Robert Pattinson transforms into To Catch a Predator host in controversial new film
Robert Pattinson transforms into To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen in controversial new film Primetime. Watch the trailer and find out its UK release date.
Robert Pattinson takes on one of American television’s most recognisable presenters in Primetime, a new film from A24, the American film studio behind hits including Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Brutalist.
The film is inspired by the rise of To Catch a Predator, the controversial US television series fronted by Chris Hansen that became a huge ratings success during the 2000s. A final trailer was released on 15 September, giving audiences another look at Pattinson’s transformation ahead of the film’s cinema release.
Robert Pattinson takes on Chris Hansen
Set in 2006, Primetime follows Hansen as To Catch a Predator becomes a television phenomenon. A24 describes the film as a dramatised story inspired by true events rather than a straightforward biopic of the television presenter.
The original Dateline NBC programme became famous for confronting adult men who believed they were meeting minors they had contacted online. Primetime looks beyond the confrontations themselves, examining the increasingly blurred line between journalism and entertainment as the programme becomes a ratings success.
Chris Hansen calls Primetime an ‘insult’
The film has already generated controversy because Hansen was not involved in its production and has not seen the completed movie. He has called the project an “insult” and criticised its fictionalised approach to the work surrounding To Catch a Predator.
Hansen was offered an opportunity to see Primetime before its release, but a disagreement over an NDA meant the screening did not go ahead. Hansen questioned what he was being asked to agree to, while a source close to the situation disputed his account and said it was a standard preview NDA.
Pattinson has kept his response considerably shorter. Asked about Hansen’s criticism while promoting the film at the Venice Film Festival, he said: “I hope he likes the movie.”
Director Lance Oppenheim has also addressed the criticism and said he is looking forward to Hansen eventually seeing the finished film.
The filmmaker has explained that Primetime explores what happened inside the television machine as To Catch a Predator became increasingly successful, rather than simply recreating Hansen’s famous confrontations.
Primetime heads to the UK
Primetime premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and is also heading to the BFI London Film Festival. The film examines what happens as the television operation becomes increasingly successful and pressure grows to keep audiences watching.
For Pattinson, the role provides a very different transformation. Rather than simply impersonating Hansen, Primetime uses the familiar world of To Catch a Predator to examine how disturbing real events became hugely popular television entertainment.
Primetime will be released in UK and Irish cinemas on 30 October 2026. The film will also screen at the BFI London Film Festival ahead of its wider cinema release.
