![Jerrie Johnson at the ATX Television Festival Jerrie Johnson Talks Prime Video’s ‘Harlem’ [Interview] Jerrie Johnson at the ATX Television Festival](https://telltaletv.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Screenshot-2023-06-07-at-5.10.29-PM-e1686186189675-730x410.png "Jerrie Johnson at the ATX Television Festival | Tell-Tale TV")
Jerrie Johnson Talks Prime Video’s ‘Harlem’ [Interview]
The role of Tye, a successful, queer dating app creator living in Harlem, NYC, is everything Jerrie Johnson could have dreamed of.
The Prime Video series Harlem follows a group of best friends, including Tye, as they navigate the next phase of their careers, relationships, and big-city dreams.
We recently caught up with Johnson to talk about the series, what she loves most about playing Tye, and how they came to be a part of the show initially. (You can watch the full interview below.)
Johnson said the thing she’s most proud of when it comes to working on Harlem is the “true genuine connection and friendship.”
“We really love each other and care for each other, and I think you can see that on screen. I’m proud that we’re giving a voice to particular Black woman experiences, but it’s also very universal,” Johnson said.
Watch the full interview with Jerrie Johnson:
When it comes to her character Tye, the thing she loves most is that this character is the “first of her kind.”
“I’ve never seen a queer Black woman who is the head of a tech company on television! Can you imagine?! My 10-year-old self is like, ‘You did it girl!’ And so the fact that I get to play that out, and nobody’s trying to make me do it a certain way or fit in a certain box — that to me feels like I won the lottery.”
Johnson also shared how they came to be a part of the series, noting that she was struggling for a while before receiving two auditions around the same time. One of those was for Harlem.
“I ended up being the first one to be booked for the show. And I was fresh out of grad school, so nobody knew who I was. I didn’t have any TV credits or anything yet, but I was happy that Tracy [Oliver] and the team took a chance on me,” they said. “I feel so blessed.”
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*Additional reporting by Cade Taylor and Allison Nichols.
Check out all of our coverage of the ATX Television Festival right here. There is a lot more to come!
Harlem is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.