By The Editorial Board
Film studio A24’s next hit, “Primetime,” smashed the box office last weekend with almost $20 million in North American ticket sales. The historical thriller depicts the making of the reality television series “To Catch a Predator” and the ascent of Chris Hansen, its iconic host, portrayed by Robert Pattinson.
With such a strong opening, the film will undoubtedly recoup its $15 million production budget and whatever was spent on its marketing. Its superstar leading man, high-octane cinematography and tenuous subject matter have already filled seats and will continue to do so.
But before we shower this film with praise and attention, we should pause and first consider what the film industry has sold us.
Predator poaching is by no means a new thing and is noble in its goal of stopping heinous crimes before they happen. Hansen’s original series began airing on NBC in 2004 to an audience that had already grappled with the unsavory controversy surrounding “King of Pop” Michael Jackson’s conduct at his Los Olivos, California, home, “Neverland Ranch,” in the early 1990s.
Even 20 years ago, the public knew about the awful things happening in the upper strata of society, in no small part because of the sensational media coverage surrounding these incidents.
Yet the 2020s are more inundated than ever with news about, and disdain for, the indignity that is pedophilia. The 2019 suicide of Jeffrey Epstein and the 3.5 million documents released about his web of victims and blackmail as of January 2026 is currently a leading factor in Americans’ distrust of the current administration.
This history and these figures should be disturbing first and foremost, not material for our entertainment.
In an unfortunate acceleration throughout the current decade, the outing of public figures as bad actors has become a source of guaranteed media engagement.
Unlike the initial allegations that came out against media mainstays like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, much of the high-profile “predator poaching” that gets us talking amounts to little in the way of prosecution.
Generation Z loves this sort of controversy. According to an article published by Variety on “Primetime’s” box office performance, “69% of audiences [were] under the age of 30” as of Sept. 28.”
It seems every other week that a social media influencer or politician gets outed for engaging in the unthinkable. But oftentimes, the vigilante work that goes into exposing potential pedophiles produces inadmissible legal evidence and allows truly legitimate criminals to evade police capture.
A spokesperson for the British National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children said in a 2019 BBC article the actions of pedophile hunters could “put more children at risk of harm by driving offenders underground, endangering ongoing police work and the legal process, or result in innocent people being targeted.”
As reported by FOX 2 Detroit, a high-profile incident with these characteristics unfolded as YouTuber and predator poacher Jidon Adams whose vigilantism led to his arrest June 22 for Breach of Peace and Stalking.
Awareness about the heightened prevalence of pedophilia in the modern day is as inevitable as it is necessary. What won’t raise that awareness is sensational media that downplays the gravity of sexual immorality with baseless accusations, over-filmed drama and trite finger-pointing.
Instead of “crying wolf” and diminishing child predation with the meaningless quarrels we start with our enemies, we should direct our energy and ingenuity toward political action at the federal level and moral action at the individual level.
In Matthew 18, our Lord tells us that in correcting our brother’s faults, either face-to-face or with the support of our communities, we will “gain our brother.” Taking sin seriously and exalting virtue is what our fallen world needs, and today’s issues are very serious indeed.
