerns. The biggest controversy came during a 2006 investigation in Murphy, Texas. Prosecutors alleged attorney Bill Conradt planned to meet an underage decoy. After he failed to appear at the sting house, the production went with law enforcement to his home. Conradt died by suicide as officers entered. His estate later sued NBC, and the case was settled out of court. NBC canceled the program in 2008 without giving an official reason.
Fan Reactions to the Primetime Trailer
The Primetime trailer has created a lot of discussion online. Some viewers are not sure about the need for the film.
One X user wrote under the trailer:
“Umm… I don’t hate it, but was this something that we needed to make?”
Another user called it “the most memeable true-crime show” and praised A24 for the trailer. The user wrote:
“A24 somehow took one of the most memeable true-crime shows of all time and turned it into something that feels genuinely”
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Chris Hansen’s Personal Life
Hansen was born in Chicago and raised in Michigan. He is currently 66 years old. He got divorced in 2020 and remarried in 2021.
In May 2026, Hansen was set to host the CLUE Awards at CrimeCon in Las Vegas, which honor excellence in true crime storytelling across TV, film, podcasts, and publishing.
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