RuPaul's Drag Race (Original Franchise)
- Thread starter Tiger Suit
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I think there's probably a bit of an industry reset coming in terms of live tours, viability and the amount of girlies saturating the market: Werq the World at the O2 in a couple of weeks with some fairly big and popular franchise names is barely a third sold, even with the top section curtained off. Atrocious for a London show.
I just can't with the Matrix aesthetic of Werq The World. Also the queens are good but there's no one I cannot miss.
I do wonder whether the show no longer being available elsewhere other than Wow Presents Plus in the UK has harmed it in some way or the names on the bill are not big enough draws. We had Jaida, Yvie, Asia, Vanjie, Rose and Plastique at the show I went to at Wembley last year and it was really full. Only a couple of names on the bill (Camden, Jorgeous) were newer names that people may not recognise. But it’s shame to see the venue not even a third full. A re-think is definitely needed.
Yeah I’m sure they already have a clause that they owe WOW a percentage of their earning for X amount of years. Whack it on Netflix/Prime and it will pay for itself
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They’ve already moved the Manchester Arena show to the Manchester Apollo.
I'm making my way through the old seasons, currently on season 3.
The way I'll now forever associate Don't Leave Me This Way with that lipsync.
The way I'll now forever associate Don't Leave Me This Way with that lipsync.
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I kept being targeted with half price codes and 2 for 1 tickets for this show and then they even changed the colour scheme of the ads from the dark Matrix style theme to bright pinks and blues to make it more typically Drag Race. They were struggling hard.
Even Dragula has fallen victim to this on the Monsters of Drag show that was on in Troxy a couple weeks ago. The bottom floor was barely half full and the top section was completely closed off.
They were incredibly overambitious booking the O2.
I think the way the flagship show has jumped from streaming service to streaming service over the last five years has absolutely lacerated its cultural impact internationally. I think there was probably a time where Werq The World being an arena tour was possible, but that time has passed now. I think the crucial thing being that... the casuals that will actually fill these venues aren't going to seek the show out if its not popping up in a recommended sidebar on Netflix; doubly so when it has moved to the production company's very own streaming service where nothing but Drag Race is provided (I'm sure WoW produce other stuff but let's be honest here.), so the zeitgeist has just... kinda moved on.
There's all that, plus the fact that there are now literally thousands of Drag Race girls all vying for a slice of the pie and as the great Gia Gunn once said, "Eventually, you get to the point... where the dolls are the dolls." I'd say a lot of the winners have managed to become their own entities that don't rely on the health of the show to survive. Trixie (arguably the most successful drag queen in the world at the moment?), Bianca, Bob, Monet, Alaska, Sasha V, Lawrence, The Vivienne, Jinkx, Shea et al, have all broken out as people who are getting opportunities in their own right. You also have non-winners like Katya, Willam, Delta (who would have thought?!), Bimini, and... probably a few others that I'm forgetting that have carved out successful nichés for themselves to stay booked and busy in. In the grand scheme of things though, it's a handful of girls who are fine while the rest are duking it out for spots on these tours to keep the cash rolling in. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next year or two going forward, because it would appear the bubble has burst.
There's all that, plus the fact that there are now literally thousands of Drag Race girls all vying for a slice of the pie and as the great Gia Gunn once said, "Eventually, you get to the point... where the dolls are the dolls." I'd say a lot of the winners have managed to become their own entities that don't rely on the health of the show to survive. Trixie (arguably the most successful drag queen in the world at the moment?), Bianca, Bob, Monet, Alaska, Sasha V, Lawrence, The Vivienne, Jinkx, Shea et al, have all broken out as people who are getting opportunities in their own right. You also have non-winners like Katya, Willam, Delta (who would have thought?!), Bimini, and... probably a few others that I'm forgetting that have carved out successful nichés for themselves to stay booked and busy in. In the grand scheme of things though, it's a handful of girls who are fine while the rest are duking it out for spots on these tours to keep the cash rolling in. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next year or two going forward, because it would appear the bubble has burst.
Big huge drag productions just do not really appeal to me. Drag, to me, is an intimate venue celebration of queerness. It isn't pyrotechnics and huge LED screens. I am glad that those queens can do something like that because who would have thought that would be a thing. I remember when Absolut Vodka sponsored a little tour of the current season girls back for season 1, 2, 3, etc. and how exciting that was at the time.
Side bar, i'm still kind of forever salty that Roscoe's in Chicago contracts the Drag Race queens to only be able to perform at Roscoe's... There's other bars in town i'd rather go to that should have the chance to book these big names too. It's weird.
Side bar, i'm still kind of forever salty that Roscoe's in Chicago contracts the Drag Race queens to only be able to perform at Roscoe's... There's other bars in town i'd rather go to that should have the chance to book these big names too. It's weird.
