Joe Budden Launches True-Crime Podcast 'Crime in America'
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- Joe Budden is launching "Crime in America," his first true-crime podcast, premiering Aug. 11 across all major podcast platforms as the debut series from his new Prime Crime Productions venture with longtime business partner Ian Schwartzman.
- Wolf Entertainment (producer of NBC's "Law & Order" and "One Chicago" franchises) and Advance Local's Headline Studio are partnering on the weekly video podcast, bringing established crime storytelling together with a national network of local journalists.
- Budden and Schwartzman self-financed the series rather than selling it to a traditional buyer or platform — a decision Budden said the team is "incredibly proud of" because it lets them control distribution.
- Each episode will spotlight a case that is developing or breaking nationally, with Advance Local journalists joining Budden to follow stories week-to-week, surface local cases early, and revisit them as they evolve.
- Elliot Wolf (Wolf Entertainment EVP) and Headline Studio president Richard Diamond both framed the series as an attempt to give local crime reporters a national platform grounded in original reporting and trusted sourcing.
Why it matters: The self-financed series pairs a celebrity host reportedly earning $1M+/month on Patreon with a wire of local Advance Local journalists, creating a new template for surfacing regional cases nationally earlier in their cycle. Wolf Entertainment's involvement also signals an established TV crime franchise is now betting on a podcast-first format rather than a TV buy.
