Updated Aug. 6, 2026, 11:14 a.m. ET
The official trailer for “Primetime” hints that the upcoming movie, inspired by a former Detroit TV reporter, is going to be an extremely tense trip through a ratings-seeking journalist’s psyche.
Robert Pattinson oozes maximum intensity as former NBC News journalist Chris Hansen, whose controversial “To Catch A Predator” series for “Dateline NBC” from 2004 to 2007 used decoys posing online as minors to search undercover for potential child predators.
In one scene from the trailer, after NBC decides to move “To Catch A Predator” to a coveted 9 p.m. slot, Pattinson’s Hansen shakes his fists with glee as he shouts, “It’ll be bigger than ‘Lost’!” referring to the hit ABC series of the 2000s.
In another scene, Pattinson said, “‘Predator’ has never earned the recognition it deserves. I want something that matters. No more bottom feeders. I want a whale.”
The real-life Hansen worked in metro Detroit as a TV reporter for WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) from 1984 to 1988 and WDIV-TV (Channel 4) from 1988 to 1993 before joining NBC News.
“Primetime” will have its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, which runs Sept. 2-12. It is scheduled to open at theaters Sept. 25.
Contact Detroit pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.
