Chris Hansen says he is weighing legal action over the new film Primetime, a dramatized take on his days hosting NBC’s To Catch a Predator. The dispute, unfolding in late August, spotlights the friction between filmmakers and the real people their stories draw from—and could influence how studios handle portrayals of living public figures.
Hansen: he wasn’t signed on
The 66-year-old journalist says he was not consulted during the making of the A24 production and that the filmmakers approached him only shortly before the movie’s public marketing ramped up. Hansen told a podcast host that his team has been investigating possible legal paths, though no lawsuit has been filed.
According to Hansen, one entertainment lawyer told him a case might be viable but asked whether he wanted to devote the time and resources a legal fight would require. He also raised concerns about the use of real names and personal details in a fictionalized retelling, saying the choice to keep his name in the script feels motivated by the film’s commercial appeal rather than necessity.
What the studio says — and what audiences were asked to sign
Publicly, A24 has not issued a detailed explanation tied to Hansen’s complaints. Reporting published in Rolling Stone says preview viewers were asked to sign a standard nondisclosure agreement used to protect unreleased films from leaks and spoilers. Hansen has said he was offered an early screening but declined.
- Film at issue: Primetime, a dramatized movie inspired by events linked to Hansen’s sting operations.
- Studio: A24.
- Lead actor: Robert Pattinson plays a fictional journalist inspired by Hansen.
- Hansen’s options: Consulting entertainment counsel and weighing litigation; no suit filed as of late August.
- Public reaction risk: Hansen said he considered running ads before screenings on his streaming platform TruBlu, but ultimately did not include an on-screen disclaimer out of concern for pushback from the studio.
Hansen has framed the dispute as an ethical issue as much as a legal one: he questions why filmmakers would use his real identity and the names of colleagues or family members when a similar fictional story could be told without those connections.
Legal landscape and likely hurdles
Cases about using real people as the basis for fictional characters often turn on the plaintiff’s public-figure status, local publicity-rights laws and whether a portrayal is defamatory or commercially exploitative. Entertainment lawyers generally note that even meritorious claims can be expensive and slow, a factor Hansen has said weighed on his thinking.
That tension between legal feasibility and public perception is central here: a lawsuit could vindicate name-and-image rights, but it could also bring more attention to a film that producers expect will sell tickets precisely because it echoes real events.
Timeline and current status
Hansen says his contact with the studio and filmmakers began in late May and that the most recent exchange was a message he sent on Aug. 20 outlining his objections. He spoke about the situation on Dan Abrams’s SiriusXM show on Aug. 26, saying his advisers are “looking at” avenues for recourse.
As of this writing in late August, Hansen has not filed suit and reports indicate no direct response from A24 beyond the standard publicity cycle. The story remains active, and any legal move would likely prompt further comment from both sides.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow
