There’s been a growing fascination in recent years with the blurry line between journalism, exploitation, and entertainment—the strange alchemy that turned televised crime into primetime spectacle. Now, documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim is making his narrative feature debut by diving straight into that world with “Primetime,” an A24 drama starring Robert Pattinson.
READ MORE: 53 Must-See Films To Watch Summer 2026
The first trailer for the film has now arrived, teasing a media-saturated crime story inspired by the rise of tabloid television and televised predator stings. Pattinson stars as a journalist navigating a sensationalized criminal underworld that begins reshaping television itself. A24 has kept most story specifics under wraps so far, but the film’s official logline describes it simply as: “In 2006, ‘To Catch a Predator’ host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history.”
The film marks a major pivot for Oppenheim, whose documentaries “Some Kind of Heaven,” “Spermworld,” and HBO’s “Ren Faire” built a reputation for capturing eccentric corners of American culture with an unnerving, deeply observational eye. “Primetime” is his first scripted narrative feature.
Alongside Pattinson, the cast includes Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo, and Phoebe Bridgers. Pattinson also produces the film through his Icki Eneo Arlo banner alongside A24.
Given Oppenheim’s documentary background, the footage suggests something queasy, intimate, and voyeuristic, with late-night cable TV slowly mutating into something more sinister. Pattinson, meanwhile, continues an unusually eclectic run of post- “The Batman” projects, moving between auteurs and stranger material with increasing frequency.
A24 is expected to release “Primetime” theatrically this fall.
