PRIMETIME (2026) – A Fascinating Story That Never Quite Finds Its Focus
Rating: ⭐⭐ 1/2
Between 2004 and 2007, the television series To Catch a Predator made television history with its unconventional approach to exposing child predators. Using online decoys to lure unsuspecting individuals into carefully orchestrated confrontations, the show would publicly expose its targets on camera, often with host Chris Hansen personally confronting them. The series became a huge sensation, turning Hansen into a household name and bringing him considerable fame in the process.
Primetime takes inspiration from these actual events, but it is important to recognise that this is a heavily dramatised work of fiction rather than an authentic biographical account of Chris Hansen’s life and career, despite choosing to use his real name. As directed by Lance Oppenheim, the film is a rather uneven and unnecessarily overdramatised ride.
Visually, the film is distractingly awash with saturated colours and low lighting, apparently attempting to recreate the aesthetic of the era. While the stylistic approach may be intentional, it often becomes more of a distraction than an effective storytelling device. More problematic, however, is the choppy narrative flow. The film rarely allows its characters sufficient time or depth to develop, leaving most of them rather one-dimensional. Consequently, there is very little for the audience to emotionally connect with, whether in terms of empathy or identification.
Robert Pattinson takes on the role of Chris Hansen, but his portrayal is a curious one. He appears almost half-crazed for much of the film, making it difficult to see beyond the exaggerated showman persona and find any semblance of the real person behind the television phenomenon. It is a performance that feels more like an interpretation of a television personality than an attempt to understand the individual himself.
Perhaps the most compelling performance comes from Skyler Gisondo as Dan Plum, a young aspiring actor recruited to pose as an underage minor and serve as bait in the operation. Gisondo brings a refreshing sense of naturalness and spontaneity to the role, particularly in the tense encounters where Dan finds himself face to face with the unsuspecting predators. These moments provide some of the film’s most engaging sequences. Indeed, as the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly apparent just how critical Dan’s involvement is to the success of the operation. It is somewhat unfortunate that his contribution and significance are never given the recognition they deserve, being largely overshadowed by the more prominent presence of the show’s host.
Ultimately, Primetime has a genuinely fascinating story to tell, but seems more interested in dramatising the events and their eventual outcome than exploring the fascinating mechanics behind the operation itself. There is little insight into how the original idea came about, how the television network was persuaded to greenlight such an unconventional and potentially controversial programme, or the enormous amount of planning, preparation and coordination required to successfully execute these elaborate entrapment operations.
These are arguably the more intriguing aspects of the story, yet they are largely overlooked in favour of manufactured drama. By the time the credits roll, we are not particularly much wiser about how To Catch a Predator came into existence or what made this groundbreaking television experiment possible in the first place.
For a film built around such an extraordinary real-life television phenomenon, Primetime ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. It has the ingredients for a compelling story but never quite finds the depth, focus or narrative discipline to do it justice.
