King of Drag is an upcoming drag reality competition series set to premiere in 2025 on American LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry. [1] The series is set to be hosted by drag king Murray Hill and will be the first drag competition series to feature solely drag kings. [2]
While reality competition series based on drag artists first gained prominence following the premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2009 it was not until 2018 with the New Zealand series House of Drag for a drag king to appear on a drag competition series. [3] [4] Hugo Grrrl, who appeared on the first season of House of Drag, was the first drag king to compete and to win a drag competition series. [5] The following year the third season of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula marked the first American drag competition series to feature a king, with Landon Cinder going on to win the season. [6]
King of Drag was announced in 2024 and is set to be the first drag competition series to feature a cast solely made up of drag kings. [1]
The series was announced in December 2024 and is set to premiere on Revry in 2025. It will feature eight American drag kings competing over six episodes for the title of King of Drag. American comedian and drag king Murray Hill was also announced to host the series, with Hill previously hosting the drag cooking competition Drag Me to Dinner in 2023. [1] [7]
Casting for the series opened in 2024 and will close on January 5th, 2025. The casting is open to "individuals of all ages, ethnicities, gender identities, and styles of drag," including trans masc, cisgender women, non-binary and more." [8]
Drag kings have historically been mostly female performance artists who dress in masculine drag and personify male gender stereotypes as part of an individual or group routine. As documented in the 2003 Journal of Homosexuality, in more recent years the world of drag kings has broadened to include performers of all gender expressions. A typical drag show may incorporate dancing, acting, stand-up comedy and singing, either live or lip-synching to pre-recorded tracks. Drag kings often perform as exaggeratedly macho male characters, portray characters such as construction workers and rappers, or impersonate male celebrities like Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Tim McGraw. Drag kings may also perform as personas that do not clearly align with the gender binary. Drag personas that combine both stereotypically masculine and feminine traits are common in modern drag king shows.
Murray Hill is a New York City based American comedian, drag king, actor, television host, and entertainer. He is the entertainer persona of Busby Murray Gallagher, although this persona is maintained even in private settings. Murray Hill is the self-proclaimed "hardest-working middle-aged man in show business."
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, one of three rotating judges, as well as one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
The Boulet Brothers' Dragula is an American reality competition television series produced by Boulet Brothers Productions, hosted by the Boulet Brothers. The series originally aired on YouTube and has aired on Netflix in the United States, OUTtv in Canada, and Amazon Prime in the United Kingdom and Australia. Starting with season 4, the series moved to Shudder in all territories. The series will become a Shudder exclusive, with all seasons being hosted on the platform.
George Fowler better known by the stage name Hugo Grrrl, is a New Zealand drag king, comedian, and cabaret producer, best known for winning the inaugural season of House of Drag. Upon entering the competition, Hugo Grrrl became the first drag king and first trans man to compete on a drag reality show.
RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race is an American reality competition series that premiered April 24, 2020 on VH1. A spin-off of the television series, celebrities competing for their chosen charity, mentored by fan favourite alumni of the Drag Race franchise.
Landon Cider is an American drag king, actor and host. He won season 3 of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula and was crowned the "World's Next Drag Supermonster".
The Boulet Brothers are drag artists, television personalities, writers, producers and modern day horror hosts. They were featured on the cover of Fangoria as "Horror's New Icons" in 2022. Their projects have included horror themed television shows, music, live nightlife productions, books, movies, and comic books. Since 2016 the Boulet Brothers have produced and starred in the reality competition series The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, which features contestants showcasing dark, horror-themed drag looks.
Call Me Mother is a Canadian reality television series, which premiered on OutTV in 2021. Hosted by Entertainment Tonight Canada reporter Dallas Dixon, the series is a drag competition which will see up-and-coming drag performers join one of three drag houses to compete in group challenges, with one drag artist eliminated each week until the winner of the competition is crowned the "First Child of Drag".
Drag Race Italia is an Italian reality competition television series based on the original American series RuPaul's Drag Race and part of the Drag Race franchise. The series is produced by World of Wonder for Discovery+ in Italy, and subsequently free-to-air on Real Time and, beginning with the third season, Paramount+. The show is also available worldwide on WOW Presents Plus.
Drag Race Philippines is a Philippine reality competition television series. It is a spin-off of RuPaul's Drag Race. The series is produced by World of Wonder and Fullhouse Asia Production Studios. The series airs on WOW Presents Plus, Discovery+, and HBO Go in the Philippines, Crave in Canada, and WOW Presents Plus in the rest of the world.
Drag Den is a Philippine reality competition television series that documents drag queen Manila Luzon as host and head judge in search of the "Next Drag Supreme" for the Philippines. Every round, contestants are given different challenges to participate as they're judged by Manila Luzon, beauty pageant Nicole Cordoves, with comedian Sassa Gurl, alongside one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition.
The third season of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula premiered on August 27, 2019, and concluded on October 28, 2019. The competition was broadcast on Amazon Prime in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, OutTV in Canada and Netflix in the United States. The series featured 11 contestants, including a drag king and a AFAB drag artist, competing for the title of World's Next Drag Supermonster and a cash prize of $25,000.
Painted with Raven is a makeup competition television series hosted by Raven, which premiered on WOW Presents Plus on November 25, 2021. RuPaul serves as co-executive producer alongside Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, and Tom Campbell of World of Wonder. After two weeks of the debut competition show, on December 9, 2021, it was announced that it had been picked up for a second season.
Drag Latina is a Latin American reality competition television series. The series premiered on 16 October 2022 and is broadcast through Revry.
The sixth season of The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, also referred to as season 666 in promotional materials, premiered on October 1, 2024, on AMC+ and Shudder. The season was confirmed by Shudder on December 5, 2023. It featured twelve drag performers competing for the title of The World's Next Drag Supermonster.
The seventeenth season of the American reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 3, 2025. This marks the third season to air through cable network MTV. The series documents drag queen RuPaul in search of the "Next Drag Superstar" for the United States with a cash prize of $200,000. Michelle Visage remained as a regular judge, alongside with Carson Kressley, Ts Madison, and Ross Mathews reappearing as alternating judges.