How Jesse Collins Became the Go-To Producer Behind TV’s Biggest Spectacles, From Emmys to Grammys to Super Bowl Halftime Show
th Emmy Awards, but Jesse Collins and his fellow executive producers are already on the go — specifically, to New Orleans. The team is flying to the Big Easy on Tuesday to scout the Superdome as they plan next February’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show, starring Kendrick Lamar. “It’s our first time with the artist team,” notes Jesse Collins Entertainment prexy Dionne Harmon. “We’ve actually been a few times already in preparation, but since the announcement, it’s the first time Kendrick’s team and us will all come together.” Adds Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, Jesse Collins Entertainment’s senior VP of specials, “There’s always something going on!” And she’s not wrong: Also on Monday, BET just announced that its annual BET Hip Hop Awards — which Collins, Harmon and Rouzan-Clay also exec produce — is making a big move next month to Las Vegas.
Between now and the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, Collins and company additionally have a trio of holiday specials in the works (including two for NBC and one for CBS) in December, plus the return of Netflix’s “Rhythm + Flow” in November, next month’s premiere of We TV’s new reality show “Tia Mowry: My Next Act,” the October airdates for the BET Hip Hop Awards and the January launch of CBS’ revival of “Hollywood Squares,” which they’re doing in conjunction with Drew Barrymore.
Beyond that, on the horizon for Collins is another Grammy Awards ceremony, another BET Awards, and so on. Collins credits the strength of Harmon, Rouzan-Clay and the rest of his team for keeping it all going.
There’s no time to rest, but that’s what has now made Jesse Collins Entertainment one of the premier go-to houses for big TV spectacles. “I love to work,” he says. “I love to do all this stuff.
