What do you get when you combine the frothy fun of RuPaul’s Drag Race with the emotional impact of Queer Eye? That would be We’re Here, the HBO Max series that brings drag to small town communities across the US – telling uplifting personal stories and making sure you cry at least once an episode in the process.
We’re Here stars three former Drag Race contestants – Shangela, Eureka O’Hara, and Bob the Drag Queen – who travel the US to put on a drag show in various smaller, more rural towns, with each queen taking a local under their wing to transform them into a drag queen and perform with them at the show. The series (which had its first season interrupted by the pandemic) recently returned for its second season on HBO, bringing the queens and their message of love and acceptance from South Carolina, through Texas and the Midwest, all the way to California and even Hawaii. While the performances are fun – and it’s genuinely impressive how polished each act becomes in such a short amount of prep time (seriously – the costumes, make-up, and choreography are insanely high quality) – it’s the one-on-one time each of the hosts spends with their drag children that makes the series a must watch.
If you think you’ve cried while watching reality TV, you haven’t seen We’re Here, because this is a show that will get you ugly crying as its cast learn to not only open up to themselves but become open to the idea of sharing their true selves with their friends, families, and communities. It can be easy – especially today – to begin to think that LGBTQA+ individuals have the safety and security to be out and open, especially when shows like Queer Eye and Drag Race are watched and discussed among the queer and straight world with such acclaim. And, on the flip side, we’ve been conditioned to expect small town America to be openly hostile to those who don’t fit in the white, cishet mold.
But what this series does so well is show that the LGBTQA+ experience is not a uniform one – every single person has a different world in which they live and confront their sexuality and gender identity. And each of these small towns isn’t your stereotypical haven for small-minded bigotry. Yes, Shangela, Eureka, and Bob do come across those who aren’t thrilled to have the series making a stop in their town – there’s even a rosary prayer circle outside of the drag show during one episode – but more often than not, the town shows up in a big way to celebrate the new drag queens and support those in their community who don’t feel as if they belong.
As for the contestants, they come from all walks of life and all corners of the LGBTQA+ community. From individuals just coming out and starting their journey as part of the community (and dealing with the fears of those they love finding out and judging them for who they are) to allies who have seen the pain that can come from a failure to love and accept those in our lives and have resolved to be a beacon of hope and a source of comfort for their LGBTQA+ friends and family (and even strangers in the town – one mom is particularly wonderful in her embrace of her trans son and all those in her town who need a mother like her), each episode presents us with a new crop of normal, everyday folks who need this series for a key reason.
Watching them come out of their shell, share their truth, and come to learn more about themselves than they anticipated is a joy. And it’s seeing that hope – and pride – in their performances and their embracing of what makes them different and amazing that will cause the tears to fall. More often than not, they have spent so much time and energy working themselves up by imagining the worst case scenario that they have actually cut themselves off from friends and family in ways they don’t realize until Shangela, Bob, or Eureka (especially Eureka – they are an incredible mirror for many of the participants while being incredibly patient) calmly point out that if the participant opens up to those in their life, things will get better, even if their greatest fears are realized, because they won’t be living under the weight of the destructive secret they are carrying inside.
Drag isn’t all about sassy songs and incredible performance – it’s about announcing to the world that you are here, queer, and ready to embrace all aspects of yourself in the face of a world that might not accept you. It’s giving yourself the permission to be yourself, love yourself, and accept yourself on a grand scale. And that’s what We’re Here celebrates: Being unafraid to be who you are. If you’re looking for a great binge this holiday season, jump in and give this a watch. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll cheer.
We’re Here is currently streaming on HBO Max. The second season concludes on Sunday, November 28 and all previous episodes are available to stream.
