Chris Hansen Calls Primetime an 'Identity Theft' as A24 Film Opens Today

Chris Hansen is pushing back against Primetime, the A24 film starring Robert Pattinson as a fictionalized version of Hansen, calling the project an act of “identity theft” and hinting at potential legal action. The film opens theatrically today, September 25, 2026, following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, where it received an eight-minute standing ovation and generated early Oscar speculation around Pattinson’s performance.

What Primetime Depicts

Primetime is directed by Lance Oppenheim in his narrative feature debut and written by Ajon Singh. The film is set in 2006 and follows a journalist modeled on Hansen as he pursues the work that would become To Catch a Predator, the NBC hidden-camera series that aired from 2004 to 2007. Pattinson plays the central character alongside Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Anna Faris. A24 finances and distributes the film.

Oppenheim described Primetime as “more conceptual” and “closer to a fever dream than a conventional biopic,” signaling that the film takes creative liberties rather than presenting a straightforward account of Hansen’s career. The film’s working title during production was “Bluefin Tuna,” and principal photography took place in New Orleans in early 2025.

Hansen’s Core Objections

Hansen has not minced words about what he sees as the film’s exploitation of his professional identity. “They wanted to exploit the brand that I’ve built over 45 years,” he said. He objected to scenes he says never happened and to what he characterized as a “very dark” portrait that insults the child protection workers involved in real predator investigations.

He framed the commercial dimension of using his name and likeness as the central issue. “If somebody takes your name and image and makes money from it,” Hansen said, “is that stealing somebody’s identity?” He added that he was not consulted during the film’s production, describing Oppenheim’s approach as “sneaky.” Hansen previously ran theater ads before each showing of the film to promote his own streaming platform, TruBlu, rather than let the release go unanswered.

The Legal Landscape

Hansen acknowledged that defamation is a high bar for a public figure and said he is exploring what he called “more creative legal theories” beyond a standard defamation claim. He declined to say whether a lawsuit had been filed. “We’ll wait and see,” he said, “that’s up to the lawyers.” His situation shares surface similarities with a federal lawsuit brought by real law enforcement officers who alleged a Netflix film wrongly depicted them committing crimes they never committed.

The question of whether fictionalized portrayals of real public figures can constitute actionable harm has been tested repeatedly in recent years. A recent defamation trial involving a Hollywood actress showed how courts weigh personal reputational harm against statements made in the context of professional disputes, illustrating how difficult these cases can be to win. Hansen’s identity theft framing sidesteps defamation doctrine entirely and leans on a commercial appropriation theory, which could lower the legal threshold he would need to clear.

Other public figures have tested defamation lawsuits when false or unauthorized commercial use of their name appeared to damage their public standing. Whether Hansen pursues that route or focuses on right-of-publicity claims specific to identity and likeness remains to be seen.

Hansen’s Relationship With the Film

Hansen said he declined an advance screening after A24’s legal team sent him an NDA with “a paragraph that was very restrictive for me,” which he interpreted as requiring him to give up rights to his name, image, and brand. He refused to sign and did not see the film before its release. Despite his objections to the production, Hansen said he stands by his actual work. “I’m very comfortable with my work,” he said, calling himself “painstakingly transparent” about his methodology on the original predator stings. To Catch a Predator ended its NBC run in 2007 amid controversy following a suspect’s suicide during a sting operation. Hansen has continued similar operations through TruBlu since then.

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