the next drag superstar, and that s how it began. so, it s a reality competition elimination show. but drag race, really, is a parody at once, a celebration and a send up of all other reality competition shows. we put it all in the pot. it s kind of like a drag queen, really. we slap it all on and out comes this show, rupaul s drag race. and, of course, rupaul is a huge you know, without rupaul, there would be no drag race. randy and i knew rupaulfor. we ve known him for a long time and we managed him early on in his career and we sat down with him once and said, you know, we really should do a show with you . and it was tom campbell, our chief creative officer, who said, you know you should really do what about a reality competition show? , and ru was like, no, i will do anything but a reality competition show . so, off we went and followed up lots of different ideas
or dismissed or considered in some way that they exist on the margins whether it s in terms of respect orjust in terms of visibility that we re drawn to because often, those stories are fascinating and compelling and need to be heard. you and your company have been at the forefront of what s really been a tv revolution. kind of almost unseen or unacknowledged, tv has totally transformed our lives and ifound that, actually, it s the least respected genres in what i think is a pretty unrespected medium, television, that have had the most impact like commercials and infomercials and televangelism and home shopping and public access tv, which is basically do it yourself television. and we re going to come back to all of that but i wanted to talk to you first about rupaul s drag race, because you re probably best known for that. it s a hugely successful show that s become, you know, a franchise, an empire. just for people who might not have watched it, just sum it up, how it works. it
i don t think drag race is a political show, ostensibly, but i do think as a show that represents inclusion and diversity and that believes that you can be the fantasy of your imagination and be yourself and express yourself, i do think that in a way, it becomes the sharp end of the resistance. i mean, it s fairly obvious to say, without rupaul, there wouldn t be rupaul s drag race. but i mean, i think you and your partner, randy barbato, had come across rupaul and worked with rupaulfor a long time before this show. did you always realise that rupaul was a star? oh, yeah. you know, like, we go about our lives and life is great. and then, every now and then, something incredible happens and you realise that something momentous has happened. and for me, it was like meeting ru, because there was no question in my mind, or randy s mind, that he was a star. and you know what? there was no question in ru s mind.
on the small screen. and our good fortune, to some extent, has been the fact that drag just wasn t on tv before then. i believe drag queens are the future, in the sense that they re like pop stars in the 70s you know, i grew up watching top of the pops, and ifeel that today s drag queens are very much like the gods of glitter rock in the 70s. and i think there s, you know, room for well, it s good to see that they re on tv and also having hit records and in plays and in movies and i would like to see a drag race in every country. do you feel you have brought about cultural change, change to society, through that programme? i think the queens have brought about great cultural change because they have shown that you can be yourself, you can be you can create this image of yourself and you can do great things, you can inspire other people. and i think that that message is a great one for kids to hear growing up, knowing
everett. i mean, you have these amazing entertainment icons who ve been fully out there, just very sort of flamboyant and camp, and i think really profoundly important artists. and so, having that, i always wanted drag race to be here in the uk. and i tell you no lie, i went to every network repeatedly until they were like, please, don t come round here trying to sell that show again . so, it did take a long time? oh, yes. everyone said no many, many times. and. 0ver how many years? 0ver about six years. and as we started collecting emmys and awards, i would say, now look at the show. what about this, what about that? yeah, but. , you know? but i always, i always believed, and i know michelle visage who s co host with ru she always believed in the show too because, you know, there s nothing. there s nothing so great as british drag. is it something about britain that we have this tradition