THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

A press screening on a school night? Where you have to drive all the way across DFW? Is that a good idea? These are the things I know you’re asking yourself of me, and I hear you. I also need you to know that, for Primetime, I would have driven to Austin on a school night. Morgan and I were equally stoked for our press screening tonight, and we had all the confidence in the world that Robert Pattinson would deliver yet another amazing performance in 2026. We were right!

Let’s start with the obvious: Robert Pattinson has had a career year, and Primetime may be his very best. His portrayal of Chris Hansen was sensational, honest, and bizarre at times. I understood pretty early on why the real Chris Hansen wants to sue A24, and Pattinson only made it worse with each subsequent scene. He was fascinating and drove the entire movie. While this movie was about the success and moral ambiguity of To Catch a Predator, it was always going to be more about Hansen. What the film had to say about fame-induced madness (and the drive to preserve said fame) was fascinating and wholly entertaining, and it wasn’t just Hansen who grappled with such things. Andie and Dan both battled their egos, and I really enjoyed Skyler Gisondo’s performance as Dan. I’ve always liked Gisondo; I didn’t know he could act like that.

The rise and fall of both To Catch a Predator and Hansen was as action-packed and exciting as the show must have been in its heyday, though I have to admit the beats of this movie weren’t a complete mystery to me going in. Morgan and I watched Predators, a documentary about TCaP that came out last year, the night before this press screening, and it aided our understanding immensely. I highly recommend you watch Predators before seeing Primetime! Nevertheless, I was on the edge of my seat, and Primetime landed the plane at every opportunity. I was especially gobsmacked by the mic-drop lines in the final two scenes: first, when Hansen asks “What would have happened if I wasn’t here?” at the Murphy house; and second, when Dan is asked, “Are you an actor?”. For me (and I hope most people), that harkened back to the conversation Dan had with Chris at the hotel. Nothing Chris did was acting, and the trauma Dan endured on the show wasn’t acting either. Was it worth it for a SAG card?

Lastly, this movie was absolutely gorgeous. Oppenheim’s direction was gritty and gripping, and the color palette (especially the luminous teals and oranges) were heaven- sent. The film alternated between feeling like real takes of the original show and a stylish crime thriller—this was the most “neon” an A24 movie has ever looked (please laugh at my joke). Primetime was an absolute blast—exciting, scary, uncomfortably funny, and gorgeous—and worth the extended drive to Dallas on a Monday night. If I could add one note to my fellow moviegoers, though? Y’all laughed at too much. This film was funny, but not that funny, and the laughing undercut some important, serious moments. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox. Great movie!