When revisiting bygone eras in American pop culture, we often use TV shows as a touchstone: The I Love Lucy days, the M*A*S*H days, the Simpsons (when they were still good) days, and so on. Somehow, the one that has lasted the longest is the reality TV era, which has disproven the existence of God by lasting 25 years… and counting.

On the bright side, it has not been bereft of insanity. While the most famous examples involve families licensing and distributing sex tapes to boost interest in their reality TV show, there have been enough slaps, memes, and DUIs to keep TMZ in business the entire time. (A remarkable aside: Paris Hilton did this first – and extremely effectively – when her sex tape “leaked” right before her show The Simple Life premiered, catapulting the show to surprisingly high ratings. About four years later, the Kardashian family willfully publicized the “leak” of Kim’s sex tape prior to the premier of their own reality TV show. The remarkable part? Prior to the Kardashian video’s exposure, Kim was working for her childhood friend and reality TV star… Paris Hilton. In 2021, Kim was quoted in an interview saying that Paris Hilton “literally gave me a career.” I feel dirty all over.)

But every now and then, a scandal flies under the radar. Call it hush money, call it poor decision-making, call it whatever you want; just make sure it doesn’t air on TV. One of the most remarkable examples of this is the fall of Dateline NBC’s show To Catch a Predator.

What Was To Catch a Predator and How Did It End?

For those unfamiliar with the show, the central premise was that undercover sexual assault (focused on minors) stings were carried out across the country. When the predator agreed to meet the “teen” in person, they were met by NBC’s Chris Hansen (who typically said things like “what are you doing here?” and “why don’t you have a seat right over there.”), who pointed out the cameras and led the arrest process for the perverts. It aired from 2004-2007, which was early enough in the internet age that it tricked people into thinking that good things could happen online – a statement that has been consistently disproven every day since then.

It must be said: The show was compelling in a trainwreck sort of way. The show’s first investigation featured a New York City firefighter who used the station’s computer to convince (what he thought was) a teenage girl to have sex with him. He was eventually sentenced to probation and served no jail time. 

On to the big one.

The ‘To Catch a Predator’ Suicide

In late 2006, another sting was conducted in Murphy, Texas. Twenty-five men came to the sting House (including a former church music director and a former cop), and several others didn’t come to the house but were under investigation. One of those additional suspects was Kaufman County assistant District Attorney Louis Conradt. Conradt had been caught exchanging pictures with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old boy. Conradt claimed to be a college student (he was 56), and at some point agreed to meet the “teen” at the sting house.

But Conradt didn’t show, and Chris Hansen pushed for the police to take the search to Conradt’s house, something they hadn’t done before and blurred some ethical lines. Allegedly, the search warrants were rushed and possibly not done in a legally sound manner, including claims that the city/county were entered incorrectly. In any case, the warrant cleared about ten hours after the request was made, which was about 11:00 a.m.

However, at 8:30 a.m., Hansen and the TV crew went to Conradt’s house for an ambush. It didn’t work, as nothing seemed to happen at that point and police began arriving a few hours later. Confirmation of the search warrant was received after two p.m., and a police officer tried calling Conradt, but he didn’t answer. So they called in a SWAT team.

Some time after three, the SWAT team forced open a door and promptly came across a computer with a workbook titled “Investigation and Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse.” Moments later, a few members of the team found Conradt at the end of a hallway where he said something about not wanting to hurt anyone and promptly shot himself in the head. NBC cameras were following the SWAT team.

To summarize, NBC failed to get the guy to come to the sting house and instead went to his house with a sketchy warrant. Upon arrival, they called in a SWAT team, which breached the house and was the final straw for the alleged perpetrator to shoot himself. He died within the hour. NBC also had cameras follow the SWAT team and ultimately had footage of the gun, the body, and his final moments.

As such, Conradt’s sister filed a wrongful death lawsuit to the tune of $105 million in 2007. NBC fought it for a while, but ultimately settled out of court. Between the lawsuit, claims of entrapment, conflicts of interest, and just all-around criticism, the show was canceled in early 2008.

Next time you wonder how Survivor is still on the air, just think about what could have been.

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