“I am Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC, and we are doing a story on adults meeting young teens online for sex.”
The crowded Boston Common AMC theater shared a laugh, some with a strange mixture of bittersweet nostalgia. Others looked around the room, puzzled.
These terrifying words meant absolute despair and humiliation for the men across the room from Hansen. For the millions of spectators across America in the mid 2000s, however, it brought a sadistic feeling of satisfaction as they watched Hansen catch sexual predators one after another.
A new generation of viewers are being exposed to this iconic catchphrase through Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Chris Hansen in the new A24 movie “Primetime” (2026).
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, “Primetime” follows “To Catch a Predator” host and former NBC news correspondent Chris Hansen during the making of the show between 2006 and 2007, until the show ultimately got canceled and taken off of Dateline by NBC.
“To Catch a Predator” first aired in 2004 with a simple goal: to catch predators through online chat rooms and expose them on national television. “Predator”’s formula was simple: “decoy” adults would pose online as a child and wait for an adult to message them. After the conversation with the predator became sexually charged, the decoy would invite them to meet at their house to continue it.
When the men showed up to the house filled with hidden cameras, the decoy would excuse themselves, and the NBC production crew would straddle the suspect.
Hansen would then say one of his famous catchphrases, “Why don’t you take a seat over there?” He would read the conversation the adult had with someone they believed to be underage, which often included sexual language and nude photos.
By 2007, “To Catch a Predator” averaged 7 million viewers per episode, compared to the 6.2 million for other Dateline programs. MSNBC, NBC’s cable channel, would replay episodes of the show during “primetime,” the evening block of TV from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. when most people were watching.
“Primetime” highlights Hansen’s alleged obsession with maintaining viewership and hosting the number one show on television. Through dramatized dialogue-heavy scenes between Hansen and his production team, Oppenheim sought to showcase his view on how Hansen dealt with his fame and notoriety.
Noelle Mark, a freshman interdisciplinary studies major, noted how it’s almost impossible to create a reality-based film without controversies.
“Using someone’s likeness and real name for a film that takes a lot of creative liberties will always create backlash,” Mark explained.
Chris Hansen was not involved with the production of the movie, and has publicly stated the movie is almost entirely a work of fiction.
“The only elements of the movie that are not fictionalized are the fact that he uses my name and two or three catchphrases. Everything else is fictionalized,” Hansen told Variety.
Oppenheim doesn’t claim the movie is a biopic, instead crediting the 2009 article “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die” from Esquire magazine as the source for his adaptation.
The article is a long-form investigative story written by Luke Dittrich. It is a highly detailed retelling of the morning in 2007 when “To Catch a Predator” partnered with the police of Murphy, Texas, on a sting operation to catch an alleged sexual abuser and assistant district attorney, Louis William Conradt Jr.
Conradt, a 56-year-old state prosecutor, had fallen for the decoy’s online texting like the other predators, sending explicit, sexually charged messages before deleting all of his accounts on MySpace, the chatroom platform they used to communicate.
Around 8:30 a.m., after police broke into his house to confront him, Conradt shot himself.
Although Hansen stated his show was canceled because it had “run its course,” Conradt’s sister sued NBC for $105 million and the company officially canceled “To Catch a Predator” that same year. The lawsuit was ultimately settled out of court in June 2008 for an undisclosed amount.
While the real-life Hansen remains focused on the dramatization of his work life, Emerson students see Oppenheim’s creative liberties as the key to the film’s thematic weight.
“‘Primetime’ isn’t meant to be a biopic about ‘To Catch a Predator’ or Chris Hansen,” said Jennevieve Dellett, a freshman writing, literature and publishing major. She went in well-versed in the show’s lore, even recognizing the Season two Ocean City episode where her mother personally knew the suspect, Michael Murray.
“Its purpose is to make commentary on the morality of the show and its purpose,” Dellett said. “[The film] points out the moral ambiguity of one imperfect man creating himself to be the center of this movement… while he’s aware that he is not righteous enough to truly deserve the position he’s built.”
Mark noted how technical choices construct the film’s uncanny atmosphere: “I remember really enjoying the 4:3 aspect ratio that was used. It made it very reminiscent of television of the early 2000s, which was the goal,” She said. “I also loved the lighting choices and the color grading, which gave the film a very uncanny tone.”
This filmmaking style makes art of a very complex story, one Mark noted was ripe for controversy despite critical reactions.
“That’s something I loved about Oppenheim’s film, it is impossible to truly root for any of the characters, as they are all deeply morally flawed in their own ways. It offers a really well-rounded and nuanced take on the show, and there is no ‘good guy.’
Cameron Hamilton, a freshman film, television, and media arts major, agreed with Mark, adding “Lance Oppenheim clearly has respect for Chris Hansen as a showman. I think people don’t understand that… Chris Hansen doesn’t understand that.”
“Chris is a man who operates in a world of moral extremes. Good with a capital G and Bad with a capital B. This also happens to be how the rest of the world, especially online, operates.” Hamilton stated. “‘Primetime’ stands against him, and stands against the rest of the world exploring an intense amount of moral gray area.”
Although many Emerson students were barely one year old when “To Catch a Predator” ran its course, “Primetime” bridges the intergenerational gap by resurfacing important debates on show business moral ethics.
