We’re Here :: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

HBO

Love it or hate it, RuPaul’s Drag Race has been a groundbreaking television series that went from a niche network, Logo, for a niche audience to a major cable outlet, VH1, and a wider, more mainstream viewing audience. Prior to that, drag was visible on TV, sporadically and often used as a punchline when a straight character dressed up for some reason. But the art of drag has become more accepted because of Drag Race. It’s hard to think that a CW series, Katy Keene, would feature a regular character who does drag without the influence of Drag Race. And many of the contestants have gone on to careers beyond the clubs and theatres where they perform live. Alyssa Edwards starred in a wonderful docuseries for Netflix called Dancing Queen. Trixie Mattel and Katya parlayed their web series UNHhhh into a show for the Vice network. Trixie even has a new documentary on Netflix called Moving Parts. Last year, TLC aired a pilot for a drag makeover series, Drag Me Down the Aisle, with Alexis Michelle, Thorgy Thor, Jujubee and Drag Race Season 1 winner BeBe Zahara Benet, that returned this week as a regular series under the new title Dragnificent!.

Coincidentally, or not, HBO is also premiering a new drag series on April 23 titled We’re Here and starring Season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and the irrepressible Shangela (who also appeared opposite Lady Gaga in A Star is Born). Each episode of the series will find the three queens pulling up in a small town in the comically customized vehicles (I don’t think Bob’s giant purse could ever actually be street legal) to dole out their particular brand of drag therapy to anyone in need, no matter how they identify.

The first episode places the trio in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where they walk the streets in their full regalia to disapproving stares and open arms. They are definitely more accepted here than they are in some of the other towns they will visit (full disclosure: HBO made the first three episodes available for review). They alert the good folks of Gettysburg that they’re in town to put on a show, but that isn’t the only reason they’re there.

Like Dragnificent!, the queens have a mission to help someone, and each of them has their own ‘drag baby’ to attend to. Shangela’s student is Hunter, a young gay man who works at a makeup store. Hunter has a good relationship with his family, but he yearns to be closer to his father. And to this point in time, Hunter has never done drag, although he’s helped some drag queen friends get their faces on. Bob will work with Darryl, a local college admissions officer hoping to tell a story of race in America while being an effective ally to the LGBTQ community. Darryl is straight, has also never done drag but wants to show that he is a true friend to the community. Eureka may have the toughest case in this episode as she works with Erica, a conservative Christian known around town for attending Pride events with her church to tell everyone they’re going to Hell. But Erica’s world was turned upside-down when her daughter came out as bisexual and then moved in with her father. The revelation and the loss of her daughter, whom Erica hasn’t seen for eight months, opened her eyes to the harm she’s done to her family and the community and she hopes performing in a drag show with Eureka will go some way to begin the healing process.

HBO

Throughout the episode, the queens work with their students, putting them through costume fittings, makeup and hair, while offering them emotional therapy along the way as well. For Hunter, Shangela has a sit down with the family and asks dad if he’s be willing to do drag to support his son. That suggestion digs deep into Hunter’s father’s own machismo, something he admits is like armor he had to put up around himself when he was younger because then he was considered ‘pretty’ and had long hair. The idea that people would think he was gay because of his looks affected him deeply, and even though he’s a different man now, the idea of doing drag is still something he has trouble with. So the question by the time the show is ready to go on is will Hunter’s dad participate in order to strengthen their bond?

Bob seems to have it the easiest in this episode. Darryl is open for anything as long as they make him look beautiful. Eureka, though, has the toughest case with Erica and her daughter. Erica knows her actions have hurt her family and community, but her daughter Hailey has been hurt the most by her mother’s reaction to her coming out. Eureka takes Erica to visit with a group of women who sympathize with her predicament and try to help her over her own religious hurdles. Her biggest challenge will be getting Hailey to the show through some mediation with Eureka, but it’s still up in the air that she’ll accept the invitation.

We’re Here is a very well-produced docuseries. Some of these types of shows, even Dragnificent!, can feel a bit over-produced and a bit too scripted. This has a more honest, documentarian feel to it, allowing the queens to have deep conversations with their subjects and their families. It’s real, it’s sometimes raw, and it’s emotional without feeling manipulative. I love the queens on Dragnificent! but some of their commentary segments to the camera just feel a bit to much like they’re acting, but it’s all meant to keep the show upbeat and bubbly. The commentary in We’re Here is real, and I don’t think they could have cast a better group of queens to handle things. For my money, Shangela is the glue that holds it all together, not to take anything away from Bob or Eureka who both do good work. Shangela has been around the block a few times so she really brings a wealth of her own experience to her ‘drag babies’ in an effort to turn them into full-fledged ‘drag daughters’.

We’re Here comes along at a time when drag as art and entrainment is more widely accepted among a growing climate of intolerance in this country. The show will certainly have a built-in audience of Drag Race fans, but perhaps it will also reach a larger audience of people who need to see a show about love and acceptance … not just of other, but of themselves as well. Because as RuPaul says, ‘How in the hell are you gonna love somebody if you can’t love yourself?’

What did you think of the premiere? Tell us in the comments section below!

HBO