Lance Oppenheim’s new film doesn’t paint Chris Hansen as a hero. The To Catch a Predator host’s real-world copycats are even more reckless.
Child predators are arguably the most reviled demographic in society.
So when someone like Chris Hansen, the former NBC Dateline journalist and host of the To Catch a Predator series, decides to take up the mantle of exposing them to the public, he is naturally praised as a hero.
But, as is revealed in Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime—a dramatized snapshot of Hansen’s life at the show’s peak—it’s not as simple as that. Exposing allegedly bad people for public entertainment brings up a lot of ethical concerns and unintended consequences. And while many of the vigilantes carrying out these sting operations claim they are doing a public service, their motivations become a lot more suspect when fame and money are involved.
To Catch a Predator launched in 2004. In the show, Hansen’s team would pair up with civilian watchdog group Perverted Justice, using adult “decoys” to pose as minors online and exchange messages with men in chatrooms and private DMs. After the conversations became sexual, the crew would set up a sting, inviting these men to a home to meet the decoy, only to have Hansen confront them, uttering his catchphrase, “Have a seat.” The men were technically free to leave instead of sitting for an on-camera interview, but often police were waiting outside to arrest them.
The show developed an intense fandom that remains active to this day in subreddits like r/tcap, which has 52,000 weekly visitors, despite the fact that NBC stopped airing the original series in 2007.
In A24’s Primetime, a darkly told character study in theaters September 25, Hansen (Robert Pattinson) clearly enjoys the praise and seems desperate for more accolades. He brags to …
Doing something for entertainment or views while being keyboard warrior children protectors can land one in hot water when they nab the wrong person, engage in sexual conversations with a real minor, or a minor turns out to be cop. Actually the last two would be entertaining to see these keyboard justice warriors get busted for sex offenses. ” Have a seat”
I still say the best way to slow this trend down is to charge those that do these stupid stings could be charged with child endangerment. That there was no actual child shouldn’t be any more a defense for them than it is for the persons they target.
They have gotten innocent people hurt and they paint a skewed depiction of sex crimes. Crimes against minors are vast, there are over 40 classification. That is like saying all thieves are armed robbers. Some might be, some don’t use guns, some steal little things, some rob houses, they are in no way the same level of crime. same with sex crimes. But these shows portray all crimes SO’s as the worst. I see the comments they right and they have no clue what they are talking about.
What people do not seem to understand is that these groups usually post on an adults only dating site to target the so-called predators, falsely saying that they are an adult. So who’s the real predator here?
A new movie asks whether Chris Hansen is the predator. He’s sure of his answer. (WAPO via Yahoo 27 Sep 2026)
Chris Hansen is a dried up prune who never did anything to benefit society. How many sting operations did he do for entertainment? The keyboard warrior armchair detectives should know that real life isn’t what you see online or TV and doing something for entertainment or clicks never ends up well. Who acts like a teen to lure an adult for sexual conversations on adult websites?
I think Americans including lawmakers and those working in the criminal justice system should provide real service and spend a year in prison. Let’s see how tough on crime they are after being in the slums of American prisons.
Chris is really peed off about this flick. He’s broke, angry, divorced, and hasn’t been able to pay his bills since he got arrested and charged for bouncing checks. What a loser
The funny thing is Chris Hanson was also arrested at least two times. You can checkout his mugshot.
Chris Hanson is literally a convicted criminal!
That pathetic man threw his 30 year marriage away on a TV reporter 22 years his junior. You like them young…ay Chris!
This happened to me. I was invited to McDonald’s on my birthday with my five-year-old son to meet up with someone online and I found myself in a sting. I was just leaving with a bag of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I was just getting something to eat! I knew I was in trouble, they knew I was in trouble. They even took the bracelet of my wife-to-be and my Boston cap and I never got them back.
It also happened to my friend who was in a role playing chat room. My friend doesn’t need 14-year-olds, he gets all kinds of dates. I have been online for 24 years and I’m seldom at a loss for words, but this left me unable to enjoy the internet anymore, even watching old wrestling DVDs. I was so traumatized by what happened at my local McD’s that the only place I’ll eat is at a pizza place far from my home, where people don’t recognize me. It’s expensive, but at least a small pizza is almost as big as a large.
These vigilantes think they come off like law enforcement. Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, but I can’t enjoy them anymore because of what happened at McD’s, the day that I felt stripped naked. My sister Patricia brought me some cookies and at first I loved them because they tasted like they’re homebaked. Then I just said, “You know what? I don’t want this cookie.” My sister is a saint and lately she’s been taking me to a Chinese restaurant where they make peppersteak a little different way. What happened that day really blew my mind.