Primetime • Have a Seat Right There

Primetime is here, and The Film Board is spoiling all of it. Pete Wright, Tommy Metz III, Steve Sarmento, and Ocean Murff have a seat in Lance Oppenheim’s sting house to ask who the predator really is: Robert Pattinson’s ego-cracking Chris Hansen, Merritt Wever’s unapologetic producer, the Perverted-Justice volunteer at the keyboard, or everyone watching. The panel splits hard on whether Decoy Dan’s SAG card is a happy ending, whether Alex Winter’s DA earns any sympathy, and whether a movie built to look like TV belongs on a theater screen at all. Content note: this episode discusses suicide and crimes against children.Links & NotesThe film. Rate it with us on Letterboxd, and follow The Next Reel while you’re there. Where the story comes from. Luke Dittrich’s 2007 Esquire piece “Tonight on Dateline This Man Will Die”, the account of the Texas sting that Ajon Singh adapted for the screenplay. The documentary we kept bringing up. Predators (2025), David Osit’s documentary about To Catch a Predator. It’s where Tommy and Steve met the real Decoy Dan, Dan Schrack, and it’s now on Ocean’s watchlist. More from the director. Lance Oppenheim’s documentaries Some Kind of Heaven, Ren Faire, and Spermworld, the last now at the top of Pete’s list. Letterboxd’s interview with Oppenheim covers the fever-dream approach. The ad before the movie. The real Chris Hansen bought pre-show ads in front of every screening to plug his streaming service, TruBlu. Pete was late and missed it, so he watched it on YouTube instead. Where we’ve been with Pattinson. The Batman, Mickey 17, and The Odyssey • Nolan Points the Whole Machine at Homer. Mad as hell. Pete puts Pattinson’s Hansen in the same class as Peter Finch’s Howard Beale, and The Next Reel covered Network years ago. And last month. Spider-Man: Brand New Day • Small Potatoes, Big Feelings. Referenced on the show. Booksmart and Vacation (2015), Tommy’s proof of Skyler Gisondo’s comedy range. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, a reminder of what else Alex Winter has done. Lost, the polar bears beating Hansen in the ratings. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the time slot Hansen inherits. Severance, which, with this film, has Merritt Wever ready for a comedy. The rest of the family. The Next Reel with Andy Nelson and Pete Wright. Sitting in the Dark with Tommy, Kynan Dias, Chelsea Stardust, and Pete. Cinema Scope with Andy Nelson. Movies We Like. All five under The Next Reel Family of Film Shows. Support the show. Become a member for $5 a month or $55 a year and get every episode early and ad-free, plus member bonus episodes across all five film shows. Come argue with us in the TruStory FM Discord. Support The Next Reel Family of Film Shows:Become a member for just $5/month or $55/year Join our Discord community of movie lovers The Next Reel Family of Film Shows:Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and Movements The Film Board Movies We Like The Next Reel Sitting in the Dark Connect With Us:Main Site: Web Movie Platforms: Letterboxd | Flickchart Social Media: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | YouTube | Pinterest Your Hosts: Pete | JJ | Steve | Tommy | Andy | Ocean  Shop & Stream:Merch Store: Apparel, stickers, mugs & more Watch Page: Buy/rent films we've discussed Originals: Source material from our episodes Special offers: Audibl...