PRIMETIME

Director: Lance Oppenheim
Starring: Robert Pattinson, Skyler Gisondo, Merritt Weaver, Matthew Maher, Alex Winter, Anna Faris

Before the true crime phase really took off, journalist Chris Hansen was making waves at NBC with his TV series To Catch a Predator. His drive and obsession went too far and has become the subject of the new film, Primetime. Robert Pattinson continues his streak of compelling performances in 2026 following The Drama and The Odyssey. He fully embodies Chris Hansen as this story picks up in 2006. He works for NBC and finds that he’s doing important work on his hidden camera show To Catch a Predator where they lure suspecting child predators into a home with a decoy actor and catch them on camera before they’re hauled away by the cops. The NBC executives didn’t really understand the appeal of the show, but it got solid ratings and they needed a big hit after Seinfeld and Friends ended their runs. They decided to boost Hansen’s profile by putting him in the primetime lineup going up against Lost. Chris Hansen saw this as an opportunity and did whatever it could take to win the Wednesday night ratings. He and his producer, Andi Bender (Merritt Weaver), were ruthless and expanded their goals even hiring another decoy actor to help. Skyler Gisondo plays Dan Plumb, an aspiring young actor who takes on the job of being the decoy not fully realizing what he’s getting himself into until he starts filming. Now in theaters

Here’s my review