NEED TO KNOW
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Chris Hansen hosted To Catch a Predator on Dateline NBC from 2004 to 2007
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The journalist left the network in 2013 and went on to host several other TV shows and podcasts
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Hansen’s tenure at Dateline is the subject of Primetime, an upcoming biographical crime thriller starring Robert Pattinson
Chris Hansen rose to fame in the mid-2000s as the host of Dateline NBC‘s To Catch a Predator.
The broadcast journalist, who joined NBC News in 1993, was at the helm of the sting operation show from 2004 to 2007. He also hosted two spinoffs, To Catch a Con Man and To Catch an I.D. Thief, before leaving the network in 2013.
Hansen continued his career post-NBC, leading a new series called Hansen vs. PredatoronCrime Watch Dailyand launching TruBlu, a true crime streaming service. In 2020, he made his foray into audio journalism with his podcast Predators I’ve Caught,followed byHave a Seat with Chris Hansen.
Hansen has also been the subject of two films. In 2025, MTV Documentary Films released Predators, which examined the cultural impact of To Catch a Predator.Most recently, A24 dropped the first trailer forPrimetime, a biographical crime thriller inspired by Hansen’s hidden camera series that will hit theaters in fall 2026. The latter film stars Robert Pattinson as Hansen alongside Merritt Wever, Skyler Gisondo and Phoebe Bridgers.
So, where is Chris Hansen now? Here’s what to know about his life after To Catch a Predator.
Hansen hosted To Catch a Predator from 2004 to 2007
Hansen joined NBC News in 1993 and eventually became a correspondent for its long-running newsmagazine, Dateline, according to a bio. While there, he covered a wide range of topics, including the TWA Flight 800 disaster.
In November 2004, To Catch a Predator premiered on Dateline with Hansen as host. Filmed using hidden cameras, the show chronicled undercover sting operations led by Hansen that employed adults actors impersonating minors in order to catch alleged predators.
The show’s final episode aired in December 2007. The year prior, in November 2006, prosecutor Louis “Bill” Conradt shot himself when police attempted to serve him an arrest warrant alleging he solicited sex with a minor, per NBC News.
The sting operation involved To Catch a Predator,and the show was later sued by Conradt’s sister for $109 million, ABC News reported. In June 2008, the parties settled out of court and the amount of the settlement was not disclosed.
That same year, To Catch a Predator was canceled
“At the end of the day, we had proved our point,” Hansen told TIME in February 2015.
He left NBC in 2013
Hansen’s tenure at NBC ended in 2013 when the network reportedly didn’t renew his contract, per Variety.
Following his departure, he hosted Killer Instincton Investigation Discovery and later Hansen vs. Predator on Crime Watch Daily.
Hansen subsequently launched his own true crime streaming service, TruBlu, and returned to the spotlight in 2022 with his investigative show Takedown with Chris Hansen.The program is styled after To Catch a Predator.
He was arrested in 2019 and charges were dropped shortly after
In January 2019, Hansen was arrested in Stamford, Conn. and charged with issuing bad checks.
According to police, the journalist had ordered several promotional items from a local business and given a $13,000 bill. He wrote two checks that bounced, at which point the business owner called the police.
The case against Hansen was dropped later that same month, per NBC News. According to his attorney, Philip Russell, Hansen had paid the bill and the incident was the result of an “oversight.”
Hansen had a second run-in with law enforcement in July 2021 when a warrant for his arrest was issued in Shiawassee County, Mich. after he failed to appear in court.
Hansen was supposed to present documents related to a sting operation he had helped authorities with the previous October.
“There was miscommunication about a hearing today on the issue. The matter is currently being resolved!” he wrote on Instagram at the time.
He hosts two crime-related podcasts
Hansen made his foray into audio journalism in 2020 with the launch of his first podcast, Predators I’ve Caught,whichtakes a look back at past sting operations.
Five years later, he expanded with a new interview series, Have a Seat with Chris Hansen.
New episodes of Predators I’ve CaughtandHave a Seat with Chris Hansen are released on Mondays and Wednesdays, respectively. Both shows live under the same podcast feed.
He got divorced in 2020 and remarried in 2021
Hansen was married to his first wife, Mary Joan Hansen, for nearly 30 years before she filed for divorce in June 2018.
The following year, the journalist was evicted from his New York City apartment on accusations of failing to pay rent amid their divorce proceedings, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.
Speaking to VladTV in March 2021, Hansen commented on the situation. “There was a landlord-tenant issue that got resolved … Much more was made of it than actually deserved attention,” he said.
In November 2021, Hansen married Gabrielle Gagnon in Detroit.
Read the original article on People
