"In David Osit's new documentary, "Predators," the director includes a short clip from a mid-two-thousands episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in which the late-night host-his free-speech tussle with the Trump Administration, at this point, not even close to a glimmer in his eye-is introducing the news journalist Chris Hansen to viewers. "Our next guest is the host of the funniest comedy on television. It's called 'To Catch a Predator,' " Kimmel says with a grin, as the studio audience's laughter rings in the background."
""To Catch a Predator," which aired between 2004 and 2007 as part of the news-magazine series "Dateline NBC," was essentially a hidden-camera prank program. Unlike Ashton Kutcher's MTV offering, however, its subjects weren't celebrities falling prey to practical jokery but, instead, members of the public lured into a sting house under the impression that they were about to have sex with a minor,"
A mid-2000s Jimmy Kimmel Live clip shows Kimmel introducing Chris Hansen and calling To Catch a Predator 'Punk'd for pedophiles.' To Catch a Predator aired 2004–2007 as part of Dateline NBC and operated as a hidden-camera sting program. Adults were lured into a sting house believing they would meet a minor who was in fact an of-age decoy. Confrontations on arrival featured Hansen and camera crews and culminated in arrests by local law enforcement. The show's recurring line 'you're free to go' contrasted with immediate police intervention. Mirth and spectacle repeatedly accompanied the program across media appearances and audience reactions.
Read at The New Yorker
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