How the Drag Shows in HBO’s ‘We’re Here’ Bring Participants to Life With Season 4 Format Switch

variety.com:

Hunter Ingram A drag show takes a village, especially those featured in HBO’s docuseries “We’re Here.” Hair, makeup, song selection, choreography, lighting, props, Red Bull — there’s no shortage of things needed to help give life to the art form.

But it all starts with a connection between two people. In the Emmy-winning series, well-known drag queens work with marginalized people in U.S.

towns that don’t often embrace inclusivity. The queens help participants build a drag persona. Then, as a final send-off, the participants perform for their community, celebrating what often isolates them. “It always comes down to the drag mom and the drag kid putting their heads together and figuring out what feels right and how to pull it off with the tools we have,” says Season 4 co-host Sasha Velour. “Every single number that we did on the show was a totally new process.

It was like reinventing the wheel every time, but that’s drag.” In Season 4, the series welcomed new hosts Velour, Jaida Essence Hall, Priyanka and Latrice Royale, all alumni of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Instead of traveling to new locales every episode, the queens focused on communities in and around two towns — Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Tulsa, Okla. — in order to highlight the threats facing the transgender community in various parts of the country.