New ‘Queens of the Queen City’ reality show shows off life as a Charlotte drag queen
A new reality show, “Queens of the Queen City,” goes behind the scenes of life as a drag queen in Charlotte.
The show follows five drag queens as they launch their careers in the entertainment industry from Charlotte. The show first started filming at the end of last year, but was interrupted in March due to COVID-19. Upcoming drag shows were canceled, and the cast no longer wanted to film in big groups.
But Executive Producer Brandon Hilton said rather than waiting for drag shows and drama to resume, he would release what was already filmed as a mini-series consisting of six episodes.
The show will be released on Instagram TV starting Friday, July 17. Hilton said Grindr, a social networking app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, will host the show on its Instagram, which has over 400,000 followers.
A new kind of reality show
Hilton owns the fashion brand House of Mann, which is now selling masks during COVID-19. Hilton first realized that he should be filming his life after he participated in New York Fashion Week — and didn’t record any of it. “I’m missing these really awesome moments that are great for content in my life that I should be filming,” he said.
The show aims to encapsulate the experience of the life of a drag queen. Cameras follow the cast throughout their day, from the preparation for nightly shows to their private lives off the stage. “Just normal things that they do — which none of it is normal, which is what makes it great,” Hilton said.
The cast follows five drag queens — Brandon Hilton, also known as Onya Mann, Erica Chanel, Vegas Van Dank, Crystal Brooks and Tallulah Van Dank — but each member of the cast manages other queens in the Charlotte area. “So you see so many other queens, too, not just the cast queens,” Hilton said.
For Erica Chanel, a show day consists of checking emails, promoting upcoming events — and of course getting ready, which consists of makeup, hair, choosing an outfit and picking a song to perform. “If I have a show at 11, I like to get ready at like 5 o’clock in the afternoon,” Chanel said.
And built into their day is a whole lot of drama, Hilton said. “Lots of catfights. You know with drag queens, there are always shady comments.”
“Especially in Charlotte, I feel like everyone is trying to one-up everybody,” Chanel said.
Hilton, along with his husband, filmed and edited the entire show. “Every single time that we film, there is always something crazy that we get on film, and it’s just like, ‘Wow this is gold,’” Hilton said.
“It is kind of weird having cameras watching you, because I don’t have a filter, so I just say what I want to say,” Chanel said with a laugh. “So I guess when the show comes out, people will really see the tea.”
Hilton said “Queens of the Queen City” tells a new story, one that hasn’t been told before in the entertainment world. Popular competition shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are more structured. “You don’t really go into their lives,” Hilton said. “I wanted to show people the reality of what it is to be a drag queen.”
Misconceptions about drag queens
Part of this show is bringing to light what people don’t understand about life as a drag queen. On social media, Hilton often gets comments implying that all drag queens are transgender or want to be women. But people of any gender identity can be a drag queen.
“While there are trans drag queens, I think that maybe this show will help people realize that just because we dress up as what we perceive to be women for entertainment, it doesn’t mean that we want to be women,” Hilton said.
Tallulah Van Dank said this show is important because it showcases that there is more to drag than just “fabulous cis-gay men who dress up like beautiful women and do top 40 music.”
“Celebrating the diversity and the multiplicity of the Charlotte scene is really exciting, and I think having something focusing on all kinds of drag in the South is going to be important,” Tallulah Van Dank said.
A video entitled “Meet the Queens,” introducing the show’s cast aired Friday, and the first episode drops on July 17.
“I think people here who know us will find it really cool to see into our lives, and I think people who aren’t from here and other cities will really learn to love us,” Hilton said. “In the moment when it’s all being filmed, it’s just life.”
Follow the queens
Queens of the Queen City @queensofthequeencity
Crystal Brooks @TheCrystalBrooks
Erica Chanel @TheEricaChanel
Onya Mann @BrandonHilton
Tallulah Van Dank @TallulahVanDank
Vegas Van Dank @VegasVanDank
