Robert Pattinson Transforms Into Chris Hansen in Second "Primetime" Trailer

A24 has released the second official trailer for Primetime, director Lance Oppenheim's dramatization of the making of To Catch a Predator, the controversial early-2000s NBC newsmagazine segment that used sting operations to publicly confront men attempting to meet minors online. Robert Pattinson stars as host Chris Hansen, and the new footage leans hard into the character's transformation from local news reporter into unlikely primetime television phenomenon, capturing both the ethical murkiness of the show's methods and the media circus that grew up around it.

The trailer's most striking exchange comes from former NBCUniversal executive Jeff Zucker (played by himself), who tells Hansen in voiceover, "I don't like your show, but America loves it! So I need to move you... To Catch A Predator, 9 p.m. primetime" — a line that gives the film its title while underscoring its central tension between journalistic purpose and ratings-driven spectacle. Hansen himself has responded to the film ahead of release by purchasing advertising slots in front of screenings, not to dispute its claims, but reportedly to promote his own continuing streaming ventures, which still involve the same kind of sting operations depicted in the film.

Primetime also stars Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Bokeem Woodbine, and Anna Faris, and had its world premiere in main competition at the Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Lion. The film opens in select US theaters September 25, 2026, carrying an R rating for disturbing material — positioning it as one of the more provocative awards-season conversation pieces of the fall.