Primetime arrives in France through Metropolitan FilmExport two days before A24 releases the movie in the United States on September 25.

The story is set in 2006, when NBC's To Catch a Predator had become one of the most recognizable and controversial pieces of television in America.

Robert Pattinson plays Hansen. Merritt Wever appears as a producer behind the program, while Skyler Gisondo plays Dan, a young actor drawn into the machinery surrounding the televised stings.

The original show already operated like constructed drama

To Catch a Predator used online conversations to lure adults who believed they were meeting minors into houses rigged with hidden cameras.

Hansen would appear unexpectedly, question the suspect and reveal that the encounter was part of a television investigation, with law enforcement frequently waiting nearby.

That created an unusually rigid dramatic structure for a news program. There was suspense before the arrival, confrontation inside the house and punishment waiting outside.

Oppenheim's film focuses on the ethical instability created when that machinery became hugely popular television.

Pattinson is not simply doing a Chris Hansen impression

Primetime recreates the polished television persona, but its interest goes beyond voice, wardrobe and familiar catchphrases.

The film portrays Hansen as increasingly consumed by the power and visibility created by the format, pushing the story toward psychological thriller rather than conventional biographical drama.

The real Hansen has criticized the production and said he was not meaningfully involved in its creation. The movie should therefore be understood as a dramatization inspired by real events, not as an authorized factual reconstruction.

Lance Oppenheim is moving from documentaries into fiction

Primetime is Oppenheim's narrative feature debut after documentary work including Some Kind of Heaven and Spermworld.

The change in format does not represent a complete change in subject matter. His documentaries frequently examine American institutions and subcultures where people begin performing versions of themselves in front of a camera.

Primetime takes that fascination into a world where performance was built directly into investigative television.

Ajon Singh wrote the screenplay, David Bolen served as cinematographer, Daniel Garber edited the film and Ari Balouzian composed the score.

The movie arrived through Venice before its theatrical run

Primetime had its world premiere in competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in September.

The 110-minute film also stars Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher and Bokeem Woodbine.

A24, Range Media Partners, Pattinson's Icki Eneo Arlo and Square Peg Films are listed among the production companies.

The real subject is what happens when investigation becomes entertainment

Calling Primetime a Chris Hansen biopic only describes its most visible element.

To Catch a Predator occupied a strange intersection between journalism, law enforcement, reality television and public humiliation. The investigations attracted viewers partly because serious criminal allegations were packaged with the timing and repetition of episodic entertainment.

Oppenheim turns that contradiction into the film's central tension. The question is not merely whether the targets deserve exposure. It is what happens when exposing them becomes a product that has to keep delivering bigger television moments.

Primetime opens in France on September 23, 2026.