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Chris Hansen
American television journalist (born 1959) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Christopher Edward Hansen (born September 13, 1959)[3] is an American television presenter, journalist, and YouTube personality. During his tenure as a correspondent for Dateline NBC, he hosted the program's segment To Catch a Predator (2004–2007), which revolved around catching potential Internet predators using a sting operation. When the segment's three-year run concluded, Hansen continued to host similarly formatted shows on other networks.[4]
After parting ways with NBC in 2013,[5] he began hosting Killer Instinct on Investigation Discovery in 2015, a short-lived series that documented homicide investigations.[6] That same year, he replaced Matt Doran as the host of the syndicated series Crime Watch Daily, which he hosted for two seasons and had his own segment similar to his Dateline feature, Hansen vs. Predator. He co-founded the true crime–oriented streaming service TruBlu in 2020, where he produced and starred in the web series Takedown with Chris Hansen.[7][8]
Hansen has earned several accolades, including ten Emmy Awards, five Edward R. Murrow Awards, three Clarion awards, the National Press Club award, and awards for excellence from the Associated Press and United Press International. Hansen and numerous subjects of his investigations have garnered online cult followings, and Hansen is considered a progenitor in content centered around sting operations.[9]
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Early life and education
Hansen was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 13, 1959,[3] and grew up in West Bloomfield Township and Birmingham, Michigan. In an interview with City Pulse, Hansen said that he first wanted to be a journalist when he was 14 years old, watching and following the police and FBI investigation of the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.[10] He attended Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[11] Hansen graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in telecommunication in 1981.[12][10]
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Career
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1981–2013: Career with NBC
In 1981, Hansen became a reporter for NBC affiliate WILX in Lansing, Michigan during his senior year at Michigan State University.[12][10] He later reported for WFLA in Tampa, Florida, various newspapers and radio stations in Michigan and WXYZ in Detroit. In 1988, he was hired as an investigative reporter and anchor at WDIV in Detroit.[12] In May 1993, Hansen joined NBC News as a correspondent for the short-lived news magazine Now with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric.[12]
Dateline NBC
Hansen's notable work for Dateline includes coverage of the Columbine High School massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber and the TWA Flight 800 disaster, and investigative reports on Indian child slave labor and counterfeit prescription drug sales in China. Hansen was responsible for most of Dateline's coverage of the September 11 attacks, as well as stories on terrorist groups and the operations of Al-Qaeda. He also exposed how a group linked to Osama bin Laden had attempted to buy missiles and nuclear weapons components, and he also worked on an exclusive report on the Air France Flight 8969 hijacking. His series on deficient airport security resulted in the Federal Aviation Administration investigating and ultimately revising its policies.[12]
To Catch a Predator
In conjunction with the website Perverted-Justice, Hansen hosted a series of Dateline NBC reports under the title To Catch a Predator. Volunteers from Perverted-Justice impersonated minor children (usually 13–15 year old) in chat rooms online and agreed to meet with adults for sex.[13][14] The meeting places were "sting houses", where camera crews from NBC, and in later episodes local police, awaited potential sexual predators.[15]
Capitalizing on the success of Hansen and his Predator investigations, Dateline NBC created three Tuesday night spin-offs of its original concept; Hansen hosted To Catch a Con Man and To Catch an I.D. Thief.[12] In March 2007, Hansen's book, To Catch a Predator: Protecting Your Kids from Online Enemies Already in Your Home, was released in the American market.[16][17]
In August 2013, NBC decided not to renew its contract with Hansen, ultimately ending his tenure of 20 years.[18]
2015–present: Career post-NBC
Independent television shows
In 2015, Hansen hosted Killer Instinct, a show on Investigation Discovery chronicling homicide cases. The show's initial 10-episode season premiered on August 17, 2015.[19]
