Robert Pattinson is a supremely gifted actor and he seems to be hitting his stride in 2026. In “The Drama,” Pattinson’s awkward, nervous romantic energy works wonders for the film and his cunningly villainous performance as Antinous in “The Odyssey” is just as effective. While both of these performances garnered deserved acclaim, his portrayal of “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen in “Primetime” is his best to date.
Anyone familiar with the NBC show or any of Hansen’s subsequent spinoffs knows that the host speaks to the predators he interviews with a trademark confrontational dryness, laced with a heavy dose of sarcasm. Pattinson’s performance is unerring in how closely he captures Hansen’s cadence and diction in those moments. Pattinson does not merely imitate Hansen; outside of those few interview scenes, he brings a new, uncomfortable edge to the host that was never present on camera during “To Catch a Predator” runtime.
A laser-focused obsessive, borderline narcissist who will stop at nothing for the perfect catch, Pattinson’s rendition of Hansen paints the host in a darker light, an aspect the film fully leans into. It might have been easy to whitewash the cheating scandal or the suicide of Assistant District Attorney Bill Conradt Jr., but Director Lance Oppenheim places those darker moments at the center of the story he tells. Even if it isn’t entirely faithful to reality, Pattinson’s performance is good enough that no one involved with production will care.
Merritt Weaver is excellent as Andie Bender, Hansen’s producer at NBC. Both Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers play the roles of decoy minors for the show perfectly. Gisondo, in particular, has earned plaudits for his supporting role. Unfortunately, given the great performances, if there’s something that holds “Primetime” back, it’s a story that could’ve gone a little deeper.
The cinematography and art style are excellent, as is expected from an A24 production, but the story is thematically shallow. The idea that a noble-intentioned show transformed into something doing more harm than good is not a novel concept and “Primetime” rarely goes beyond it. Calling it ham-fisted may be slightly harsh, but there is little depth past different framings of that one core theme. Curiously, the film ends on a far more interesting note but doesn’t delve into it.
The original NBC show was canceled after a sting operation against the aforementioned Conradt Jr. ended with the assistant district attorney taking his own life. This is where “Primetime” ends its narrative as well. The larger story here is that as soon as the show caught an influential figure, it got canceled. Given how salient stories about powerful figures evading accountability have been in recent years, exploring this direction might have given “Primetime” something more interesting to say.