RuPaul’s Drag Race queens getting spinoff series on YouTube

Detox, Alyssa Edwards, and Laganja Estranja are among the queens to be highlighted in a pair of new YouTube series from WOW Presents.

On RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul has sometimes bragged about being a “marketing genius.” The company behind the show—WOW Presents—is no slouch, either. Variety reports that it will give two past contestants their own limited YouTube series.

First up is “Haus of Edwards,” a look at the life of Justin Johnson, aka Alyssa Edwards, and his drag daughter Laganja Estranja (Jay Jackson). In addition to working as a drag queen, Johnson also runs his own dance studio, which according to Variety is “filled with diva dancers, their deeply involved moms, and crazy staff.” Sounds like a good setup for a behind-the-scenes show, particularly with the zany Johnson/Edwards at the center of it.

Image: Logo TV

Detox, meanwhile, will be getting a show called “Detox’s Life Rehab,” where she and a roster of surprise guess will share “serious life hacks” with viewers. That sounds like it’ll break down to a lot of off-the-cuff comedy, which should be easy for the quick-witted Detox.

Drag Race superfans may know that WOW Presents already has a robust stock of original web shows on its YouTube channel (I recommend UNHhhh, the post-verbal show where Season 7 queens Katya and Trixie Mattel free-associate about whatever the hell they want), but it sounds like these are different. Shows like UNHhhh and Fashion Photo RuView come out once a week, are generally around 10 minutes long, and continue for as long as there’s interest. But these new shows will consist of eight episodes at around 30 minutes a pop, with a debut in late April. In short, these seem more ambitious than the normal WOW Presents show. Are we on our to a proper spinoff show on Logo?

That might be a bit down the line, as WOW co-founder Fenton Bailey says the company is still focused on digital. “It’s exciting to tell stories of any length, not worrying where the commercial break is, and having freedom from [network] standards and practices.”

"We see the modern role of production companies as expanding beyond just pitching shows to networks. The success of these series will feed back into the excitement for ‘Drag Race,’ which is a benefit to all."

Bailey also mentioned that drag is becoming more mainstream, what with catch phrases from Drag Show showing up at the recent Women’s March and all. God knows there are enough of those.

On top of that, WOW grew views on its YouTube channel by 53% last year, and is working towards profitability for that part of its business. (Honestly, it’s a little alarming they’re not in the black already considering how many shows they have, but as co-founder Randy Barbato said, ““If you want to demonstrate something has legs, you have to commit to it.”) And with awareness of drag on the rise, who knows where the company’s programming will be in five years?

I’d like to see UNHhhh on ABC, is what I’m saying.

Next: The 100 Season 4 Episode 2 “Heavy Lies The Crown” Recap

In the meantime, Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race debuts this spring.