'Primetime' Review: Robert Pattinson Stars in a Dark Examination of Reality TV
By Alex Gilston - October 14, 2026
In the last week, Pete Hesgeth, the United States Secretary of War announced that they would be televising the live execution of Nidal Hasan. Whether this will go ahead remains to be seen, but it points to the darker face of American society. One where bloodlust reigns, where a grizzly need to witness “vengeance” overlooks the complicated needs of the given situation. You might not be able to blame him solely on some kind of domino effect, but it is an interesting thesis to bring in Chris Hansen and his incredibly popular noughties reality TV show ‘To Catch a Predator’. In turn, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime chronicles its rise and the lead-up to the fateful sting operation that led to the suicide of district attorney Bill Conradt.
What was To Catch a Predator?
For those who don’t know, To Catch A Predator was a Dateline NBC segment that had presenter Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson in Primetime) working alongside vigilante group Perverted Justice. Their goal was to expose and catch men who would speak to and subsequently attempt to meet those they think are children, but were actually stand-in actors, to engage in sexual activities. The meeting would then be a sting operation where Hansen would complete a gotcha moment and let them leave to then be arrested outside the house. When it aired, To Catch a Predator drew millions of viewers and was one of NBC’s most popular segments. In Primetime, we get a close-up insight into the operation behind the cameras, giving us a front-row seat to the actions of the people involved in making the show.
Primetime seeks to deconstruct the idea of whether justice being connected to entertainment can ever work. Furthermore, it asks whether what Hansen and co. did was actually a net good for the cause they were trying so vehemently to expose and battle. There is no easy answer to this, and Primetime is not interested in offering one up. Rightfully, there is no sympathy for the men they are trying to catch who are committing vile acts, but in that same vein, Chris Hansen and his producer, Andie Bender (Merritt Weaver), do not come off as all that innocent. Robert Pattinson masterfully portrays this grey area, where you can see in his eyes that Hansen believes what he is doing is right. But he has an arrogance to him that begs the question of whether he was more bothered about popularity and ratings. After all, the big sting operation at the end was only approved by Hansen due to the show’s ratings falling. It is literally Icarus flying too close to the sun; Hansen lets his ego overtake care for the delicate nature of bringing these men to justice.
Primetime’s character study continues through Merritt Weaver’s Andie. Her character’s journey is by far the most interesting. After the success of To Catch a Predator, a producer from ABC tries to poach her for a new reality show called ‘What Would You Do?’. A show in which scripted situations play out in public to see if anyone will intervene. After some consideration, Andie shuns the more positive leanings of What Would You Do? in favour of continuing on Predator. The narrative around Andie swirls in this grey area again, but towards her genuinely believing in the “mission” of the show she produces.
Primetime is very noughties in its presentation. The hidden camera segments have a low-quality effect, but even the normal action has a grain to it that feels purposefully dated. There are references to all sorts of iconic noughties staples like Lost and Fergie, which immerse you in the story and its time setting. These technical aspects might make it feel more authentic, but high-budget constructed reality shows with cameras and crews have been replaced with the phone in our hands. Vigilante groups quite like Perverted Justice act on TikTok to millions of followers, doing very similar things. Primetime may be set in the 2000s, but Oppenheim’s film cleverly holds a mirror up to the present day.
To Catch a Predator slowly fizzled away, not after most of the subjects who featured on the show were acquitted because there was a lack of evidence. Primetime doesn’t denounce or laud its subject in Chris Hansen, or that of the people who surround him. But the news delivered by Pete Hesgeth earlier last week is a sign that Primetime gets one detail perfectly right. That the show it portrays is almost an inevitability. That our anger towards these things won't be sated by true justice being served. Only by seeing some twisted version of it happen with our own eyes. To Catch a Predator still exists, just in a different way now.
'Primetime' releases in UK cinemas on October 30, 2026.
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Alex Gilston
Senior Writer
Alex is a film critic, and self confessed Disney expert. His passion for film is huge, so to be able to write and talk about them is a personal dream of his.
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