Primetime (United States, 2026)

When evaluating a movie like Primetime, one must consider two separate issues: whether it works as a film and whether it commits a degree of fictionalization that raises ethical questions about the filmmakers' intentions. That TV personality Chris Hansen has justifiably accused Primetime of "identity theft" is almost secondary to its failure to function as a drama, thriller, or satire. The characters are largely one-dimensional, there is no tension, the script is all over the place, and the attempts at cultural commentary are obvious and superficial. And that's all before one even addresses the portrayal of Hansen.

Broadly speaking, Primetime is loosely rooted in actual events. It takes place during a period when Hansen (Robert Pattinson) had already achieved nationwide fame as the central figure of Dateline NBC's controversial, recurring "To Catch a Predator" segments. As the movie gets underway, we see Hansen and his team under increasing pressure to land a "whale" to help them in their ratings competition with ABC's Lost. Increasingly unhinged and distracted by a tabloid threat to reveal his extramarital affair, Hansen pursues a reckless course of action that ultimately results in his downfall. Primetime unwisely splits its focus among a quartet of characters: Hansen; his producer, Andie Bender (Merritt Wever); aspiring actor-turned-decoy, Dan Plumb (Skyler Gisondo); and Perverted-Justice founder Xavier Von Erck (Matthew Maher).

The screenplay, credited to Ajon Singh, is so determined to emphasize its thesis about the media's prioritization of ratings over all else that it loses sight of the necessity to populate the story with credible characters—something that similar films like Network and Nightcrawler didn't neglect. The lack of any multi-dimensional personalities in Primetime neuters the film's effectiveness, and its decision to limit its satirical elements to superficial jabs at well-trodden media critiques feels lazy. Structurally, the movie feels more like a collage of moments than a coherent narrative.

Director Lance Oppenheim, a documentarian by trade, elected to shoot the film as if it were being filtered through an era-appropriate TV camera. The whole picture looks like it might have appeared on TV screens twenty years ago: boxy (4:3 Academy ratio), grainy, and dingy. There is no discernible reason for doing this, although I'm sure Oppenheim had his justifications. Ultimately, it only increases the film's distance from the audience, proving both distracting and off-putting.

And that brings us to the film's portrayal of Hansen. I have always felt that, regardless of how tightly the industry hugs the 1964 Supreme Court ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a certain level of care must be observed when presenting a fictionalized interpretation of a living person. In this case, it appears the filmmakers elected to use Hansen's name and public persona as a jumping-off point for a warped personality whose basis in reality is highly questionable. Viewing this portrayal, I was left with the same uncomfortable feeling I get from watching a deepfake, where the identity of an individual is hijacked solely to fulfill a director's vision. That is a slippery ethical slope. Furthermore, despite Pattinson's assertion that he did a "deep dive" into Hansen before starting work, I don't find this to be an especially credible recreation, even when he is actively imitating the public image. Hansen was successful in large part because he had a commanding presence. Pattinson's physically dissimilar version entirely lacks that aspect. It completes the derailment of a movie that was already on unstable tracks.

The backstory of To Catch a Predator was ably conveyed in David Osit's 2025 documentary, Predators. Despite Oppenheim's assertion that Primetime has a different goal, the core underlying concept—that a network and a media personality will prioritize ratings gold over human suffering—remains consistent. Ironically, the documentary's storyline is more compelling and its characters are better realized. Primetime's inability to craft something more powerful out of this material represents a failure of filmmaking and a major disappointment.

Primetime (United States, 2026)