A trailer for an upcoming movie starring Robert Pattinson portraying To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen quickly went viral on its first day of release, racking up over 15 million views on major social media platforms.

The reality TV series, which aired from 2004 to 2007 as part of the news magazine show Dateline NBC, featured Hansen waiting at a rented suburban home with a camera crew and additional hidden cameras for an adult man to arrive, expecting to meet a minor and have sex with them. The men had messaged online profiles set up by the watchdog group Perverted Justice, believing they were communicating with a child. The group also had volunteer decoys who were adults but looked and sounded younger, to manage phone calls and other communications with the men.

As the men arrived at the house, they would usually be greeted by one of the decoys who had a high-pitched voice, inviting them inside, where they would meet Hansen, confronted about why they had come to the house, and then arrested by waiting law enforcement outside.

The show racked up major ratings, quickly becoming the most popular Dateline NBC segment, but also its share of controversy for the methods used to communicate with the men; some called it entrapment. The show’s representatives defended against these critiques by pointing out that the men were always the ones to communicate first.

In 2008, To Catch a Predator was canceled after a prosecutor in Texas killed himself while police were trying to serve him with a search warrant related to messages he had sent a Perverted Justice volunteer posing as a 13-year-old boy.

The trailer rapidly clicks through a split-screen showing multiple video angles easily recognizable by anyone who has ever seen an episode of To Catch a Predator: men walking up to a house, being invited inside, confronted by Hansen, and being met by a swarm of cops.

Pattinson delivers dialogue in a voiceover, with remarkable mimicry of Hansen’s voice intonations, cadence, and the comments he would typically deliver to these men who had traveled there allegedly hoping to have sex with a child.

“What would have happened if I wasn’t here? You see how this looks, right?” asks Pattinson as Hansen. “At the end of the day, a man must be held accountable for the decisions that he makes. Would you agree?”

“Do you watch television?” he continues. “Well, there’s something you should know. I’m Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC — and you’re about to be a part of television history.”

The trailer quickly drew attention from media outlets and social media users, both for the subject matter and the “chameleonic” expertise with which the British actor had transformed his voice.

The Hollywood Reporter lauded Pattinson for his ability to “take on Hansen’s vocal patterns and tics with an eerie, off-kilter precision.”

Numerous people posted their enthusiastic reactions to the trailer, applauding Pattinson’s believable portrayal of Hansen amid a very busy year.

The former Harry Potter and Twilight star has become known for taking on a diverse mix of roles ranging from independent films to blockbuster superhero roles, like 2022’s The Batman. Besides starring and getting his first feature-length film production credit in Primetime, this year Pattinson is also starring in The Drama, The Odyssey, Dune: Part Three, and Here Comes the Flood. He will reprise his role as Gotham City’s Dark Knight for the sequel, The Batman: Part II, in 2027.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter shared a tweet with the trailer video on Wednesday afternoon, remarking that there were “six million views for this trailer already.”

That figure was soon surpassed, with the views on this tweet alone from @DiscussingFilm, surpassing 9 million views later on Wednesday evening.

Another tweet directly from the film production and distribution company A24 had passed 4 million views on Wednesday night.

The same video on A24’s Instagram had over 1.4 million views, over 90,000 on Facebook, nearly 350,000 on TikTok, and over 350,000 on YouTube by that time as well.

Primetime is directed by documentarian Lance Oppenheim, and besides Pattinson, also stars Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, Phoebe Bridgers, Sean Bridgers, and Anna Faris. The film’s release date is expected to be September 11, 2026, according to IMDB and Fandango.

Previous A24 films have been nominated for Oscars nearly 100 times, winning 21 in total, including Room, Midnight, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Whale, and The Brutalist.

Watch the video above, via YouTube.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!