Chris Hansen, best known as the host of Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator series, has purchased advertisements for his streaming platform that will play before every single screening of A24’s upcoming film adaptation of his rise to fame, Primetime.
The Hollywood Reporter received exclusive footage of the trailer, which reportedly shows the host walking into a kitchen before greeting viewers with a familiar line: “I’m going to need everyone in the theater to take a seat right over there.”
“Now, there are more platforms than ever before where this disturbing crime is being committed. Join us undercover every day on my streaming network, TruBlu,” he says as a QR code pops up on the screen.
TruBlu is a true crime-focused streaming network co-founded and co-owned by Hansen, which features undercover stings, investigative reporting, crime documentaries, and other such fare. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hansen’s original plan for his TruBlu advertisement included a line calling A24’s Primetime movie a “Hollywood fantasy version” of real events — but due to fears of backlash from arthouse studio, it was cut from the final version.
It’s safe to say that Hansen isn’t too keen on Primetime. The host notably turned down a preliminary screening of the film, as told by the man himself during an interview with Fox News where he accused A24 of asking him to sign a “very restrictive agreement” before he could sit down in the theater.
“The lawyers at A24 wanted me to sign away my rights to my name, image, and brand, essentially, as well as any potential legal rights that would come out of the movie,” he stated. “I couldn’t sign that, so they didn’t show me the film. I went all the way over there. … But who’s going to sign something like that?
“If you look at the trailer, obviously it’s a very dramatized version. They had told me that it’s fictionalized in many aspects. I know other people have seen it who didn’t sign an NDA, and yet they wanted me to sign it.”
This claim was refuted by sources close to the situation, who told The Hollywood Reporter that Hansen was merely asked to sign a standard NDA to “prevent spoilers and protect the studio’s IP.”
Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen, was partially inspired by a 2007 Esquire article penned by Luke Dittrich that focused on Texas District Attorney Bill Conradt, who committed suicide after becoming the target of one of Hansen’s predator stings. Primetime releases in theaters on September 25, 2026.
Image Credits: Brad Barket/Getty Images
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
