To Catch a Predator scandal in full as Robert Pattinson stars as Chris Hansen in new film
To Catch a Predator scandal in full as Robert Pattinson stars as Chris Hansen in new film
Ayaan AliFri, August 7, 2026 at 10:49 AM UTC
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The series aired 20 episodes -Credit:Youtube
TV viewers are set to relive the To Catch a Predator days with a film about the show starring Twilight actor Robert Pattinson.
The 40-year-old actor plays veteran TV journalist Christopher Edward Hansen, who was famed for his controversial NBC series, which aired from 2004 to 2007.
The program was a huge success and had an average of seven million viewers in its final year. With the upcoming release of A24 thriller Primetime, we've taken a look at the show's controversy as well as Hansen's life outside the series. The film promises to be another hit following Pattinson's successful roles in both the Odyssey and The Drama this year.
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To Catch a Predator featured confrontations of host Hansen, partly filmed with a hidden camera, with adult men pursuing to have sex with a minor and typically being arrested as a result, with the minors being adults impersonating underage persons in online chats.
The meeting places were known as "sting houses," where NBC camera crews and, in later episodes, local police waited for the suspected predators to arrive.
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Robert Pattinson stars as Chris Hansen in the film -Credit:A24
In August 2013, NBC decided not to renew its contract with Hansen, bringing his 20-year tenure at the network to an end. Although the network never gave an official reason for the decision, the show's methods had long attracted criticism over the ethics of its investigations. In 2006, during an operation in Murphy, Texas, To Catch a Predator targeted lawyer Bill Conradt.
After he failed to arrive at the sting house, law enforcement instead went to his home while the NBC cameras followed. As a SWAT team entered the property, Conradt died by suicide. His family later filed a lawsuit against NBC, which was eventually settled out of court.
Following his departure from the series, Hansen continued working in true crime television. He went on to host Killer Instinct for Investigation Discovery, which focused on homicide cases and premiered in August 2015.
The show ended in 2008 -Credit:WireImage
The same year, Hansen launched Hansen vs. Predator, an independent spin-off of To Catch a Predator. The project was initially intended to be crowdfunded through Kickstarter, where he hoped to raise $400,000 before the series eventually found a wider audience.
He also became a host on Crime Watch Daily, where Hansen vs. Predator later returned as a revival of his original series. The show concluded in June 2018.
In October 2019, the ex-reality show host launched his YouTube channel, Have a Seat with Chris Hansen, featuring weekly podcasts covering a range of crime-related topics and interviews with special guests. Since 2020, he has also hosted the podcast Predators I've Caught, where he revisits some of the most notable cases from his career.
If in the United States, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to 988 Lifeline.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
