HBO's We're Here is like a drag version of Queer Eye, but it upends expectations the way the Fab Five never did

Salon.com

"It's definitely visually striking to contrast the rhinestone encrusted glamour of Bob, Eureka and Shangela against the folksy backgrounds of the towns they visit, but scratch the surface — preferably with a sharp, lipstick-red nail — and you'll see the glorious beauty in so many of the people already living there," Mary Elizabeth Williams says of the HBO's new reality show starring Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O'Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadle. "When Bob observes that 'it takes a village to make a queen,' it's a statement that acknowledges that truth: Progress doesn't just happen because a bunch of outsiders are introduced into an ecosystem. Things move forward when parents — Christian and atheist, gay and straight, on every point along the gender, political and mental health spectrums — stand beside their kids (likewise), and communities acknowledge and respect their own members. They happen when a person's family of choice loves them exuberantly and unconditionally and playfully, especially in the hardest times. After all, if every marginalized community waited until everything was fixed and safe and all good for them to celebrate, we'd have no parties. And even if not everybody wants to come, the magic still happens when everybody is welcome. The training for the drag children — with their varying levels of technical skill and comfort with a duct-taped tuck — is perhaps the least engrossing aspect of the series. Where it shines is in the dynamic of the heartfelt, humane stories and the extravagant performances. Each episode goes in with the understanding that you might not change minds determined to stay closed, but most people can at least get behind a disco-era banger."

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• What HBO couldn’t have counted on is how timely We're Here feels: "With much of the world social distancing due to COVID-19, the importance of the arts to connect and bring people together has been underscored, as has the power of live performance," says Kate Kulzick. "Many viewers are aching for communal experiences and watching not only the locals perform, but their friends and families experience that performance hits in a different way now than it would have a year ago. There is plenty to connect to on a thematic level, from explorations of gender presentation, small town life, and religion to the intersections of queer identity and race, and there’s plenty to connect to on an aesthetic or comedic level. For many right now, though, the opportunity to experience a taste of live performance, with a live audience, is enough of a reason to tune in. Regardless of motivation, or level of drag familiarity, We’re Here is a charming and engaging reality series and one well worth watching."
• We're Here co-creators Johnnie Ingram and Stephen Warren worked with researchers to find just the right people and towns to feature in each episode: "The show’s goal is not to present these towns in a negative light,” says Eureka O'Hara “Of course, we showed a little bit of it, but we didn’t want to show, like, the moments in Branson, (Missouri), where people were driving by screaming hateful things at us from their car, or in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where there was a lot of discussion about the rebel flag. The show didn’t want to focus on just this negativity and nastiness.”
• We're Here co-creator Ingram: "There’s something about drag that is an olive branch to these communities"
• Shangela says We're Here is bigger than a makeover show: "I love makeover shows -- I love them -- but that's not what We're Here is. We're Here is one of those transformative shows," says Shangela. "We're producing one-night drag shows in the middle-of-nowhere communities that may be accepting to them, or may not."
• Eureka says We're Here works because each of its stars has a unique strength: "Bob is such a politically correct, intelligent person, and he's very much like the governor of the trio," says Eureka O'Hara. "And then you have Shangela who just doesn’t really know a stranger. She’s really good at having that fun, diva personality but still very professional. And then I was just hoping they’d keep me.”