OWNOprah Winfrey NetworkMeet the woman who made it happen.
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The Big Idea
She's The Producer follows an elite circle of women who create, finance, manage, package and produce the culture America consumes. They are producing films, television, music, events, businesses, talent — and families.
But the cameras capture something audiences rarely get to see: what it actually costs to be the woman who makes everything happen. A multimillion-dollar deal falls apart. A production loses its star. A budget explodes. A marriage is strained. A child needs their mother while 150 crew members need their producer.
And sometimes the woman everyone calls when there's a crisis is quietly having one of her own. The professional stakes create the drama instead of producers having to manufacture it — arguments about financing gaps, IP ownership, executive producer credit and who took whose deal.
Format
10
× 42 min
Cities
ATL
LA · NY
Home
OWN
Network
Genre
DocuSeries
Unscripted
The Trailer
Atlanta. Los Angeles. New York. A first look at the series, the women and the rooms nobody gets to see.
The Producers
Each episode, a featured producer steps in to add value — advice in the deal, insight in the crisis, and the personal journey behind the power.
EP 01The Visionary
Oprah Winfrey
She turned a talk show into an empire — then built the network this show calls home.
Ownership, intention and the long game. Oprah shares what it means to produce with purpose and to build something that outlives the moment.
EP 02The Empire Builder
Shonda Rhimes
She didn't get a seat at the table. She built a table, a network night, and a universe.
On writing the rules, saying yes to everything until you learn to say no, and what it costs to run Thursday nights for a decade.
EP 03The Filmmaker
Ava DuVernay
She makes the films Hollywood said there was no audience for — and the audience shows up.
Financing outside the system, owning your distribution, and building ARRAY so the next woman doesn't start from zero.
EP 04The Actor-Producer
Viola Davis
She stopped waiting to be cast and started producing the stories she deserved to be in.
JuVee Productions, betting on yourself, and why 'if you build it, they will come' is a business plan — not a dream.
EP 05The Producer of Legacy
Michelle Obama
From the White House to Higher Ground — producing stories that move culture, not just ratings.
Purpose-driven producing, choosing the right partners, and turning a platform into a pipeline for new voices.
EP 06The Multi-Hyphenate
Issa Rae
A web series, a premium cable hit, a label, a coffee company — she produces ecosystems.
Betting on the internet before Hollywood would bet on her, and how she turns 'awkward' into ownership across every lane she enters.
EP 07The Truth-Teller
Lena Waithe
She writes and produces the stories she grew up never seeing — and made history doing it.
Authenticity as leverage, mentoring the next wave through Hillman Grad, and why the personal is the most producible thing she owns.
EP 08The Comedy Powerhouse
Tina Fey
Writer, showrunner, producer — she's been running rooms since before rooms wanted her.
Decades of turning jokes into jobs for hundreds of people, and the unglamorous discipline of being funny on a deadline, every week, for years.
EP 09The Child Star Who Grew Up Owning It
Raven-Symoné
She's been on sets since she could walk — now she executive-produces her own.
Surviving child stardom with a business intact, negotiating as a teenager, and producing the next generation's version of the shows she grew up on.
EP 10The Mogul in Motion
Eva Longoria
Actress, director, producer, investor — she produces like the door might close tomorrow.
UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, flipping the telenovela pipeline into primetime power, and why she produces for the community that raised her.
The Episode Engine
Produce the project
Something tangible gets done — a film financed, a series pitched, a video shot, a deal closed, a premiere held.
Produce the life
Marriage, children, parents, friendship, health, identity, burnout and fear all demand attention at once.
Produce yourself
The OWN layer. Why do I feel responsible for everyone? Can I let go of control? Why am I afraid to ask for help?
The Slate
Picture's Up
Featuring Oprah Winfrey
The series opens with the woman who built the house. As our producers launch their slates, Oprah sits in on a pitch and shares what forty years of ownership taught her: intention is a business strategy.
Own the Room
Featuring Shonda Rhimes
A showrunner showdown over creative control. Shonda coaches a producer through holding her vision in a network notes meeting — and tells the story of the year she said yes to everything.
Make It Anyway
Featuring Ava DuVernay
Financing falls through on a feature days before pre-production. Ava walks through building outside the studio system — and why owning distribution beats begging for permission.
Bet On Yourself
Featuring Viola Davis
A producer must decide whether to fund her passion project with her own money. Viola shares how JuVee started with a bet on stories no one else would make.
Higher Ground
Featuring Michelle Obama
A producer weighs a lucrative deal against a story that actually matters. Mrs. Obama talks purpose-driven producing, choosing partners, and turning platform into pipeline.
The Internet Never Forgets To Pay Off
Featuring Issa Rae
A digital-first producer debates selling out versus scaling up. Issa breaks down how a web series became a premium cable hit, a label, and an ownership-first career.
Write What You Know
Featuring Lena Waithe
A writer-producer is told her story is 'too specific.' Lena shares how specificity made her an Emmy winner — and why mentoring the next wave is part of the job.
Funny Is a Business
Featuring Tina Fey
A comedy pilot collapses in the table read. Tina shows how decades of writers' rooms built her producer instincts — and why discipline is the unfunny secret of funny.
Grown In Public
Featuring Raven-Symoné
A young producer struggles to be taken seriously by executives twice her age. Raven-Symoné shares surviving child stardom, negotiating as a teen, and producing her own legacy.
Premiere Night
Featuring Eva Longoria
Season finale: a premiere hangs in the balance. Eva Longoria — actress, director, producer, investor — closes the season on building for the community that raised you, like the door might close tomorrow.
The Signature Device
No entourage. No phone. No glam squad. No producing. At the end of each episode one woman sits alone and one question appears.
“What are you pretending you have under control?”
“Who takes care of you?”
“What did success cost you?”
The Universe
The Summit
An annual leadership experience: panels, masterclasses, pitch sessions, financing conversations and mentorship.
The Producer's Table
A podcast where successful women talk money, ownership, marriage, motherhood, failure and legacy.
She's Next
Emerging female producers compete for mentorship and development funding. The winner's project gets produced.
The Honors
Recognizing the woman who made sure there was a stage, financing, talent, cameras and an audience.
Executive Producer
Lena Jenkins-Smith is a partner at Goldstrand Media and the driving force behind She's The Producer. As a producer, she has spent her career building stories from the ground up — development to distribution — while navigating the real cost of being the woman everyone depends on.
She believes the women who make the culture America consumes deserve to be seen, heard and paid. She's The Producer is her love letter to every woman who has ever made the impossible look inevitable.
The Production Company
Goldstrand Media is a full-service production company built to develop, finance, produce and distribute premium unscripted content. Guided by Lena Jenkins-Smith and Jonathan Smith, the company operates across development, casting, production, post and distribution — giving She's The Producer a natural home and a real ecosystem to live in.
She's not behind the scenes.
She's behind everything.
She's The Producer™ — A Goldstrand Media Production for OWN