Title – Primetime (2026)
Director – Lance Oppenheim (Some Kind of Heaven)
Cast – Robert Pattinson, Skyler Gisondo, Merritt Wever, Matthew Maher
Plot – Follows NBC reporter and TV host Chris Hansen (Pattinson) as he and his crew set out to change the TV landscape with reality show To Catch a Predator.
“I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC. And you’re about to be a part of television history”
Review by Eddie on 16/11/2026
Dealing with a controversial and dark subject matter, as well as a subject in the form of notorious American NBC reporter Chris Hansen, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime is an entirely unique feature film that mixes humour, horror and human fragility into a layered thriller that provides us with yet another top-class Robert Pattinson turn.
Exploring the rise and fall of renowned reality series To Catch a Predator, that rose to prominence in the early 2000’s and made Hansen a household name in the United States and a recognisable face over the globe, Primetime delves into Hansen’s obsession with not only catching real life predators but catching up with the biggest players in the TV space, often to the detriment of his production team, family and friends.
Currently on a career high thanks to his co-directing on global smash hit documentary You Can See Everything, Oppenheim throws viewers headfirst into the world of Predator and Hansen’s tunnel vision when it came to his own career, with Primetime giving us very little backstory on anyone involved in proceedings here, including two very notable supporting turns from Merritt Wever as Predator producer Andie Bender and rising star Skyler Gisondo as impressionable actor Dan Plum, who becomes one of Predator’s key decoy performers.
This never brings the film down however as things move on a rapid pace, culminating in a genuinely unnerving, hilarious and frightening finale set in Texas that will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of Hansen’s time in the spotlight and Predator’s reign as one of the most watched series in the world.
Enhanced by some moody cinematography work from David Bolen, giving Primetime a memorably different visual presentation, Oppenheim’s expose is different to anything else I can recall, even if it does bring to mind Oppenheim’s own work on his little seen but memorable documentary Some Kind of Heaven from 2020, but the thing that stands out most amongst all of Primetime’s happenings, that includes a warm welcome to small town Texas, musings on Lost, whipped cream and aggressive rabbi’s, is the turn from Pattinson.
Already having a notable 2026 thanks to key roles in The Drama and The Odyssey, with Dune: Part Three soon to come, Primetime gifts Pattinson another significant role that perfectly matches his ability to play it both as a charismatic chameleon and an outright cold-blooded manipulator, with it highly likely that the well-liked British actor’s turn here ends up being in the conversation come the end of year awards rush.
Not always easy viewing and not at all interested in shying away from the dark underbelly of its themes and subjects, Primetime is a highly memorable outing that adds to the overall evidence of 2026 being regarded as one of the best cinematic years in recent times.
Final Say –
With an award worthy turn from Pattinson and notable turns from a stacked supporting class, including a sight you may never have thought you’d see from the innocent child who bought joy to audiences around the globe with his Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little turns, Primetime is a unique beast that tackles a tough narrative with aplomb and plenty of unique energy.
4 polar bears out of 5
