A filmmaker re-examines the rise and fall of To Catch a Predator, the controversial TV show that tracked child predators. Using archival footage and new interviews with decoy actors, law enforcement, and vigilantes, the film probes the fragile line between justice and entertainment. It becomes a self-reflexive inquiry into our fascination with public shaming—whether rooted in empathy, spectacle, or complicity. Presenting unaired material, the film transcends the good-evil dichotomy to reveal a more complex reality where responsibility and pleasure intersect.​

In the early days of American reality television, the genre’s supposed public-service mission found its clearest expression in NBC’s hit program To Catch a Predator. The show’s premise was simple: lure suspected child sex offenders into a staged home, confront them, and have them arrested on camera. Using adult actors posing as minors, the sting operation would wait until the “predators” revealed their intent—at which point host Chris Hansen would emerge with his now-famous question: “What are you doing here?” 

Director David Osit revisits the program not simply to recount its sensational format, but to examine the influence it sparked—including a wave of copycat vigilantes and the ways it reshaped public ideas about justice. To Catch a Predator delivered justice exactly as its audience seemed to want it—swift, uncompromising, and broadcast to millions. Osit himself was once captivated by the show. Two decades later, Predators turns a far more critical lens on the phenomenon. The film interrogates the deeper meaning of that signature question, asking whether hidden cameras are a legitimate tool for justice, and whether the violation of rights can ever be justified for the public good. Taut, unsettling, and sharply observed, Predators leaves viewers not with certainty, but with a lingering unease—compelling us to confront our own convictions about justice, punishment, and the immense power of the media.

I wondered if I could build a film with this discomfort as its spine—a film that would not only challenge the limits of my own empathy, but reflect the tenuous morality behind how we tell stories, report news, and make films.

• ProducerJamie GONÇALVES, Kellen QUINN, David OSIT
• Cinematography David OSIT
• Edit Nicolás NØRGGAARD STAFFOLANI
• Music Tim HECKER