Dionne Harmon is making major strides in Hollywood as a producer. Next up will be Sunday's BET Awards

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) If Dionne Harmon had never found an old script for the New Editions biopic, the story of the R&B group might still be sitting on a shelf instead of becoming a beloved movie. mini-series for BET.

The same can be said of other projects like The Bobby Brown Story and the Soul Train-inspired American Soul series. She may not be well known to the general public, but she is known in Hollywood for working on major projects and events, including the Academy Awards, Emmys, and Golden Globes. Harmon worked on several Super Bowl halftime shows, becoming the first black woman to produce the show.

Then you will be a producer at BET Awards Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. The show will be broadcast live from the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles.

The Emmy winner is one of the few black women in a high-profile position in the entertainment industry. She is president of Jesse Collins Entertainmentone of the most in-demand television production companies. Harmon reports directly to the CEO Jesse Collinswho is her fiancé.

“I've worked hard to build my toolbox to be ready for these moments,” said Harmon, a Harvard University graduate who has been with JCE since 2012.

She started at JCE as an assistant, a position she was reluctant to take until Collins introduced her to other employees who had gradually risen to higher-ranking positions within the company.

Harmon accepted the position. Collins guaranteed that he would teach her everything he knew about the business, allowing her to shadow him in meetings and phone calls.

“It’s a place where you put down roots and grow,” she said. “At first glance, it looked like a step backwards. I had to silence my ego, which didn't want me to take this step… But it was the best decision I ever made. »

Harmons' big break came with the 2017 project The story of the new edition.

After seeing the huge success of TLC's biopic CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story in 2013, she realized there were more opportunities to explore.

Harmon found an old script about the history of New Editions written by Abdul Williams that had been around for years, brought it to Collins, and convinced him to pitch the idea to Stephen Hill, BET's president of programming at the time. The series became a huge hit on the network, but it did not receive a producer credit.

However, Harmon did well enough to earn a promotion to director of development without a staff, which led to more projects. She led the reworked Hip Hop Squares format that evolved into the creation of three spinoff shows such as CMT's Nashville Squares, BET's Celebrity Squares, and CBS's Hollywood Squares with Drew Barrymore. She also played a key role in the development and production of the critically acclaimed competition. Rhythm + Flow on Netflix, which has now expanded to France, Italy and Brazil.

Erykah Badu said Harmon was instrumental in her returning for three consecutive years as host and producer of the Soul Train Awards starting in 2015. The singer called Harmon a pragmatic and deliberate producer.

With such an enigmatic work ethic, she reminds us that our best work is always within ourselves, Badu said.

Under her leadership, Harmon helped JCE grow its staff from 11 full-time employees to 25. She also led the company's efforts to work directly with brands on content production at large-scale events with Nike, Ford, Pepsi and TikTok.

She is very passionate, creative and knows how to navigate a very complicated world known as Hollywood, Collins said. She truly leads with integrity above all else. It really helped her grow. Once you build a trustworthy reputation and are creative, all doors open to you.

Harmon became one of the few black women to co-produce the Oscars. And after co-producing the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and others, she was elevated to president of JCE, overseeing creative strategy and financial growth.

Life is good for Harmon, both professionally and personally. Collins proposed to her last year. She said their relationship is a perfect partnership and they both manage to balance their work and personal lives well.

Harmon often thinks back to his decision to strip away his ego and join JCE more than a decade ago. She joked with her mother that if she got married or met anyone, it would be at the airport or at work.

It's crazy how one decision can impact every aspect of your life, she said in her interview with JCE. I never in my wildest dreams. … It never crossed my mind that I would end up getting engaged. If someone said that to me, I would be like, 'Oh my God, what's wrong with you?'

Harmon says Collins is a great guy, but at first he was just his boss.

But as we worked together and truly became equals and moved forward together and built this company, it opened the doors to something completely different.

Harmon wants to continue building on his and JCE’s success. She wants to create more scripted shows and feature films and, one day, produce the Olympics.

Collins sees fulfillment in the Harmons cards.

Anything is possible for her, he said. But ultimately, Shell will probably end up leading at some point. She has a real eye for these kinds of details.