# Chris Hansen
**Chris Hansen** is an American investigative journalist, a [Michigan State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/michigan-state-university) graduate ('81) who joined the *Dateline* team at NBC in 1993 and became best known as the host of *To Catch a Predator*, the *Dateline NBC* hidden-camera sting series that began in 2004.[1](https://spartan.msu.edu/spartan-story-hub/news/1996/01/people-chris-hansen) • [2](https://www.cjr.org/film/losing-control-primetime-chris-hansen-pattinson-oppenheim-catch-predator-dateline-nbc.php) His practice of walking into a rigged house to confront a man who believed he was meeting a minor, and his catchphrase "Have a seat," made him a pop-culture icon whose method is still debated for blending journalism, law enforcement, and entertainment.[3](https://apnews.com/article/ee19737038e59382b41aa7ec9256f63d)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Education and early career | Michigan State University class of 1981; about a decade in local news before joining NBC in 1993[1](https://spartan.msu.edu/spartan-story-hub/news/1996/01/people-chris-hansen) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) |
| Signature program | *To Catch a Predator*, a *Dateline NBC* segment begun in 2004, using adult decoys posing as minors, chat logs, and hidden cameras[2](https://www.cjr.org/film/losing-control-primetime-chris-hansen-pattinson-oppenheim-catch-predator-dateline-nbc.php) |
| Peak popularity | More than 10 million viewers at the show's height in 2006[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) |
| Awards | Eight Emmy Awards for investigative reporting at NBC[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) |
| Defining controversy | The November 2006 Murphy, Texas, sting in which suspect Louis Conradt killed himself as police moved in; his sister's $105 million lawsuit against NBC was settled out of court[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) |
| Departure from NBC | NBC declined to renew his contract in August 2013, after 20 years with the network[6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-08-31/to-catch-a-predator-film-why-chris-hansen-hasnt-seen-it) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/) |
| Later work | *Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen* on Investigation Discovery; the podcast *Predators I've Caught*; *Takedown with Chris Hansen* (2022– )[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [8](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2026.79.3.54) |
## Early career at NBC
Hansen grew up during what he regards as the golden age of television news, admiring the way "60 Minutes" star [Mike Wallace](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-wallace) confronted wrongdoers, and he started reporting while still at Michigan State University.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) After roughly a decade in local news, he became a correspondent for [NBC News](https://www.edgepedia.org/nbc-news) beginning in May 1993, which led to his work for *Dateline NBC*.[7](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/) • [1](https://spartan.msu.edu/spartan-story-hub/news/1996/01/people-chris-hansen)
His reporting covered major national stories: the [Oklahoma City bombing](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city-bombing), where in 1995 he stood on a roof overlooking the rubble in which 168 people were killed; Columbine; the Unabomber case; the impeachment of President Bill Clinton; and the [September 11 attacks](https://www.edgepedia.org/september-11-attacks) in Manhattan.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) Neal Shapiro, installed to oversee *Dateline*, valued Hansen's doggedness and his skill at the two-camera interview, and moved the show from one night a week to five in 1998.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/)
## To Catch a Predator
In 2004 Hansen pitched the story that became *To Catch a Predator*, working with [Perverted-Justice](https://www.edgepedia.org/perverted-justice), a group that styled itself as a computer watchdog operation and used volunteer decoys to engage men online who were looking for sex with minors; NBC paid the group as consultants.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [9](https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2007/whats-wrong-with-to-catch-a-predator/) The format staged stings in rented suburban homes rigged with cameras and microphones: an adult actor posing as a teenager welcomed a man who had been chatting online, then disappeared so Hansen could emerge, present the chat logs, and question the visitor while police waited outside.[10](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/09/primetime-movie-robert-pattinson-to-catch-a-predator/688796/) There were 12 undercover operations in total.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/)
The segments drew more than 10 million viewers at their height in 2006 and made Hansen a star, parodied on *South Park* and, in 2009, by [Bill Hader](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-hader) on *Saturday Night Live* in a sketch called "Late Night With Chris Hansen."[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) He spun the format into further hidden-camera segments including "To Catch a Con Man" and "To Catch an ID Thief."[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/)
## The Conradt case and cancellation
The show's defining controversy came in November 2006 in Murphy, Texas. Louis Conradt, a Rockland County assistant district attorney, had engaged online with someone he believed was a minor but never came to the sting house; as police moved in on him at home, near Hansen's cameras, he shot himself dead with a Browning .380 pistol.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) Reporting in *Esquire* and an ABC "20/20" investigation portrayed Hansen and Perverted-Justice as working in sync with police to confront Conradt.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) Conradt's sister filed a $105 million lawsuit against NBC, which was settled out of court; the settlement prevents those involved from discussing the case publicly.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/)
Sources differ on when the series ended: *Time* and TV Insider describe the show as airing from 2004 to 2007, while *The Washington Post* and the Associated Press say it was canceled in 2008 after the negative scrutiny and legal pressure that followed the Conradt case.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/) • [4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/ee19737038e59382b41aa7ec9256f63d) Advertiser discomfort is the likeliest cause for the cancellation; by 2007 companies had begun pulling sponsorship of the segments, wary of having their products associated with the program's content.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/)
