What could and probably should have been the most insightful biopic of 2026 turned out to be … just another movie. A bad one? No. But not a great one and certainly not worthy of the attention it could have merited given the fact that the Trump-Epstein saga is far from over and its biggest villain remains in the White House, untouched … wish we could say that for Trump’s victims.
What is this picture? Why, it’s Primetime, the cinematic tale of the rise of reality TV host Chris Hansen. His coup? A Primetime NBC literal gotcha called “To Catch a Predator.” The premise is pretty simple: Chris’ staff would catfish sexual predators online. Gullible pedophiles would fall for the lure of sexual encounters with tweens and, when the suitor came a knockin’, the cameras would start a rockin’. When a suitor arrived at the gotcha house, the bait would disappear and Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson) would appear instead. After he grabbed his television moment, the police would be waiting to claim the pedophile.
This televised nightmare was going on at the very same time as Jeffrey Epstein was in full operation and Donald Trump was his best friend. I don’t need to remind you that 16 different women have formerly accused Trump of sexual assault for events that occurred between 1980 and 2013. I sure-as-Hell don’t need to tell you that the Epstein files, the FBI compilation of all the documents surrounding Epstein’s empire of pedophilia and child trafficking, remain in the news as the Trump administration has proved reluctant to arrest anyone associated with such. And, most importantly, I would be a grand fool to assume that you didn’t know Trump is listed in the Epstein files at least 38,000 times not counting the immense volume of redacted references, redacted by his minions specifically to hide his involvement. (Can I state this factually? Yes, I can. There are video instructions for how his DOJ went about hiding Trump’s name before the files were released to the public.)
You see what I’m getting at, yes? Chris Hansen dealt with predators and pedophiles. This is exactly relevant to where we are RIGHT NOW. Was Donald Trump mentioned in the movie? No. Was Jeffrey Epstein mentioned in the movie? Also, no.
Why are we watching this? Or, better yet, why release a biopic now about the most notable pedophile sting in the country if you aren’t willing to describe the people who got away with it at the time? No freaking idea.
Ok, let’s get to the film.
The problem with seeing too many movies is recognition of bit players in important roles. Primetime begins with a sting operation set in an empty house in Florida. The criminal arrives and discovers his sexual encounter has been pre-empted by Robert Pattinson with a weird affectation. What were you going for here, Robert? The problem? The criminal here who goes by the online handle “MarriedAndLookingForFun31313” is played by Tony Revolori, the classmate who taunts Peter Parker in Spider-Man films. Hard to check the reality when I know already it’s an act. :shrug: Chris has a habit of reading along the conversation the perp has made to the bait making the whole-thing very cringe-worthy. We’re ok with it because, hey, pedophile, you get what you deserve, right?
This staged format, however, is the problem I have with all reality TV. Yes, there is a criminal level here that brings a little bit of substance to Chris Hansen’s work, but is this show really any different from “The Masked Singer” or “Survivor” or “The Real Housewives of __________?” I don’t think so. In the end it’s all
a stage. This is the world Chris lives in. He needs to convince his benefactors and his audience that the game is real, but he also has to get ratings that will keep his show on the air.
What happens when “To Catch a Predator” is no longer Primetime material? Do we just let pedophiles slide at that point? And what keeps Chris and his staff from investigating genuine pedophile rings rather than trying to bait the hook and catch them one at a time?
I was struck by two lesser characters in this film more than Hansen. The first is his producer, Andie Bender (Merritt Wever), who is conflicted throughout – does she believe in Chris? In the show? In the mission? Or is this just a gig? If the show wasn’t popular, would she still care about the mission? The other is professional bait, Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo, who is thirty). Dan thinks this is an acting job and is more than a little put off by realizing he’s playing 13-year-old bait. How do you sell that role, huh?
Primetime is very hit-and-miss for me. The set-up feels fabricated. The biopic about it feels fabricated. And yet, Chris Hansen was indeed catching real predators. I don’t think this is great work and I sure would have liked a picture that had balls enough to go after Trump on pedophilia grounds, but there’s just enough here to like anyway for a mild recommendation.
There once was a journalist named Chris
Catching villains such that audiences couldn’t resist
Needing a white whale
This man wouldn’t fail
Are the evil-doers any bigger than this?
Rated R, 109 Minutes
Director: Lance Oppenheim
Writer: Ajon Singh, Luke Dittrich
Genre: Movies that pull punches
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Chris Hansen
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The Predators he caught
