REVIEW OF KING OF DRAG S1E1, BY A DRAG KING
I just gotta talk about it okay. Spoilers for the episode structure, but no spoilers for this week’s winner and loser.
I have not looked too closely at the critical reception on Reddit because Dragula Reddit burned me too hard with its braindead takes and occasional misogynistic pile ons. The two criticisms I’m vaguely aware of are that the production value is low and than the elimination challenge was weird and bad.
Let me say that, compared to season 1 of both RuPaul and Dragula, the cast of King of Drag blows them out of the water. These are polished, extraordinary artists the lot of them and I am SO FUCKING HAPPY to see them on tv. Crazy that Kings did not get their own show (or were ever cast on Drag Race) until 2025 but I think this cast is very reflective of the fact that-
Drag Kings have always had to work harder to get the same recognition, attention, and pay that drag queens get. This is true across the board from the highest level down to your local Friday night audience. I come from a smaller scene and while the actual drag artists make great efforts to be inclusive and recognize diverse expression, audiences on the whole tend not to get it unless you’re very dolled up and/or do burlesque or some other kind of sexy performance. The drag king starting out doing silly shit in a cheap suit largely does not get the same praise and attention as the new queen doing dips in a thrifted corset.
King of Drag S1’s production value is: very good and cute! I like the stop motion paper style, the kind of highly colorful highly art focused opening is very charming (RPDR could never), the set is nice, the stage is perfectly serviceable. I don’t understand what complaints about production value come from especially compared to season 1 of the other shows. Huh????
The pacing and flow of the show was: decent to serviceable. I’ll talk about the elimination challenge in a moment, which is definitely the part where this episode falls off for literally one minute. I really appreciated the focus on the contestants drag philosophy and experiences, and I think it’s the right choice to have a focus on taking up space and celebrating the fact that drag kings finally have their own show. I do not know if that takes away from the average viewer’s entertainment or not but I truly do not care.
I do think there was a kind of strange underlying dissonance between the masculinity of the challenges vs what a lot of drag kings (as represented by this fantastic cast) actually do? I too would have trouble doing a sports anything. I hope the challenges broaden in scope at least some, but we’ll see. The set is also kind of hypermasculine and doesn’t quite capture the spectrum of king drag like the cast does. I wonder and worry if a drag watching audience has much connection to things like sports or if hypermasculine aesthetics appeal to them. This is purely worry for their numbers and ability to retain an audience- RPDR and Dragula both have a specific aesthetic scope that is better rounded out by the artistic interpretation of their talented casts.
Some people say the king’s court (judges panel) is too big. I have no opinion either way. I think them voting for elimination down the line is good classic reality tv tension.
And now for the elephant in the room: the breakdance elimination challenge-
It does feel awkward and weird. No one really attempts a breakdance, they just vibe to the music for a bit, like it was a lip sync except there’s no words. Maybe they did the attempt but it didn’t make the edit, who knows! I watched this episode at a local gay bar and the room was very confused about why the elimination challenge was breakdance based, and the perplexed reaction lasted all the way through the performance.
In art competition shows, the elimination matters. Audiences want to feel like the contestants are being judged based on the merits of whatever art the show is about.
In RPDR, it’s a lip sync battle- a staple of drag performance and a head to head comparison of charisma uniqueness nerve and talent. It’s a very natural way to do it, and very engaging to watch.
In Dragula, which has fear factor style elimination challenges, they rarely do anything directly related to drag but they plainly lay out their philosophy- conquer your fears to find success. For me at least, this is deeply tied to being a drag artist (especially an alternative drag artist) and it’s also just flat out the queer experience for a lot of people. It’s scary. It hurts. It comes with a real threat of bodily harm at times. But you do it because the other side is more than worth it. It’s also high stakes and engaging to watch.
Drag is a crazy fucking art form. It takes a ton of different skills to do and you can fold an infinite amount of skills into it. I’ve used things from every art I’ve ever done- drawing, writing, music (composing, singing)- and I’ve had to learn a ton more like makeup and sewing and performing on a stage to even start. I feel like I’m learning three new skills per look, and there’s still a metric fuck ton I want to learn (I’ve been putting off wigs for a while now lol). All that to say, there is a LOT you can pull from for an elimination challenge, and drag is so broad of an art form that if you go in a more philosophical direction there’s tons and tons options for you.
Breakdancing, which has not been mentioned in the entire episode up to the elimination challenge, does not fill the audience’s need to witness the merits of the contestants. On top of that, no one actually Did Breakdancing (in the edit) and this was never acknowledged in the show that I saw. I wonder if they were embarrassed about it in the editing room?
I think a very simple fix to this would be to present the elimination challenge as: This is a new show and we’re going to ask you to do new things. As drag artists and especially as kings, we have to adapt while preserving our artistic vision. Therefore, give us your best drag breakdance.
I think it also would’ve helped to see them go at it one at a time, in this case, and the confessional can talk about their feelings on breakdancing and how they intend to approach the challenge with their character. What we actually got seemed rushed and swept under the rug.
Overall it was a great episode and I loved it!!!
Big D is extremely similar to my drag dad and it makes me miss them like craazzyyyy.
I don’t have any favorites, I love them all and I want all of them to win.
Writing, recording, and choreographing a boy band number with 4 strangers after being in drag all day sounds like an absolute nightmare.
Sending the eliminated contestant off with the cast throwing flower petals over them is very sweet, I like it a lot, and I think it nicely reflects how kind and supportive drag kings are (#NotAllKings, but I stg on the whole kings are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet).
Anyway tune in next week for another review.
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