Introducing Love is a Crime

The 1951 shooting of talent agent Jennings Lang by film producer Walter Wanger serves as the focal point for an investigation into the volatile marriage and professional downfall of Wanger and his wife, actress Joan Bennett. This narrative series, co-hosted by the couple's granddaughter Vanessa Hope and historian Karina Longworth, deconstructs a real-life film noir involving male violence and the enforced silence of women in old Hollywood. The account contrasts Wanger’s reputation as a sophisticated liberal producer with his transition into a gunman, while exploring why Bennett, then a star of wholesome family franchises, risked her status for a clandestine affair. Featuring voice performances by Jon Hamm and Zooey Deschanel, the story details how the scandal transformed Bennett into a professional outcast and examines the systemic pressures of the studio era that turned a high-profile partnership into a tabloid tragedy.