A24 has unveiled the first full trailer for Primetime, offering the clearest look yet at Robert Pattinson‘s transformation into veteran television journalist Chris Hansen. Directed by Lance Oppenheim, the psychological drama is inspired by the rise of NBC’s controversial To Catch a Predator and follows Hansen during one of the defining periods of his career. The film is set to premiere in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival before opening in theaters on September 25.
Rather than functioning as a straightforward recreation of the long-running television series, the trailer suggests that Primetime is more interested in examining the human and ethical consequences behind one of America’s most debated true-crime programs. Pattinson recreates several of Hansen’s signature confrontations, including the journalist’s familiar question, “You see how this looks, right?”, while the footage builds an atmosphere closer to a psychological thriller than a conventional biographical drama.
Set in 2006, the film revisits the period when To Catch a Predator had become one of American television’s biggest cultural phenomena. Hosted by Hansen as part of NBC’s Dateline, the series used undercover online conversations and hidden-camera sting operations to expose suspected child predators. While the program became a ratings success and a defining piece of early internet-era television, it also generated sustained debate about the boundaries between journalism, law enforcement and entertainment. Those ethical questions appear to sit at the heart of Primetime.
The trailer also highlights the growing pressure behind the scenes as the program’s popularity accelerates. Hansen tells his production team, “We’re gonna be bigger than Lost,” reflecting the ambition driving the series during its peak. As the investigations become larger and more public, the film hints at the personal and professional cost of turning real criminal investigations into appointment television, suggesting that Primetime is as much about the machinery behind the cameras as it is about the sting operations themselves.
The screenplay draws inspiration from Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire article Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die, which examined one of the show’s most controversial investigations and its lasting consequences. Rather than simply dramatizing familiar episodes, the film appears to explore the escalating pressure to keep delivering bigger television moments and the difficult moral questions that accompanied the program’s success.
For Pattinson, Primetime represents another dramatic shift in a career increasingly defined by unconventional choices. The actor adopts Hansen’s distinctive voice, mannerisms and restrained interviewing style in what is a markedly different performance from many of his recent studio and independent projects. Early reactions to the trailer have focused on both his physical transformation and his ability to capture Hansen’s measured on-screen presence.
The supporting cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine and musician Phoebe Bridgers, who makes her feature acting debut. Behind the camera, Primetime marks Lance Oppenheim’s narrative feature debut following his acclaimed documentaries Some Kind of Heaven and Ren Faire. The screenplay comes from Ajon Singh in his first feature writing credit, while Pattinson also serves as a producer alongside Ari Aster, Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and William Iannaccone. The project is backed by A24, Range Media Partners, Square Peg and Icki Eneo Arlo.
More than two decades after To Catch a Predator became a television phenomenon, debates surrounding true-crime entertainment, media ethics and the responsibilities of investigative journalism remain highly relevant. Based on its first trailer, Primetime appears poised to revisit those questions through the lens of one of television’s most recognizable personalities rather than simply retelling a familiar story. Following its competition premiere at Venice, the film will receive a theatrical release through A24 on September 25.
