To Catch a Predator: Why it was cancelled and what happened to Chris Hansen

Robert Pattinson’s latest film of his massively successful 2026 will see him take on the role of Chris Hansen, the TV host who would catch out paedophiles in the act using elaborate sting operations.

Hansen was the host of To Catch a Predator, a hugely successful show that was later cancelled after a dark instalment of the show which has never aired led to a man killing himself.

Pattinson will play the role of Hansen in the film Primetime, with the first full trailer releasing yesterday, Thursday 6 August.

Early interviews and the trailer itself have hinted that, whilst it will cover Hansen’s rise to fame as the nonce-catching TV host, his darkest days will also be portrayed in the film.

What was the dark incident which led To Catch a Predator to be cancelled?

The ethical and legal debate around To Catch a Predator was rife in the late 00s, as it still is today, debating whether it was doing a public good or simply profiting off offender’s attempts to meet up with children.

This debate eventually ended the show however following an incident in which Texas district attorney Bill Conradt fell for the TV show’s online sting operation in which they had an adult pretending to be a child. In 2006 Conradt had been communicating with what he believed was a 13-year-old online, sending them an explicit photograph of himself.

After he stopped communicating with the volunteer pretending to be a 13-year-old Hansen reportedly said ‘if he won't come to us, we'll go to him’, turning up at the attorney’s home to confront him after he refused to meet up with the child at the sting house.

A SWAT team entered his house and he shot himself in the head, dying within 60 minutes. His body, gun, and last words were filmed by cameras from the show, with a cop reportedly quipping ‘that’ll make good TV’.

Conradt’s estate sued Dateline, the show where To Catch a Predator appeared, for $105 million, later settling out of court.

What did Chris Hansen do after the show ended and what has he said about Pattinson’s upcoming film?

Hansen claimed the show was not cancelled because of Conradt’s death, suggesting it had simply ‘run its course’, but has rebooted it twice since.

This was first called Hansen vs Predator, and then later a second spin-off called Takedown with Chris aired on the TruBlu streaming network, a true crime network he co-founded.

Hansen has been fairly guarded when discussing the upcoming Primetime, appearing on NewsNation with Jesse Webber where he said: “We had heard that there was something like this in the works.

“They reached out to me this week, and I’ve been asked not to talk about it a great deal at this point.”

The film is hotly anticipated, with many sharing their shock at Pattinson’s complete transformation into Hansen.

Several fans have posted side by side clips of Hansen’s voice along with Pattinson’s, with one saying on X: “LISTEN TO HOW CLOSE ROBERT PATTINSON'S VOCAL TONALITIES ARE TO CHRIS HANSEN WTF?!!!!”

Another posted a clip saying: “THE VOICE. THE DELIVERY. He’s coming for that Oscar.”

Primetime releases September 25, 2026.