In the new season of HBO's 'We're Here,' Sasha Velour takes on Bible Belt drag bans
In season four of HBO's "We're Here," Sasha Velour and her co-hosts head to Tennessee and Oklahoma, where they deliver head-turning looks and heartwarming performances.
In March 2023, Tennessee’s governor signed a first-of-its-kind bill restricting drag shows in the state, part of a multiyear wave of anti-LGBTQ state legislation across the country. While the law was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge a few months later, it was successful in stirring up anti-drag sentiment nationwide and in small towns like Murfreesboro, where city officials essentially canceled Pride that June, citing a drag performance from the previous year.
That Middle Tennessee town is where the brand-new hosts of HBO’s “We’re Here” found themselves dropped just a few weeks later in full regalia for the first chapter of season four’s six-episode homage to the queer community, to head-turning looks and to the healing power of drag.
“I knew I was responsible for making some fantastic reveals and putting on a top-tier drag show,” Sasha Velour, a former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner, said of signing on to host the new season of “We’re Here,” which premieres Friday. “Producing drag shows is a regular part of my life and something that I love so much. I was joking with my partner this morning, like, ‘We were trying to make platforms for drag queens before I had a platform to offer anyone!’ But getting to do that on such a large scale and with these stories that are so politically relevant — and reveal how many heroic real people are thriving and surviving in small towns against opposition — that’s an incredible opportunity.”
Jaida Essence Hall, Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, Sasha Velour and Priyanka in HBO's "We're Here."Greg Endries / HBOLike in previous seasons of the drag makeover series, which were helmed by a different set of “Drag Race” stars, Velour and her fellow hosts — Priyanka and Jaida Essence Hall, who swaps out with Latrice Royale for the final three episodes — arrive in Tennessee ready to mount a drag showcase featuring local queer people and allies, whom they coach to strut and lip sync on stage. But in the new iteration, which also takes place in Oklahoma, another major battleground over LGBTQ rights, it’s not just their new drag daughters whom they’re spending quality time with. This time around, the queens have weeks to get to know the small communities their “drag daughters” call home and put on a series of smaller drag shows, whether their new neighbors like it or not. At the end of each pop-up performance and marquee event, the drag proteges deliver individual messages of resilience, hope and support, standing next to their beaming drag moms.
In Tennessee, Velour, who started her drag career in small-town Illinois, is assigned Norm, a Murfreesboro native, longtime LGBTQ advocate and part-time performer who blames himself for the town’s cancellation of Pride last year. And in Oklahoma, Velour takes on two drag daughters, one of whom is Jess, a transgender woman who’s recently come out to her family. In each case, there are wounds to heal, deep conversations to be had, and reveals to be made. And Velour tackles it all head-on with a surplus of empathy and style, skills she’s developed over her years in the spotlight.
Rating: 5