Tom Campbell (‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ producer) on show’s success: ‘I have to always give it up to the queens’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
After winning six career Emmy Awards for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Untucked,” producer Tom Campbell confesses that the secret to the reality TV show’s success is rather simple. “I have to always give it up to the queens, the drag queens, starting with RuPaul,” he tells us. The world-renowned host has “this unprecedented career and has been able to take the art of drag, which samples all of pop culture, and weave in the stories of being an outsider.” Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The 16th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” aired earlier this year and welcomed 14 brand new participants to the stage. The Top 3 — Nymphia Wind, Sapphira Cristál and Plane Jane — battled for the crown during the April 19 grand finale, with Taiwanese-born Nymphia eking out the victory. “Drag Race” has spawned many spin-offs and international offerings, with the original series winning 29 Emmys including five for Best Competition Program and eight for RuPaul as Best Reality Host.
“It takes a very particular person to say, ‘I’m going to be a drag queen.’ I know I’m not,” Campbell mentions before adding, “As RuPaul says, ‘Anyone who leaves the house in a pussycat wig and some cha cha heels is my hero.’ We try to make it not political, but again, every time I bat my false eyelashes, RuPaul says I’m making a political statement.” That’s why it means so much for the show to be “wonderfully supported” by Paramount and MTV.
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Season 16 was chock-full of “superstars,” Campbell readily admits, which is why all of the eliminees returned for a special “Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown” episode, in lieu of a normal reunion. The producer claims, “Going into the grand finale, Sapphira was destined to win, but it was Nymphia who … kept the competition to the very, very end. And I think it was decided ultimately in the final lip sync for the crown. So that’s I think what blows people’s minds.” He reiterates the point that “losing is the new winning, so no one leaves a loser. These queens all leave and they have incredible international careers based on what they shared with the world.”
Addressing the many fans online who get angry when their favorite contestants go home, Campbell explains, “If you don’t think those same fights happen within the producing staff of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ you’re wrong … because we kind of represent the audience. And if somebody is not left unhappy, then we don’t have a good cast.” He dives in further, “Once RuPaul calls a name, once the victory happens, it all makes sense. I feel like RuPaul has never made a mistake and he always picks the queen of the moment, whatever that means. It just sort of captures the zeitgeist and the right queen is chosen.”
Also in our exclusive video interview, Campbell talks about the shiny new runway set, how “so much was revealed” due to the “Rate-a-Queen” twist, and how the immunity potions were inspired by the campy film “Death Becomes Her.” He also teases what he can about “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 9, which begins streaming May 17 on Paramount+.
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