Primetime (2026) A24/Drama-Thriller RT: 110 minutes Rated R (disturbing sexual material, graphic nudity, some violent content, language) Director: Lance Oppenheim Screenplay: Ajon Singh Music: Ari Balouzian Cinematography: David Bolen Release date: September 25, 2026 (US) Cast: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Weaver, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, Anna Faris, Jonathan Lipnicki, Tony Revolori, Alex Winter, Eric Rahill, Sean Bridgers, Jerry Zucker, Creed Bratton, Caroline Hebert, Jessica Hecht.
Rating: ** ½
I’m frustrated, the cause being my mixed feelings about Primetime, an interesting but flawed film about the drama behind the reality show To Catch a Predator. It has an intriguing story to tell; the problem is in the presentation. It’s too arty for its own good. It too often gets overwhelmed by the director’s stylistic choices. It mars what could have been a truly great film.
In all fairness, Primetime is a first effort for documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (Ren Faire). It’s his first stab at making a movie with a narrative. The result is decidedly mixed. It has several good points, but the overall effect is lessened by Oppenheim’s heavy-handed approach. His self-consciousness as an artist testing unfamiliar waters is evident throughout be it the grainy cinematography, chaotic editing or overbearing score that tends to drown out the dialogue. However, it’s not really a case of style over substance as Primetime has plenty of the latter. It just gets pushed to the side by the former.
Robert Pattinson (The Odyssey) plays To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, a journalist riding high on his success after his Dateline segment is given a time slot on prime time TV. NBC execs are so confident that they schedule it opposite Lost. In it, Hansen confronts sexual predators on camera after luring them to a sting house with the promise of sex with a minor. It proved popular with the public. Who doesn’t want to see a pedophile publicly exposed and taken down by law enforcement? That, of course, is a rhetorical question.
The on-screen drama is rivaled by everything that’s going on behind the scenes. For one thing, Hansen’s motives aren’t entirely altruistic. A lot of times, he’s more interested in ratings than justice. He’s constantly in search of “the big fish”, a high-profile target that will send ratings through the roof. It’s an obsession that leads to tragedy when the target, a Texas ADA, takes his own life after the police show up at his home accompanied by Hansen and his crew.
They say behind every great man is a great woman. Although I wouldn’t use the word great here, there is a woman behind Hansen and it’s not his wife (Faris, Scary Movie) or even his mistress (Hebert, I Saw the Light). It’s his producer Andie Bender (Wever, Christy), a ruthless type who prioritizes ratings above all else. She’s always pushing Hansen and everybody else to do whatever it takes to make a great show, right or wrong be damned. Loyalty is definitely not one of her virtues. She attempts to secure a deal at rival network ABC when it seems the show might be in trouble.
The other character Oppenheim focuses on is Dan Plumb (Gisondo, Superman), a young actor hired to pose as a 13YO boy during the sting operations. He’d rather do musical theater, but first he needs to get his foot in the door. He takes the job solely to get his SAG card. When he arrives on set the first day, he can’t believe what he’s gotten himself into. Andie literally throws him to the wolves with barely any prep time. His reaction is a mix of horror, disgust and shame. He’s not sure if this gig is for him. After false reassurances from Hansen, Dan throws himself into his role because he thinks what he’s doing is right. So he’s doing it, at least in part, for the right reason. But it is worth the price of his soul?
One of the most disappointing things about Primetime is how superficial it is when it comes to bigger issues. It barely scratches the surface when dealing with the ethical implications of the show. Aren’t the targets being deprived of their civil rights? It could be argued that how they go about snaring pedophiles amounts to entrapment. It’s mentioned a few times, but never explored with the depth it deserves. Then you have the whole subplot about a tabloid threatening to publish photos showing Hansen with his mistress. Writer Ajon Singh doesn’t really go anywhere with it. It’s little more than part of all the background noise weighing down on Hansen.
Now we come to the part that has me in a tailspin. A24 is notorious for the pretentiousness of many of its movies. Sadly, Primetime falls under that heading, artistically speaking. I get that Oppenheim is going for a specific look and feel. It’s shot with high-def digital cameras and presented in a boxy 4:3 aspect ratio. He’s mimicking the look of the old cathode-ray tube TV monitors and surveillance footage from the mid-2000s. It’s an interesting idea, but it comes off as too obvious. It takes away from rather than adds to the overall effect. The bombastic score by Ari Balouzian doesn’t help matters any. I don’t need musical cues to tell me when something is supposed to be intense.
I so wanted Primetime to be, but it’s not. It’s a shame because it has some really good performances starting with Pattinson. He portrays Chris Hansen as a morally dubious man convinced he’s some kind of hero of the people. He’s not and the movie never attempts to depict him as such. Pattinson keeps himself in that dark shade of gray area throughout. Gisondo steals the show as the young, fresh-faced actor looking into the dark abyss of corruption. Will he escape from it unsullied? Wever does outstanding work as the steel-hearted producer only thinking of the show and her job. Humanity never factors into any of her choices.
Primetime has a fine supporting cast that also includes Matthew Maher (The Bride!) as Xavier, the guy who communicates with targets on-line while posing as a 13YO. Xavier is the real-life found of the on-line vigilante group Perverted-Justice. This guy deserves his own movie. Indie folk singer Phoebe Bridgers plays Del, the actress who can pass for both a boy and a girl of 13. She’s good, but I wish Del had been developed more. Bokeem Woodbine (Dead Presidents) has a few good scenes as a Texas police chief who takes part in the ill-fated bust. And yes, that’s Jonathan Lipnicki, the kid from Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little, as the pervert with the whipped cream.
In the end, Primetime is a pretty good movie that should have been much better. Its good points only serve to underline the missed potential. It’s, like I said, frustrating.
