The drag competition show, now entering its 17th season, continues to evolve
PEOPLE recently visited the set of the Emmy-winning reality competition program and got a rare behind-the-scenes look at the changes following its historic 16th season and ahead of its just announced 17th season.
While there may be cosmetic changes to sets, the core of the show remains unchanged: showcasing and celebrating drag.
“We continue to have fun, we continue to be amazed by the queens and we try to innovate every year — to mix things up so you don’t know what’s coming next,” says Drag Race co-creator and executive producer Tom Campbell.
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“We have always celebrated drag but I think the world is catching on about how incredible and how freeing and how beautiful the art of drag is,” adds supervising producer and judge Michelle Visage.
“There are people in this country who would have things be different,” reflects executive producer Mandy Salangsang. “And how important it is for us to, through this incredible platform, continue to share and spread the message of love and inclusion and art and celebration of life differences and similarities.”
From looks to lip syncs, here are 5 surprising things we learned during our set visit.
1. New Season, New Look
The RuPaul’s Drag Race sets are getting upgraded for Season 17 as storytelling needs and production technologies evolve.
One of the major changes will be how the show is lit.
“If we were in an era, it’d be a Glossier era,” says lighting designer Gus Dominguez on fine-tuning the show’s look. “We’ve tried to hone in a softer environment for the queens ‘in reality.’ And then on stage and in challenges, we’ve then added a glossier finish…time codes for music, automation, stuff like that. So it’s a bigger punch than you would normally see in previous years.”
The way the show is shot is different, too.
“We have a techno jib on certain days, which is a telescopic camera,” explains director Nick Murray. “We’ve used steady camera numerous times now, especially in the finale episodes. We just want to grow with the times and give the viewer a more, enhanced visual feel to the show.”
Murray also added drones have been used for certain shots.
However, the crew’s goal remains to show the queens in the best light, literally and figuratively.
“We really show the audience what the queens are presenting and let them be kind of the shining star right in front of the lens,” adds cinematographer Michael Jacob Kerber.
2. Mirror, Mirror
Much of the show’s action takes place in front of the “werk room” mirrors where the queens get into drag.
It’s during these periods of preparation that they often open up and “spill the tea.”
To capture reverse and closeup angles, an entire hallway exists behind the mirrors so production can capture all the action.
Nearby is a green screen area where the contestants film their 1:1 confessionals.
3. Serving Up Looks
On of the most anticipated moments in each episode is when RuPaul hits the main stage dressed in full drag. The looks — often inspired by the week’s challenge or a pop culture reference — are so resplendent one would imagine hours-long sessions of RuPaul trying on dozens of looks.
But pulling RuPaul’s look together is more streamlined and organic, shares Raven, a former contestant turned Emmy-winning hair and make up artist for Drag Race. And like many other elements of the show, that process has evolved as well.
“With Ru, we get everything in and it’s all hanging up. Ru goes and looks at it the day of. And the morning of is when he’s like, ‘I wanna wear that dress. I wanna do this hair,’ ” Raven explains of the choices.
“When I first started, I was talking him through, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do this.’ And he would kind of look at me like, ‘Okay, good.’ Now I don’t even, I just go,” Raven adds.
4. Lip Syncs Truly Play Out on Stage … And Are Unpredictable
As with most reality competition programs, the contestant pool is whittled down every episode.
This is done via the Lip Sync for Your Life, where the queens up for elimination pull out all the stops to stay another week. The judges aren’t privy to the performances beforehand, and even production is taken by surprise as they unfold on stage.
PEOPLE got to witness a special lip sync between Morphine Love Dion and Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige — two lip sync assassins from Season 16.
We sat at the judges’ table and observed the queens show off their signature moves, including a wig reveal and somersaults.
At one point, Le’Paige, the self-proclaimed Queen of Flips, somersaulted off the stage and then somersaulted back onto the stage. Their moves were unpredictable and we found our attention darting between each competitor as they tried to one-up each other.
The cast and crew exploded in applause when the queens finished, and luckily on this day, neither was sent home.
5. Drag is Hard!
PEOPLE was treated to a “quick drag” treatment, including being outfitted with a wig and trying on sky-high heels.
And while we didn’t get into full drag — just walking alone in high heels was treacherous enough — we had a newfound appreciation for the queens who dance and even flip (see above) in heels.
Some of the costumes PEOPLE perused, particularly the heavily beaded pieces, weighed more than 20 pounds!
Combined with padding, makeup and hair, we can see why Drag Race can be just as physical as other competition-based reality shows.