Drag Me to Dinner: Bianca Del Rio and Neil Patrick Harris to host ‘riotous’ new competition show
Neil Patrick Harris and Bianca Del Rio team up for new series ‘Drag Me to Dinner’. (@haneefahwood/ Instagram)
Neil Patrick Harris and Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio have joined gay forces to host new show Drag Me to Dinner, which will see drag legends compete to throw the best dinner party.
Described as a “riotous, format-busting, fourth-wall-breaking, unapologetic sendup” of traditional competition shows, Drag Me to Dinner will see drag artists team up against each other to throw the best dinner party.
Each week, two duos will go head-to-head, to be judged by Bianca Del Rio and Neil Patrick Harris, alongside Harris’ husband David Burtka, Haneefah Wood and Murray Hill.
Every dinner party will be judged in the categories of ‘food and drink’, ‘design and decor’ and ‘entertainment and overall vibe’.
Drag Me to Dinner line-up includes legendary queens and late San Francisco icon
Twenty pairs of drag legends are competing in Drag Me to Dinner.
From Drag Race, Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme, Alaska and Willam, Heidi N Closet and Jaida Essence Hall, Alexis Mateo and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Symone and Gigi Goode will all appear.
They’ll be joined by fellow alumni Ginger Minj and Nina West, Detox and Raja, Trinity the Tuck and Bebe Zahara Benet, Morgan McMichaels and Mayhem Miller, Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon, Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls, Darienne Lake and Mrs. Kasha Davis, and finally, Thorgy Thor and Kiki Ball-Change.
One particularly poignant episode will see Heklina and Peaches Christ compete. Heklina, the San Francisco drag legend, passed away in April.
Completing the line-up are Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat, Rhea Litré and Jasmine Rice LaBeija, Merrie Cherry and Pixie Aventura, Meatball and Biqtch Puddin, Selma Nilla and Chelsea Piers, and Peachez Iman Cummings and Marti Gold Cummings.
We’ve well and truly arrived at the point in pop culture history where RuPaul’s Drag Race is far from the only mainstream reality competition show featuring drag queens.
Though its first season premiered in 2009, Drag Race remained the pinnacle of representation for drag artists and queer folks for a long, long time, despite its problematic – though recently reformed – treatment of trans contestants.
Not anymore, though. Ballroom competition Legendary, though recently cancelled, has carved out its own niche in the media landscape; Queen of the Universe gave us a drag take on the classic singing contest – with Drag Race alumnus Trixie Mattel as a judge; and mainstream shows like Dancing With the Stars and Dancing on Ice have welcomed drag performers with open arms.
Drag Me to Dinner premieres 31 May on Hulu.
