Despite an already legendary three-decade career in the public eye, it’s hard to imagine a 12-month period as busy as the last year has been for RuPaul Charles. Last September, not only did Charles take his third-straight Emmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Host, but “RuPaul’s Drag Race” broke through to take the Outstanding Reality-Competition Series honor. And that just kicked off what for anyone would be considered an insanely busy schedule.
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In the fall, Charles began filming “AJ and the Queen,” a new hour-long narrative series on Netflix created by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King that should begin streaming early next year. The gay icon then headed to London where he hosted and produced the inaugural season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” which will air on BBC Three this fall and, hopefully, VH1 stateside. This all occurred all while “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season 4 and, the mothership, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 11 aired on VH1 in the U.S. and simultaneously on other networks worldwide.
Following the live filming of the season 11 finale, Charles hosted “RuPaul,” a daytime talk show that had a three-week test run in June. And today the biggest unkept secret in television reality was revealed as VH1 officially announced it had greenlit a fifth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” which has already filmed, and “Drag Race” season 12, currently in production. Oh, and then there was his first Met Gala, two RuPaul DragCons (LA and NYC), a cameo in Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down” music video and, of course, those impressive Emmy nominations.
After already earning a staggering 12 nominations in 2018, the “Drag Race” franchise earned a massive 14 Emmy nods this time around (just ahead of “Russian Doll’s” 13). The nearest Reality-Competition competitor? “The Voice” with just seven. Moreover, Charles can now make history by matching Jeff Probst’s four straight wins in the Outstanding Host category. So, as we sat down to chat in front of “Drag Race’s” signature finale stage earlier this month there was no drama when it came to reflecting on what’s seemingly been a non-stop year.
“It’s fun. It’s not like I’m working on a chain gang,” Charles says laughing. “It’s not like that. I mean this is creative work so it’s so much fun.”
“AJ and the Queen” finds Charles playing a down on her luck Drag Queen who is constantly going from one small gig to another with an 11-year-old “stowaway.” He’s had small roles in films such as “The Brady Bunch,” “Crooklyn,” “But I’m A Cheerleader” and “EDTV” as well as programs such as “Girlboss,” “Broad City” and “Grace & Frankie” over the years, but his collaboration with the man behind “Sex and the City” is a huge opportunity for him to display his dramatic chops.
“That’s the huge big headline of this past year,” Charles says. “We shot that show for five months. We were in pre-production for it felt like two years. And then finding the kid [newcomer Izzy Gaspersz], I knew immediately that’s her right there. And being reminded to pay attention to that kid who still lives inside of you, still lives inside of me, still lives inside of every everyone and is calling so many shots and so many choices that you make, that I make, that we all make. That kid is making all those choices. So, to reconcile that relationship is so important, especially today when you see so much mishegas going on in the world, which is very depressing.”
“Drag Race” is still, at the moment, Charles’ greatest cultural contribution. The World of Wonder produced program has gone from a scrappy little semi-spoof on other reality-shows that debuted at the beginning of the Obama administration into an engine that has not only turned drag into a global enterprise but helped open the eyes of young viewers to a variety of progressive and compassionate stories. This past season featured the show’s first Muslim queen, Mercedes Iman Diamond, an immigrant from Kenya, as well its first Canadian Queen, Brooke Lynn Hytes (who got a shout out from the Canadian government, no less) and its winner, Yvie Oddly, a convention-breaking Denver queen who suffers from a Ehlers–Danlos syndrome, a debilitating connective tissue disorder.
Charles says he’s obviously happy about the nominations and “loves” the fact that all the hard work of their longtime crew, many who have been with the show since its early days, is “being recognized by their peers.”
“The big prize has to do with the girls and presenting and creating a platform for these kids,” Charles notes. “Creating a platform for them to excel and for the world to see them. That really is the prize.”
He pauses and continues, “But you know, we don’t do it for the Emmys. We do it because we absolutely love it. We really do love it. And it shows in our program.”
After a combined 17 seasons of “Drag Race,” not counting the spin-off “Drag U” or one-off specials, Charles says he still gets a thrill every new season from meeting the new contestants in person. He notes, “Because I’ve seen their audition tapes and then check them out with the background. Once we’ve chosen who comes on the show, we then look at who they are at a deeper level. Some don’t make it past, but the ones who do, I’m always interested in them. And then finally getting to meet them in person and then being really surprised by who they are or things about them that I didn’t expect, certain really charming ones. And we’ve got some real charmers this [upcoming] season. So, that’s what’s exciting to me.”
As to why “Drag Race” continues to resonate around the world Charles thinks its quite simple, honestly.
“I just assume, and this is just me, I assume that everyone loves beautiful, sparkly, outrageous personalities,” Charles says. “But then I’m more surprised when people don’t follow it. Because if you saw a kid in a stroller and you put something shiny in front of them, they’re going to want to look at it. And colors, they’re gonna go, ‘Huh? What’s that?’ I just assume everyone retains that wonderment. Right? I’m always delighted when I find out that people have kept that. Because most people actually don’t. Most people usually cave in and become what society wants them to be. And that’s not fun.”
Oh, and then there’s the music. Somewhere in Charles’ aforementioned itinerary, he found time to record a track, “Cattitude,” with Miley Cyrus (a guest judge this season and longtime “Drag Race” fan). For those wondering when Charles will release more of his own new music, don’t worry, it’s right around the corner.
“I was in the studio yesterday, wrote this really fantastic song,” Charles says enthusiastically. “Wrote it yesterday and recorded it yesterday, and I think it’s a smash hit.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 12 will return to VH1 very soon.
