Official Trailer Out: Robert Pattinson Stars As Chris Hansen In A24’s ‘Primetime’

A24 has dropped the official full-length trailer for Primetime, one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2026, with Robert Pattinson playing the notorious host of Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator, Chris Hansen. The trailer landed on August 6, weeks before the film’s world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

What Is Primetime About?

The official logline reads: “In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history.”

The film follows the origins of the television news magazine program To Catch a Predator, which featured host Chris Hansen confronting adult men who would arrive at a sting house to have sex with minors and typically get arrested as a result.

Inspired by real events, Primetime tackles Hansen’s child predator-catching series, which premiered in 2004 and became a massive hit for Dateline NBC, bringing tens of millions of viewers during its peak. The series was controversial, largely due to the methods employed to lure predators to a home.

To Catch a Predator ran from 2004 to 2007 as a periodic special investigative report and primetime segment on Dateline NBC. The show followed undercover sting operations across the United States.

Film At A Glance

What Happens In The Trailer?

The intense trailer features former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Zucker playing himself. Zucker’s role in the movie is fairly significant — in the footage, he gets excited about the ratings potential of Hansen’s show while giving him a backhanded compliment.

Jeff Zucker tells Pattinson’s Chris Hansen: “I don’t like your show, but America loves it! So I need to move you. To Catch A Predator — 9 p.m. primetime.”

Then we cut to Chris (Pattinson) jumping up and down, exclaiming “We’re gonna be bigger than Lost!” — just in case you forget this was set in the early 2000s.

Following this excitement, the trailer’s mood begins to shift, teasing the tragic downfall of the show.

The film revisits the controversial Dateline sting series and the ethical fallout that led to its cancellation.

The Cast

Pattinson will play Hansen, with Anna Faris playing his wife Mary Joan. Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers round out the film’s supporting cast.

The Director & Creative Team

Primetime is the narrative debut for Lance Oppenheim, who is more known for his documentary work — Some Kind of Heaven and HBO’s Ren Faire.

The film is a Range Media, Icki Eneo Arlo and Square Peg production. Lance Oppenheim directed in his narrative feature film debut. Producers include Pattinson, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Brighton McCloskey and Lars Knudsen.

Robert Pattinson is a producer on the film and stars as Hansen.

Release & Festival Run

Ahead of its wide theatrical rollout, the highly anticipated crime drama will have its world premiere at the main competition of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where it will compete for the Golden Lion — awarded to the best overall feature film in the festival’s official selection.

A24 will release the film in theaters on September 25.

Robert Pattinson’s Extraordinary 2026

In the middle of an extraordinarily busy 2026 — which includes a leading role in breakout A24 hit The Drama and a scene-stealing villain turn in The Odyssey, plus a performance in Dune Part 3 later this fall — Robert Pattinson is going back 20 years to 2006, for a new film retelling the wild story of To Catch a Predator.

He has had movies perfectly distributed throughout the year: The Drama in April, The Odyssey in July, Primetime in September, and Dune: Part Three in December.

Pattinson’s 2026 Film Calendar

Why This Film Matters

Primetime is the second film in two years to tackle the rise and fall of To Catch a Predator. Last year, David Osit’s documentary Predators, which told the story using raw footage from the series and interviews with former members of its production as well as Hansen, premiered at Sundance to critical acclaim, before receiving a theatrical release from MTV Documentary Films.

Just last year there was a documentary film titled Predators from Sundance, which took a very critical look at the show, the host Chris Hansen, and what was really going on behind the scenes. This film seems to be inspired by the revelations in that documentary, telling the story of how Hansen created this show for his own ambitions.

Primetime could fuel Robert Pattinson’s awards run, with the trailer teasing one of his darkest turns in 2026.

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