World’s First Drag King Reality Competition Announced

RuPual’s Drag Race may have cast hundreds of queens in its time, but there has been a distinct lack of kings gracing the runways of the mainstream drag industry. But no longer!

For the first time in drag history, a reality TV competition for drag kings has been announced, King of Drag, with drag king legend and Somebody Somewhere actor Murray Hill at the helm.

Eight of America’s best drag kings will be battling it out over six episodes on LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry.

“I’m so excited to be working with Revry as the host of King of Drag,” Hill told Variety in a statement. “I started performing in 1995, so it’s long overdue for the kings to take center stage. This vibrant community deserves to be in the spotlight, and I’ll be their biggest hype man. I can’t wait to work with the kings and introduce them to the biggest audience possible, thanks to Revry. That’s showbiz.”

The series is looking to shake up the format of drag competition shows, and will showcase the kings’ comedy, unconventional performances, and timely commentary on masculinity.

“King of Drag is one of the most ambitious original programs we’ve ever developed,” Revry co-founder and chief content officer Christopher J. Rodriguez said. “We’re going to give the drag competition format a run for its money and give audiences something fresh and original.”

Auditions for the show are open until January 5. So go, kings, go!!

Drag King Down Under

Unfortunately, it looks like only America drag kings can compete at the moment, which is a real shame because the Australian king community is absolutely bursting at the seams with talent.

In 2023, drag kings flew to Sydney from all over Australia to take part in the world’s biggest drag king performance, with 80 kings making up the Drag Kings Unite float at Mardi Gras.

Iconic Sydney king, Sexy Galexy said in a story last year that drag kings do not get the same recognition as drag queens because “we live in a man’s world.”

“If you’re looking to book someone for an event, like look outside the box into the queer community at what other sort of entertainers there are.

“We’re just as fun,  just as colourful and camp…what we need is people behind us.”