## Criticism of the method
Journalism ethicists have questioned whether the program was journalism at all. Kelly McBride, chief ethicist at the [Poynter Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/poynter-institute) and NPR's public editor, has called it "advocacy pretending to be journalism" and criticized the shame-and-humiliation-as-entertainment at its core; one of her main complaints is Hansen's cozy relationship with law enforcement, which blurred the line between reporting and investigation.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/) Writing in the *Columbia Journalism Review* in 2007, Douglas McCollam asked whether humiliating perverts and needlessly terrifying parents was the best use of hours of primetime television.[2](https://www.cjr.org/film/losing-control-primetime-chris-hansen-pattinson-oppenheim-catch-predator-dateline-nbc.php) Hansen's own defense was that the show raised awareness, exposed people preying on children, and created a dialogue that did not exist before.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/)
## Later career
After the series ended, Hansen met with executives at the true-crime channel [Investigation Discovery](https://www.edgepedia.org/investigation-discovery), which greenlit *Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen* by the fall.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) Between 2011 and 2013 his private life became news: reports surfaced of an affair with a Florida television reporter some 20 years his junior, the woman released personal photos, and NBC announced in August 2013 that it was not renewing his contract after 20 years.[5](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/)
In January 2019 he turned himself in to [Stamford, Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/stamford-connecticut), police on a felony charge of issuing a bad check.[11](https://legalclarity.org/chris-hansen-mugshot-bad-checks-warrants-and-controversies/) He has continued predator-catching work outside network television: he hosts the podcast *Predators I've Caught*, and his current flagship program is *Takedown with Chris Hansen* (2022– ), a variation on the original format with closer law-enforcement involvement. In May 2026 he partnered with the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff's Office on a three-day operation called "Undercover Chatter" that resulted in six arrests, with warrants pending for two additional suspects outside the state.[8](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2026.79.3.54) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/) • [11](https://legalclarity.org/chris-hansen-mugshot-bad-checks-warrants-and-controversies/)
## Reappraisal on screen
Two screen projects have revisited the show. *Predators* (2025), a documentary directed by David Osit, reappraises the conventions and ethics of *To Catch a Predator*, which drew high ratings but was mired in controversy after Conradt's suicide; Osit interviews Hansen, who presents the film as a celebration of his life's work and encourages his fans to see it.[8](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2026.79.3.54) *Primetime* (2026), an A24 dramatization directed by Lance Oppenheim and starring [Robert Pattinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-pattinson) as a fictionalized Hansen, follows the rise of the show and the sting operation that led to its cancellation, with [Merritt Wever](https://www.edgepedia.org/merritt-wever) playing a fictionalized producer and [Jeff Zucker](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-zucker) appearing as himself.[3](https://apnews.com/article/ee19737038e59382b41aa7ec9256f63d) Hansen objected to the film before seeing it, calling it an "insult" and saying he wanted "recognition that they used my name, image, and likeness in a largely fictional story"; after watching it at a theater he called it "so detached from reality."[3](https://apnews.com/article/ee19737038e59382b41aa7ec9256f63d) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-08-31/to-catch-a-predator-film-why-chris-hansen-hasnt-seen-it) • [12](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/to-catch-a-predator-host-chris-hansen-melts-down-over-portrayal-in-shocking-new-film/)
## References
1. [People: Chris Hansen, Spartan Magazine, Michigan State University](https://spartan.msu.edu/spartan-story-hub/news/1996/01/people-chris-hansen)
2. [Losing Control, Columbia Journalism Review](https://www.cjr.org/film/losing-control-primetime-chris-hansen-pattinson-oppenheim-catch-predator-dateline-nbc.php)
3. [Robert Pattinson brings 'To Catch a Predator' to life in new film 'Primetime', Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/ee19737038e59382b41aa7ec9256f63d)
4. ['Primetime' asks whether Chris Hansen is the predator. He's sure of his answer., The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/09/27/primetime-asks-if-chris-hansen-is-predator-hes-sure-his-answer/)
5. [Chris Hansen Wants a Comeback, Time](https://time.com/3713694/chris-hansen-predator-killer-instinct/)
6. [Why Chris Hansen hasn't seen the new film about 'To Catch a Predator', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-08-31/to-catch-a-predator-film-why-chris-hansen-hasnt-seen-it)
7. [What Is Chris Hansen Doing Now?, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1232915/chris-hansen-now-today-to-catch-a-predator/)
8. [Predators, Film Quarterly, University of California Press](https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2026.79.3.54)
9. [What's Wrong with 'To Catch a Predator', Poynter Institute](https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2007/whats-wrong-with-to-catch-a-predator/)
10. [The Show That Always Chased Ratings, No Matter the Cost, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/09/primetime-movie-robert-pattinson-to-catch-a-predator/688796/)
11. [Chris Hansen Mugshot: Bad Checks, Warrants, and Controversies, LegalClarity](https://legalclarity.org/chris-hansen-mugshot-bad-checks-warrants-and-controversies/)
12. [TV Host Melts Down Over Portrayal in Shocking New Film, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/to-catch-a-predator-host-chris-hansen-melts-down-over-portrayal-in-shocking-new-film/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Broadcast organizations and stations › Broadcasters as people › Broadcast journalists and news presenters › American broadcast journalists and news presenters › NBC News journalists and anchors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license