Predators is a 2025 documentary from director David Osit about the rise, fall, and legacy of Dateline‘s To Catch a Predator. The TV investigations, hosted by correspondent Chris Hansen, used online decoys and hidden cameras to confront adults who believed they were meeting minors for sexual encounters.
The documentary examines the methods behind To Catch a Predator, the show’s massive popularity, and the questions it raised about journalism, law enforcement, public humiliation, and entertainment. Hansen appears as himself in the film. Predators is now streaming on Paramount+.
Interest in Hansen and To Catch a Predator is also returning ahead of Primetime, an upcoming A24 film starring Robert Pattinson as Hansen. It’s a great time to stream Osit’s critically-acclaimed film, and we’re here to tell you all you need to know, including background details, narrative info, and how-to-watch guidance. Read on for the facts.
Key facts about Predators (2025)
- Title: Predators
- Genre: Documentary/true crime
- Director: David Osit
- Subject: Dateline‘s To Catch a Predator and its legacy
- Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes
- U.S. theatrical release date: Sept. 19, 2025
- Streaming release date: Dec. 8, 2025
- Where to stream: Paramount+
What is Predators about?
Predators (2025) examines To Catch a Predator, an investigative series within the news magazine program Dateline NBC. In these special reports, hidden cameras captured adult men arriving at a sting house for a planned meetup after exchanging online messages with people posing as underage teens. Once inside, the men were confronted by correspondent Chris Hansen, who revealed the ruse and the many recording devices surrounding them both.
Documentarian David Osit looks beyond individual interactions to examine how the program was made, who was involved in its creation, why it drew such a large audience, the criticism of its methods, and its influence on later true-crime programming and online predator-catching videos. The documentary combines archival material, interviews, and contemporary footage.
The film also considers questions about punishment, media ethics, and what happens when real criminal investigations become entertainment.
What was To Catch a Predator?
To Catch a Predator began as a recurring Dateline NBC segment, and continued as a series of investigative specials from 2004-2007. As the show’s host, Chris Hansen confronted adults who arrived at a planned location after engaging in online conversations with decoys posing as minors.
Hidden cameras recorded the encounters as Hansen questioned the individuals about their online conversations and why they had wanted to meet up with a teenager. Law enforcement officials participated in many of the operations.
In its four years of production, To Catch a Predator became the most popular segment on Dateline, and Hansen’s confrontations became widely referenced online and in pop culture. But as successful as the series was, it faced questions about journalistic ethics, collaboration between journalists and law enforcement, public humiliation, and the role television production played in the investigations.
Is Chris Hansen in Predators?
Yes. In the 2025 documentary Predators, Chris Hansen appears via both To Catch a Predator clips, and new footage.
The documentary goes beyond archival material from the Dateline segments and subsequent appearances, featuring a brand-new interview where Hansen reflects on the series and its legacy. The film also examines people involved in or affected by the original program, as well as the online predator-catching culture that emerged after the show’s 2008 cancellation.
Hansen is central to the story, but Predators is not a biographical doc. The film’s primary subject is To Catch a Predator: how the program operated, who was impacted, and what it helped create.
Who made the documentary?
David Osit directed, produced, filmed, and edited Predators (2025). His previous documentaries include Mayor and Thank You for Playing. Osit is an Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning director, editor and composer.
Jamie Gonçalves and Kellen Quinn served as co-producers of the film. It was executive produced by Jennifer Ollman and co-executive produced by Arthur Bradford and Chad Beck.
Predators is presented by MTV Documentary Films, and Sweet Relief Productions in association with Rosewater Pictures.
Why is the documentary relevant now?
The original To Catch a Predator specials ended in December of 2007, but predator-catching content continues online. Videos of independent groups and individuals conducting sting-style operations have revived questions raised by the original program: Who should investigate crimes against minors, and how should those confrontations be presented to viewers?
Chris Hansen and To Catch a Predator are also returning to the cultural conversation because of the upcoming feature film Primetime. Robert Pattinson stars as Hansen in the A24 movie, which is directed by Lance Oppenheim, and scheduled for theatrical release on Sept. 25, 2026.
Primetime is not a Paramount title, and has no production or franchise connection to Predators. Both projects draw from the TV phenomenon associated with Hansen and To Catch a Predator.
What did critics say about it?
Predators premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and was later named a New York Times Critics’ Pick. As of this article’s publication, the film has a 97% “Fresh” rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review-aggregation site.
Reviews focused on the documentary’s examination of the ethical questions surrounding To Catch a Predator, including issues of punishment, media practices, and the audience’s role in consuming these confrontations as entertainment.
Where to watch Predators
Predators is streaming on Paramount+. The documentary premiered on the service Dec. 8, 2025, following its festival appearances and U.S. theatrical release.
Viewers can watch the 1-hour, 36-minute documentary on the Predators movie page on Paramount+.
Watch Predators on Paramount+
Stream Predators (2025) now on Paramount+ to see David Osit’s examination of To Catch a Predator, Chris Hansen, and the series’ influence on true crime and online predator-catching.
Predators
Watch NowFAQ
Is Predators a documentary about Chris Hansen?
Chris Hansen is a major figure in Predators and appears in footage and a one-on-one interview, but the film is not exclusively about him. The focus is on To Catch a Predator, including the show’s methods, popularity, controversies, and influence on later predator-catching content.
Is To Catch a Predator still on TV?
The original To Catch a Predator investigations on Dateline NBC ended in late 2007. Hansen has participated in later predator-catching projects, but those programs are separate from the original Dateline series.
Why was To Catch a Predator canceled?
The final episode of To Catch a Predator aired in December of 2007, and NBC canceled the series in 2008.
Is Predators connected to Primetime?
No. Predators is David Osit’s 2025 documentary about To Catch a Predator and its legacy. Primetime is a separate A24 narrative film starring Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen and directed by Lance Oppenheim.
Primetime is scheduled for theatrical release Sept. 25, 2026. The projects share subject matter but have no production or franchise connection.
