RECAP: King of Drag Season 1 FINALE
“King of Drag” — the world’s first competition show devoted exclusively to drag kings — aired its final episode on new LGBTQ streaming service Revry this past week. The show has been met with mixed reviews. While I think some of that criticism is valid — just as all drag is valid (thanks, “Dragula”) — I also think we need to speak about the show, amplify its reach as much as we can, and root for it to succeed. It’s a special, unique project showcasing queer voices that have historically not been given mainstream platforms. And in this moment in history, that’s something in which we should all be invested. Season 1 of “King of Drag” wasn’t perfect, but I do think it was overall a creative success. And more than that, it was a goddamned delight.
SPOILERS AHEAD
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First, let’s do a brief introduction to Revry, the queer media app on which the show airs. I had honestly never heard of Revry prior to this show being announced. If you’re part of the LGBTQ community, or are interested in queer stories, I urge you to download it. The app is free and is available on just about any device that I use. It’s got a great selection of movies, TV series, and documentaries to appeal to gay and gay-friendly audiences. Check it out! Support queer stories and businesses! If you do not do so, they run a real risk of going away — and given our current climate, we may not get them back.
On to “King of Drag” Season 1. While drag queens have never been more visible in mainstream culture, drag kings — generally, women, trans, or gender-nonconforming people presenting male characters — have for the most part stayed in clubs and bars. A few drag kings have pushed through, including “King of Drag” host Murray Hill (HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere”) and “Dragula” winner Landon Cider (who guest judges the horror challenge on “King of Drag” S1). For years there has been discourse around whether or not drag kings would work on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (personally, I have doubts), so I was glad to see this community of artists get their chance to shine.
I think the 10 kings chosen for Season 1 will be looked on as fondly as the original cast of “Drag Race.” The kings in question are:
-Alexander the Great (Austin, TX)
-Big D (Bellingham, WA)
-Buck Wylde (Dallas, TX)
-Charles Galin King (Los Angeles, CA)
-Dick Von Dyke (Minneapolis, MN)
-Henlo Bullfrog (Philadelphia, PA)
-King Molasses (Washington, DC)
-King Perka$exxx (Charlotte, NC)
-Pressure K (Atlanta, GA)
-Tuna Melt (New York, NY)
These were all brave, ambitious artists who signed on for a project without any proof of concept, and there are some real stars in this line-up. I’m not just talking about the winner, or the finalists. I think all of the kings had some great moments over the course of the series. Even if they struggled in challenges, or battled self doubt, I found them endearing. I was shocked when several went out earlier than expected (the season is only six episodes, and it has double eliminations in Episodes 3 and 5. I found myself rooting for almost all these kings.
But not as hard as the kings were rooting for each other. The key element of this series is how affirming it was. We all understand at this point how reality TV works. There have to be sob stories, there have to be moments of vulnerability. Every performer on this show has at least one emotional low point — some have more than one. But these artists consistently showed up for one another, offering words of encouragement and valuable advice. There are no villains. There is no antagonistic drama. It’s just artists struggling to live up to their own expectations and their feelings of responsibility to a community that, before this show, rarely got a shot at the spotlight.
For that reason, some fans of “Drag Race” or other talent-based reality competitions might not vibe with “King of Drag.” And that’s fine. Not everything is made for everyone. But if people were disappointed that the show didn’t present “big” moments or meme-able drama, that’s really not the show’s fault. That is not the show it was trying to be, or that it portrayed itself to be. I think it was successful in what it set out to do. So let’s judge it by that metric.
Which is not to say that “King of Drag” Season 1 does not have problems. Clearly the budget was minimal, and that could be seen in the production. But I was consistently surprised by the quality of the guest judges the show pulled. Hollywood Director/Producer Paul Feign, Broadway breakout Cole Escola, music icon Kathleen, comedian Cameron Esposito — those are serious “gets.” “Drag Race” royalty Kylie Sonique Love, drag legend Jackie Beat, and Carmen Carrera make appearances, and Sasha Velour is a regular judge. That said, Velour disappears without explanation after Season 4, seemingly replaced by Gottmik; similarly, Cole Escola leaves in the middle of the finale episode’s judging, replaced by Lisa Rinna, who comes in just in time for the final lipsynch, and to my memory says basically nothing. There has to be a story there, and I’m desperate to hear it.
My biggest issue with “King of Drag” Season 1 were the challenges, several of which simply did not land. The highlight for me was Episode 2’s the “Dong Show” talent showcase, which featured several great celebrity impersonations as well as some genuinely unexpected talents. But most of the other challenges were either poorly conceived (a prom runway and speech is a good idea, but why was it nautical themed?), poorly communicated (it was clear that the kings all had wildly different understandings of what they were supposed to do for the fear challenge), or poorly executed (the battle of the bands in Episode 1 might have worked better if the kings had proper time to rehearse their acts, as it stood it was not a strong introduction for many of these performers, or this show).
Those issues extended to the Final Thrust elimination challenges, which changed each episode. There is something to be said for switching things up each episode, allowing performers with different strengths a better shot at survival. But often I found myself struggling to connect with these bits. The on-camera death scene didn’t work well, the interpretive dancing was…sure something, etc. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two times the show felt most alive were the lipsync challenge in Episode 5, and the Final 2 lipsync in Episode 6. Is it cliche to leave it to a lipsync? Maybe, but a) most drag fans can appreciate that art form, and b) that is the bread and butter for many of the kings on this show. The king that came in 2nd came alive in those performances in a way they did not in any of the other challenges. There is power there that the show would be wise to tap into.
I am hopeful that “King of Drag” gets a second season. I enjoyed getting to know this art form better, and I was so impressed by several of these queens. Big D is absolutely hysterical and a great talking head; I was obsessed with his arc. Perka$exxx captured my heart in Episode 1 and was a terrific underdog story. Dick Von Dyke continued to surprise and delight me, pretty much every week, even when he wasn’t getting any flowers from the panel. And King Molasses is a fucking star. It was incredibly clear from the very beginning that this was a performer operating on a very high level, but I remain engaged in that arc the whole season. I don’t know if I’ve seen a performer on any drag show draw me in as intensely as King Molasses did whenever he fully engaged withe challenge. Exceptional, and I’m so glad I got this chance to be introduced to him and the rest of this cast.
For all of the show’s other alleged failings, remember: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” started out modestly as well. Here’s hoping that the show gets another shot to come back, hopefully with a bigger budget and some lessons learned when it comes to challenges. But if this is all we get, we should all be grateful for a genuinely positive, uplifting series that showed some love to our hardworking drag-king community. We needed a show this hopeful, this affirming in this moment in time. So, thank you, Revry. Thank you, “King of Drag” cast and crew. We see you, and we celebrate you. And we hope to see you all again soon.
What did you think of “King of Drag”? Leave your comments below.
