The Culture

Small Towns, Big Drag: 'We're Here' Returns to HBO Max

By H. Alan Scott

On a recent episode of the Parting Shot podcast, I spoke with the finalists of RuPaul's Drag Race about the impact the show has had on drag. Well, it's clear that Drag Race has made the visibility of drag artists mainstream, but one thing Drag Race doesn't show is what's going on in the local drag scenes. You know, it's one thing to show a group of professional drag queens in a studio in Hollywood competing, but it's another thing to show the reality of drag in the real-world America. I'm talking about what the local scenes are like, the opposition they sometimes face, and ultimately the need for safe spaces for people in certain communities to not only feel safe but also thrive.

That's where the HBO Max series We're Here comes in (new season out today on HBO Max). The premise is simple, famous drag queens go to small towns and put on a drag show featuring local talent. But the heart of it goes so much deeper than that. Because in the series you hear stories you're not hearing anywhere else. You might have heard about some city passing some law banning drag, but you rarely hear the voices of the people most impacted. You may know about the gay bar in some local community, but you never hear the stories about the people whose literal lives were saved by the existence of those bars.

On today's episode of the Parting Shot podcast, I spoke with the creators of the show, Stephen Warren and Johnnie Ingram, in addition to two of the drag artists leading this season, Latrice Royale and Sasha Velour, who you may know from RuPaul's Drag Race. This season goes dead into the realities of small-town America in a way that is sure to move you. Check it out, season four is out today on HBO Max.

Now let's pivot because things are poppin' in the world of pop culture. Here are my hot takes on all the essential entertainment stories you need to know about...

• Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was overturned by the New York State Supreme Court because the judge in the original trial erred in allowing some testimony about Weinstein's past. While this is big news, it's not really going to change anything for Weinstein because he already has another rape conviction in Los Angeles and is serving 16 years in prison for that.

• A federal appellate court upheld R. Kelly's sex abuse conviction, which means he'll continue serving his 20-year sentence.

• Fans are eagerly awaiting to see if Taylor Swift will add songs from her new album The Tortured Poets Department to her Eras tour, which is currently on its international part of the tour. That would be cool and all, but I'm just wondering how is this lady still on this tour? I feel like it's been happening for the past three years?

• Drake thought it was okay to use an AI-generated voice of Tupac Shakur on his track "Taylor Made Freestyle." Well, it didn't sit well with Shakur's estate. They sent him a cease-and-desist and suddenly the track has been scrubbed from social media. (It was only released on social media because, well, they clearly realized it was too risky to release officially on streaming platforms.)

• Remember when Kim Kardashian met with former President Donald Trump? Well, she's back at the White House, this time meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris. The reality TV star went to the White House to advocate for Criminal Justice Reform. At least now we can look forward to Harris being on an episode of their Hulu show The Kardashians.

• Ellen DeGeneres is back doing stand-up comedy after she ended her long running talk show in 2022 amid accusations of a toxic work environment. She's finally addressing those allegations in her material. "What else can I tell you? Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business. There's no mean people in show business," TMZ reports DeGeneres saying in a recent performance. "The hate went on for a long time and I would try to avoid looking at the news. The 'be kind' girl wasn't kind. That was the headline... Had I ended my show by saying, 'Go f**k yourself,' people would've been pleasantly surprised." OK, hear me out here, I'm kind of ready for the return of Ellen DeGeneres. Am I alone here?

Keep scrolling for more entertainment news. Have a great weekend!