Since its debut in 2009, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has served as the shining pinnacle of queer talent in the eyes of mainstream film, television, and internet culture. With 17 seasons and several international spin-offs, the Emmy nominated show has launched the careers of over 100 queens. Some of those queens, after their run on “Drag Race”, have gone on to star in Academy Award-winning films like A Star is Born featuring Shangela and Willam. Viceland, HBO, and Netflix have created series around many former “Drag Race” contestants including Trixie Mattel, Katya, Alyssa Edwards, Bon the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and others. Additionally, “Drag Race” related content receives millions of YouTube views daily via a variety of channels.

However, despite its success, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” continues to be criticized for its less than stellar racial diversity and queer inclusivity. After the show crowned its third white “All Stars” winner in 2018, fans began to point out the apparent biases the show and its fandom hold. Many have also noted that the show’s most memorable queens of color struggle on social media compared to their white counterparts. As Season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen noted, of the 34 queens who have over 1 million Instagram followers, 21 are white while only 13 are black, Latinx, and/or Asian. 

Additionally, in an interview with The Guardian, RuPaul was asked if a transgender woman who has begun her transition would ever be allowed to compete on the show, to which he promptly responded “probably not.” Though its fandom has noted this trans-exclusion, “Drag Race” has struggled to address these complaints. However, other queer programming like “The Boulet Brother’s Dragula”, “Pose”, and, most recently, “Legendary” have picked up the slack. With prominent racial and queer diversity, these programs are clearly invested in the lives and stories of underrepresented people. 

HBO Max’s “Legendary” is a revealing and candid reality competition/documentary show that centers around the lives of eight drag ball houses. Each week, queer performers compete in traditional ballroom categories for the status of Superior House, all in the hopes of making it to the final ball to compete for $100,000. While its competition segments are riveting, the show also serves as a stunning profile for some of ballroom's top performers and the struggles they face while trying to find family, companionship, and success. With impeccable casting, storytelling, and racial, sexual, and class diversity, “Legendary,” an example of intersectional excellence, is exactly the type of representation marginated people need in mainstream entertainment.

The show features a total of 40 performers, most of whom are people of color, transgender, and/or gender non-conforming. However, some of its most notable casting choices include the white, heterosexual Mother of the House of Ebony, Isla Ebony, and the entirely cisgender female House of Ninja. While the ball scene was originally a space for queer people of color, “Legendary” made the effort to include people who are also victims of cruelty because of their race or gender. The misogyny and exclusivity of modern gay culture did no permeate the “Legendary” stage.

“A lot of times people feel like because someone is cisgender or they’re not actually an LGBTQ person, that they are not supposed to be here, or they can’t be celebrated and honestly that’s not what the space is for, the space is for everyone. It’s just about having people that are going to respect us and who are going to be allies and be there for us and fight for us and fight with us,” “Legendary” judge Leiomy Maldonado said in an interview with The Queer Review.

The show’s judges are also an excellent example of true diversity: stylist Law Roach, musician Megan Thee Stallion, ballroom legend Maldonado, and actress and activist Jameela Jamil. The four judges are also joined by MC Dashaun Wesley and DJ MikeQ. Rather than whitewash its panel, “Legendary” chose to highlight the voices of people of color, queer people, and allies. By making such diverse casting decisions, “Legendary” made a statement about what true, televised representation of a community looks like.

I would also like to note that both “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Legendary” have made clear efforts to showcase performers who do not possess the body or figure that the mainstream would consider ‘ideal.’ “Drag Race” often utilizes the ‘big girl’ trope to feature plus-size queens, Latrice Royal, Mystique Summers Madison, and Darienne Lake, to name a few, and their many unique talents. Similarly, “Legendary” featured a wide range of body types in their ‘Sheriff of Seduction’ body runway category. While six performers showcased their figures, Pack-Rat Lanvin won the category, not because of her ‘perfect,’ ‘toned,’ or ‘thin’ body, but because she embraced the body she had and competed with confidence and conviction. This category win proved that “Legendary” is not concerned with typical standards of beauty, rather showcasing talent in an honest way. 

Not only is the show diverse in its casting, but it is honest in its storytelling. The competition format is simple: 8 houses compete in several drag ball categories until one is declared the superior house of the week. However, along with its competition elements, the show takes a considerable amount of time to provide backstory for each of the house members. “Legendary” shines a light on the lives of these performers who were mostly rejected by their families, faced a low-income life, and found refuge in the ball scene. Its honest and sincere portrayal of its contestants and the obstacles they face makes “Legendary” stand-out among queer programming that mostly centers around petty drama and in-fighting (which absolutely has a place in reality TV).

Additionally, the show serves as an excellent history lesson on the roots of the ballroom scene and how it has evolved over time. While the scene was co-opted and then forgotten by mainstream culture with Madonna’s 1990 hit “Vogue,” it has lived on and endured. Despite ballroom’s brief spotlight in pop-culture, “Legendary” remains authentic to ballroom’s true form, keeping original categories, language, rules, and culture. The underground queer space was not made palatable for HBO’s audience as it is for the audiences of other queer programming.

As a fan of Drag Race and many of its contestants, I think the show and its subsequent content will continue to live on in its current form which I believe is fully evolved. However, “Legendary” seems to be an elevated, rawer portrayal of an under-represented, unvarnished queer space. It clearly stands for showcasing intersectional excellence and shining a light on the lived experiences of queer people.

For a comprehensive list of ballroom definitions and terminology, click here!