Content warning: This piece explores dark themes and matters of an adult nature. If you’re not in the right headspace, this is a good time to stop reading and move on to something happier.
When I first heard that “Primetime”—set to be released in a theater near you in September of 2026—was going to explore the NBC era of Chris Hansen’s long-running series of child predator investigations on “Dateline,” I thought two things.
Number one: I’m not surprised, considering how that particular era came to an end. Number two: What a lousy title.
To loosely quote Chris, I’ll get to why “Primetime” is a lousy title in a moment.
Based on what we see in this trailer, Robert Pattinson stars as Hansen. The history of the predator investigations indicates the real Hansen thought there would be just a few interviews with alleged predators before he moved on to other assignments. (Well…) What followed were years of eye-opening, jaw-dropping segments
Then, 2006 happened. Here is where the darkness really sets in.
Assignments took Hansen and the NBC crew to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A decoy masquerading as a minor communicated with Bill Conradt, an assistant district attorney.
“(Conradt) had been talking to and exchanging pictures with a decoy posing as a 13-year-old boy,” TV Insider recently reported.
Unlike other alleged predators, Conradt did not meet the decoy at the sting house. Law enforcement, including a SWAT team, went to Conradt’s residence instead.
That is where Conradt shot himself. He was airlifted to a Dallas hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
In 2007, a surviving relative filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against NBCUniversal. NBC planned to fight the suit, but a year later, the case was “amicably resolved” for an undisclosed amount.
Will the Conradt matter be addressed in the film? We’ll know closer to time. If it is, don’t be surprised if names and locations are changed for dramatic purposes.
As for Hansen, for the benefit of those who have lived under a rock, the predator investigations were rebooted in 2015 when he became the anchor of “Crime Watch Daily.” Those segments were rebranded as “Hansen vs. Predator.”
Since 2022, he has entered the world of streaming with the series “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” where the predator investigations have taken on a new life. The recent segment focusing on Lt. Matthew Mahl of the Washington, D.C., Police Department is nothing short of chilling.
Oh, yeah, about the “Primetime” title. It may be too late—but it here’s why it needs a different title. ABC News had a newsmagazine program entitled “Primetime Live,” which often competed against NBC’s “Dateline.” ABC’s program was later retitled simply, you guessed it, “Primetime,” before airing its final edition in 2012. (Diane Sawyer’s hour-long report for “Primetime Live” on three television evangelists, which aired in 1991, remains a masterpiece. All three were based, oddly enough, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — including the notorious Robert Tilton.)
Finally, as a public service, if you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-8255 or dialing 988. If you or a loved one is in immediate danger, please call 911.