The cultural collapse of the UK version of the show after 2 rough seasons is palpable over here. Way less social media noise, most the queens feel like they haven't had any of the same opportunities, its all a bit sad.
Also… get these girls some fucking prize money???????!!!!!!
There's definitely an X-Factorish feel in the sense that after years of evidence that being on the show isn't a ticket to fame and fortune and a life as a recording artist superstar you still have people desperate to be on it, and thinking that it'll somehow go different for them. And also public interest in the individuals not lasting after the show has stopped airing.
It's about realistic expectations - boost your profile, boost your booking fee a little, but it's largely going to be the same gigs and clubs as you were doing before. I think some of the Queen's (and I know there's a lengthy exception list) don't realise, or aren't prepared to do, the amount of work that is needed to actually take advantage of what being a 'Ru Girl' offers when the show ends if they aren't handpicked for flagship tours/shows.
And of course success comes in many forms. It's not just the big tours and ad campaigns, even if that's what many people instinctively think of as the measure of achievement.
But I absolutely agree taking it off 'mainstream' services like Netflix is a big mistake in terms of the support and awareness of the casuals.
It's about realistic expectations - boost your profile, boost your booking fee a little, but it's largely going to be the same gigs and clubs as you were doing before. I think some of the Queen's (and I know there's a lengthy exception list) don't realise, or aren't prepared to do, the amount of work that is needed to actually take advantage of what being a 'Ru Girl' offers when the show ends if they aren't handpicked for flagship tours/shows.
And of course success comes in many forms. It's not just the big tours and ad campaigns, even if that's what many people instinctively think of as the measure of achievement.
But I absolutely agree taking it off 'mainstream' services like Netflix is a big mistake in terms of the support and awareness of the casuals.
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In the US, I'm baffled that Viacom hasn't gone with the "upload the episode to Paramount+ the day after airing" strategy. Bravo has started doing that with all of their shows on Peacock and it's done well for them. Forcing people to go through MTV's janky website to watch the episode after airing is so archaic. Especially when the audience for this show leans younger.
There was always going to be a breaking point with the opportunities the queens receive. Made worse by the drag backlash that's been happening recently. I don't exactly mind it, because it still feels like the big stars from each season get their flowers. Mistress, Luxx, & Anetra (when she shows up to her gigs) have been booked & busy. I think we're just back to the old Drag Race days where you really need to make an impact to get something out of it rather than sleepwalking your way into a sold-out tour.
There was always going to be a breaking point with the opportunities the queens receive. Made worse by the drag backlash that's been happening recently. I don't exactly mind it, because it still feels like the big stars from each season get their flowers. Mistress, Luxx, & Anetra (when she shows up to her gigs) have been booked & busy. I think we're just back to the old Drag Race days where you really need to make an impact to get something out of it rather than sleepwalking your way into a sold-out tour.
In fairness, the craze around the show has been feverish since about 2016 and has remained so until 2021 ish, so it's pretty inevitable that it loses some steam.
My hope is that All Stars will be halted for a year or two and they finally explore some format changes (i.e. getting out of that fucking studio lot). If interest in the franchise is slowing, that's largely because the suffocation of the talent by corny and tired production makes it not particularly fun to watch. At least its contemporaries like Top Chef and Project Runway figured out ways to keep the show fresh by casting increasingly prestigious talent as the seasons progressed and made the stakes higher.
Seasons 1-9 + AS2 remain really crucial parts of my adolescence and I will always cherish that, but there just isn't that much meat on the bones nowadays. We're at the point where the most exciting and dynamic queens on the circuit (Lucy Stoole, Aunty Chan, Ma'am She, Bailey J Mills, Meatball, LOTION, etc.) are not on the show.
My hope is that All Stars will be halted for a year or two and they finally explore some format changes (i.e. getting out of that fucking studio lot). If interest in the franchise is slowing, that's largely because the suffocation of the talent by corny and tired production makes it not particularly fun to watch. At least its contemporaries like Top Chef and Project Runway figured out ways to keep the show fresh by casting increasingly prestigious talent as the seasons progressed and made the stakes higher.
Seasons 1-9 + AS2 remain really crucial parts of my adolescence and I will always cherish that, but there just isn't that much meat on the bones nowadays. We're at the point where the most exciting and dynamic queens on the circuit (Lucy Stoole, Aunty Chan, Ma'am She, Bailey J Mills, Meatball, LOTION, etc.) are not on the show.
This current Werq The World is struggling for all reasons mentioned but also... this time tickets went on sale last year with no queens announced - it was just the brand doing the selling. And it was the first time I didn't book tickets in 5 years dd. And when the queens were announced they weren't an exciting bunch or is queens that did the tour last time. I mean Rose again?
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It doesn't help that Jaida and Angeria have quit the tour to do another tour in the US instead! I really wanted to see Jaida especially on this tour.