In 2015, Hansen planned a new independent television show called Hansen vs. Predator, a spin-off of his original show To Catch a Predator. The program was intended to premiere online, crowdfunded via Kickstarter with Hansen hoping to raise $400,000;[20] however the Kickstarter only raised $89,000.[21][22] Hansen offered promotional memorabilia as part of the campaign that donors claimed to have never received, and he was arrested in January 2019 for paying for $13,000 worth of promotional items with a bad check.[22] Later broadcast rights were sold, with Hansen vs. Predator becoming a recurring segment on Crime Watch Daily.[23]
Work with Crime Watch Daily
On August 22, 2016, Hansen was introduced as the new host of the syndicated news program Crime Watch Daily beginning with its second-season premiere on September 12.[24] Hansen anchors the program from New York City, but it will maintain its Los Angeles–based newsroom. The second season also saw the premiere of Hansen vs. Predator, a revival of his previous To Catch a Predator series. Hansen's entry brought further ratings gains to the program, with household ratings increasing by 20% to 1.0, and a 23% gain among women 18–34. On January 4, 2017, Crime Watch Daily was renewed for a third season.[25][24] The show ended its run in June 2018.[26] Chris Hansen debuted the first episode of Hansen vs. Predator on September 12, 2016, on Crime Watch Daily.[8]
Have a Seat with Chris Hansen
On October 9, 2019, Hansen started a YouTube channel under the name Have a Seat with Chris Hansen, featuring weekly podcasts tackling different topics and interviews with special guests.[27] In 2019, this channel investigated claims of pedophilia and grooming against YouTube creator James Jackson, commonly known as Onision.[28] In January 2020, Hansen visited Jackson's home in an attempt to interview him. Jackson called the police on Hansen, though the police did not take action against him.[29] Jackson also filed a lawsuit against Hansen, which took place on January 24, 2020.[30][31] Jackson later requested to dismiss the charges, claiming that he was advised to consider an "alternative, more effective legal action".[32] This dismissal request was granted.[33][34]
Unseamly & Takedown with Chris Hansen
Hansen was named as an executive producer for Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygård, a Discovery+ show which examines Peter Nygård's life from his birth to his downfall and arrest.[35]
Hansen returned to television in 2022 with the series Takedown with Chris Hansen on his streaming service TruBlu, which once more finds him investigating and interviewing online predators.[36] The show granted him greater creative control, allowing him to use profanity and work further with local law enforcement entities.[37]
Podcasting
Since 2020, Hansen has hosted a podcast called Predators I've Caught in which he revisits the various predator investigations he has conducted from his perspective, in addition to offering any new information regarding the suspects of the investigations and answering submitted questions. Each installment covers a different investigation, with episodes released on a weekly basis.[38]
Roblox documentary film
In August 2025, in the wake of the Roblox Schlep ban controversy in which the YouTuber Schlep was banned from Roblox for conducting stings on alleged child predators, rumors spread on social media that Chris Hansen would create a project focusing on the state of child safety on Roblox. Hansen confirmed the rumors on August 15, stating that he had interviewed law enforcement, abuse victims, and Schlep for a documentary film.[39][40] Chris Hansen was interviewed by Schlep on August 22 about the documentary. During the discussion, he praised Schlep for his effors against alleged child predators and said that he has "expanded on his plans" for the documentary.[41]
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Personal life
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Hansen and his first wife Mary Joan were married in 1989, subsequently having two sons together. Mary Joan filed for divorce in 2018 after nearly thirty years of marriage and the couple divorced in 2020.[42] The family resided in Stamford, Connecticut.[43] Hansen also maintained a New York City apartment; however, in January, 2019 it was reported that he was evicted after failing to pay rent for the apartment since the previous August.[42] His mother, Patricia Hansen, died on March 1, 2020.[44]
On November 13, 2021, Hansen and his second wife Gabrielle Gagnon were married.[45]
Legal issues
