A24’s “Primetime” is a fictionalized look at the hit show “To Catch a Predator,” which aired on NBC from 2004 to 2007. The film, directed by Lance Oppenheim, follows host Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson), who, along with his producer Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), is determined to get “To Catch a Predator” to the top of the ratings at any cost.
The show, which ran as part of NBC’s “Dateline” newsmagazine franchise, was controversial from the start for televising undercover stings. With the help of the watchdog group Perverted Justice, episodes would feature hidden-camera footage of Hansen confronting men who arrived at a sting house to have sex with a minor. After tense conversations, Hansen would tell the men they were on TV and were free to leave. They’d often be arrested as soon as they left the house.
All of that is depicted in “Primetime” with a frenetic pace and a stylized edge. Pattinson portrays Hansen as a heartless and egotistical TV personality driven to make “To Catch a Predator” a ratings hit, leading to the show’s infamous real-life event: the suicide of Kaufman County district attorney Bill Conradt, who, after being caught in a Perverted Justice sting, fatally shot himself as a SWAT team closed in. A year later, the show was canceled.
So where is the real Chris Hansen now, and what does he think of the movie’s depiction of real-life events?
Chris Hansen has called ‘Primetime’ a ‘complete work of fiction’
Hansen was not involved in the making of “Primetime,” and he’s already voiced his displeasure about it. After the movie’s first trailer came out, he revealed that he was approached by A24, which offered to show him the movie, but he declined because he refused to sign the required NDA.
After the movie had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in the beginning of September, Hansen told The Hollywood Reporter that the movie is “a complete work of fiction.”
“Based upon what I’ve seen in the trailer and my understanding of what has been written about the film, they wanted to create something much darker and way more dramatic,” he said. “I think it’s an insult to the thousands of men and women who work hard every day to protect children from predators.”
Hansen did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
‘To Catch a Predator’ helped orchestrate the sting that caught Bill Conradt
In November 2006, “To Catch a Predator” producers and Perverted Justice worked with Murphy, Texas, police to conduct stings that would become future episodes of the show. One of the men caught in the sting turned out to be Bill Conradt, a Kaufman County district attorney.
Conradt had chatted online with someone who he thought was a 13-year-old boy, but he never traveled to the sting house. So authorities and the show went to him. On the morning of November 5, 2006, a SWAT team entered the 56-year-old’s home to serve him search and arrest warrants. As the SWAT team closed in, Conradt fatally shot himself.
The event was detailed in the 2009 Esquire story “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die,” which “Primetime” is based on.
Conradt’s family filed a $105 million wrongful death lawsuit against NBC in 2007. A year later, NBC settled with the family for an undisclosed amount.
What is Chris Hansen doing now?
Hansen left NBC in 2013 after his contract wasn’t renewed.
Since then, he hosted the Investigation Discovery show “Killer Instinct” in 2015, started a YouTube channel called “Have a Seat with Chris Hansen” in 2019, and cofounded the true crime streaming service TruBlu in 2022. One of the shows on the service is “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” a investigation show that’s similar to “To Catch a Predator.”
In late August, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Hansen purchased pre-show advertising to run before “Primetime” plays in theaters. In it, he directs audiences to TruBlu.
“Primetime” is in theaters now.
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