Why Did We Love “To Catch a Predator”?

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. “If you haven’t seen it, it’s like ‘Punk’d’ for pedophiles.”

Kimmel’s characterization of Hansen’s show may have been tongue-in-cheek, but it also wasn’t off the mark. “To Catch a Predator,” which aired between 2004 and 2007 as part of the news-magazine series “Dateline NBC,”