The UK has a traditional way of respectfully marking a change in the monarchy.  The Queen is Dead we say, followed by Long Live the King.   It came to mind after the Emmy Awards the other night.  For seemingly endless years, the award for ‘Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program’ went to RuPaul. That is until three years ago, and Alan Cumming started to win it every year for The Traitors, which also won the Emmy for Best Program 

This follows sharply in the news that the BBC, the UK’s largest TV broadcaster, announced it is cancelling RuPaul’s Drag Race after 7 years, and so now it will be on a smaller streaming channel run by its producer.  Since it first started in the US in 2009, the program has jumped from channel to channel Logo TV (season 1–8), VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. 

Critics have widely considered season 6 the best regular season in the show’s history, when it launched global icons such as Bianca Del Rio, runner-up Adore Delano, and fan favorites like BenDeLaCreme and Courtney Act.  And season 10 is regarded as the Show’s most successful, when its ratings really peaked.  The question now that QG is considering is whether Drag Race will become a legacy reality competition show or just fade away as a reality TV staple from a specific period in time.  After all, many people thought that shows like America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway 

Interestingly enough, there is a possible answer when you look at the new boy on the block.  Despite picking up awards (and ratings), Cummings only heads up the US version of Traitors and all the other versions around the world have their own presenters.  Whereas it’s impossible to see any global version of Drag Race with the uniquitous Ru Paul, who now looks like she may be spreading herself too thin.  

The past 18 years have produced a plethora of ex-Drag Race winners and performers, and it’s hard to walk more than a few yards down Provincetown’s main street without being accosted by a seemingly endless line of them persuading you to see their show.  The only thing that outnumbers them now is the rapid growth of cannabis shops : maybe they will both help each other survive.