Tyra Banks is producing a new Discovery+ show about teen queens—drag queens, that is. Titled Generation Drag, the series will explore the colorful, creative world of teenage drag shows.
Generation Drag focuses on five kids—Noah, Jameson, Vinny, Bailey, and Nabela—and their families. It traces the leadup to the most important performance of these teens’ young lives at Dragutante, a nonprofit event that allows LGBTQ+ youth to connect with each other, meet mentors in the drag community, and, at the end of the day, stomp the runway in their own performances.
The heartwarming trailer, released on Tuesday, shows a glimpse of the kids’ journey to Denver, where Dragutante takes place. In between clips of a dad sweetly supervising as his child tries on a pair of fuzzy pink platform boots and a mom fluffing a loofah-like tulle minidress, the teens diligently draw on their eyebrows and primp their candy-colored wigs.
“So, my mom started Dragutante,” one person explains of the eagerly anticipated event. “Kids and their families are coming from all over the country where we get to be our true selves.” Family group hugs abound. I’m not crying, you are.
However, the docuseries comes in the wake of controversy surrounding the treatment of contestants behind the scenes of Banks’ long-running reality competition show, America’s Next Top Model. In March, Bustle published a revelatory article about contestant Angelea Preston, who won Season 17 of ANTM but was stripped of her title due to her past as a sex worker. Shortly after the Bustle article came out, Business Insider dropped an exposé alleging that producers created unsafe conditions to maximize drama, resulting in women having panic attacks and being refused medical treatment. One contestant described her time on the show as “psychological warfare.”
Last month’s backlash against ANTM was far from the first time the show has come under fire. For years, people have been calling out Banks and sharing problematic moments from the show, like the multiple photoshoots involving blackface. And yet, Banks continues to stay booked and busy, hosting Dancing with the Stars, producing new projects, and even getting cast in new movies.
Regardless of Banks’ involvement, Generation Drag admittedly looks like it will be an uplifting, loving celebration of self-expression in LGBTQ+ kids. We’ll personally be tuning in for Noah, Jameson, Vinny, Bailey, and Nabela—and for the beauty tips.
Watch a bunch of ninth graders do a better job of applying makeup than most fully grown adults when all six episodes of Generation Drag drop on June 1.