In January 2019, Hansen was charged with larceny after a check bounced with a vendor who delivered promotional items.[46] Hansen turned himself in to police in Connecticut on January 14, 2019, for allegedly bouncing checks for nearly $13,000 worth of promotional materials, according to Stamford Police.[47] The charges were later dropped.[48]
In relation to a sting operation that occurred in October 2020, Hansen was supposed to appear and present evidence in a Shiawassee County courtroom in Michigan in July 2021. Hansen did not show up for court. A warrant was issued for his arrest in July 2021.[49] Hansen later turned himself in, stating that his failure to appear in court was because of a misunderstanding, and the matter was resolved.[50]
Awards and honors
Hansen has received 10 Emmy Awards for his work in investigative reporting, outstanding coverage of a news story and outstanding coverage of breaking news.[12][51][52]
He has received 5 Edward R. Murrow Awards for his news series investigating aviation security and safety as well as his coverage of the Ford/Firestone case.[12][53]
He has won three Clarion awards for his coverage of aviation security, Indian child slave labor and the Unabomber case, also receiving a first place medal for an undercover investigation of airport security.[12]
Hansen has also been presented the Overseas Press Club award, an IRE award, the National Press Club award, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists award, as well as awards for excellence from the Associated Press and United Press International, also receiving numerous Headliner awards.[12] In 2015 The KidSafe Foundation honored Hansen with their Child Advocate of the year award, for raising awareness among the dangers of online child predators.[54]
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Appearances
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Hansen has appeared on such television programs as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Adam Carolla Show, Today, Scarborough Country, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rise Guys Morning Show, The Don and Mike Show, The Opie and Anthony Radio Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jesse Watters Primetime, Glenn Beck Program, and Diggnation.[citation needed]
On January 9, 2007, Hansen appeared on the BET news series American Gangster. The special, which was hosted by actor Ving Rhames, focused on Detroit drug lords, the Chambers Brothers gang. Hansen gave insight into the lives of the brothers based on the reporting he had done on them in the 1980s and 1990s as a reporter for ABC affiliate WXYZ (Channel 7) and NBC affiliate WDIV (Channel 4).
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In popular culture
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In 2006 Hansen voiced himself in an episode of the Simpsons titled “Loan-a Lisa.”[55] That same year Hansen appeared as himself in the sitcom the 30 Rock, in the episode The Break-Up.
In the 2008 South Park episode "Le Petit Tourette" Eric Cartman links up with a parody version of Hansen to do a feature on his fake Tourette's syndrome. Cartman agrees to interview with the intention of spouting hate speech on air, but once he realizes that he's lost the ability to censor himself after keeping the shtick going for so long he attempts to back out. Hansen then intimidates Cartman into going ahead with it by recounting an incident where a predator backed out of the To Catch a Predator series by shooting himself.[56][57]
Hansen has been parodied in the television show Family Guy 3 times, first in the 2013 episode Valentine's Day in Quahog, where Mr Herbert is watching his favorite show To Catch a Predator.[58] He has also appeared in Oscar Guy and Supermarket Pete.[59][60]
In 2010 Hansen was parodied in an episode of The Boondocks titled “A Date with the Booty Warrior.” In the episode Hansen performs a sting operation just like in To Catch a Predator.[61][62]
In 2015 Hansen appeared on the hidden camera prank show Fameless, where a victim is pranked into thinking he has been mistaken for an online predator by being catfished and is confronted by Hansen himself.[63]
In 2016 Hansen appeared as himself in the season 3, episode 4 of the television show Black-ish.[64]
In 2020, Hansen made a brief cameo himself in episode 1 of the second season of Amazon series The Boys.[65]
Hansen has been referenced in multiple songs, including "F.I.F.A." by Pusha T and "Poppin" by KSI. Most prominently Insane Clown Posse's 11th studio album Bang! Pow! Boom! features a track entitled To Catch a Predator, with the lyrics featuring many phrases that Hansen used on the show.[66]
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References
Further reading
External links
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