Before Tenderoni officially got the call to join the cast ofKing of Drag as one of its permanent judges, there were already rumors about the show circulating in drag king spaces. “The drag king world is very small. So, the conversation started bubbling. People were like, 'Oh my god, is this really going to happen? Is this real?” Tenderoni recalls to PRIDE. “All the kings were excited, excited.”
When the email “boop” showed up in Tenderoni’s inbox inviting him to be a permanent judge, it was a no-brainer for the king. “When you think about the big picture, this is groundbreaking,” he says ofKing of Drag. “This is important. I really want to take this seriously. I really want to be a part of this in a positive way, uplifting drag kings.”
That Tenderoni was tapped as one of the permanent judges comes as no surprise to anyone following his career. The drag star is the pride of Chicago, where he has built a reputation as an energetic and magnetic performer. His charisma and talent thrust him to victory at Alaska Thunderfuck’s Drag Queen of the Year Pageant in 2021.
Now he’s set to impart his years of kinging experience through critique and advice for a group of kings competing for the title of King of Drag on the first season (of hopefully many) of Revry's groundbreaking new drag king competition, headed to the streamer in June.
While he was excited, Tenderoni did have some concerns heading into production. The show is the first of its kind to highlight kinging, which means it could easily go sideways or not offer the kind of platform for the artists that he’d hoped for. “I was nervous. I was like, is this going to be cheesy?” Tenderoni recalls feeling in the lead-up to filming, but that all changed the moment he was on set. “I was like, whoa, this is sickening!”
Beyond simply making for a more entertaining show for fans, the fact that the network is taking things seriously and creating a high-quality platform for the kings really matters. That’s because, as it stands now, kings are rarely afforded the same opportunity as their drag queen counterparts, which translates into both a lack of opportunity to perform — and to be paid.
This is not lost on Tenderoni, who sees the major, potentially life-changing opportunity a show like King of Drag could offer its contestants. “A big goal that I personally want for the cast and the kings on this show is to have these same opportunities that the queens have,” he says. “I’m so grateful that I’ve had opportunities to tour nationally. I get to travel and perform all over the place. I'm sick of being the token. I'm always the one boy in the cast. I would love for another king to be with me. I would love it to be someone from this show.”
Murray Hill, Damian Pelliccione and Tenderoni attend the 13th annual Queerties Awards at AVALON Hollywood on March 11, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.
Chelsea Guglielmino/Getty Images
Speaking of the cast, while it hasn’t yet been announced yet, Tenderoni gushes about the kings its audience is about to meet. “The cast is amazing,” he says, and was genuinely shocked to not only see how diverse the lineup is, but that he knew and had even worked with several of them. “I was so happy to see them because I consider a lot of them [as] my peers.”
That naturally presented some complications when it came to giving them critiques. “It was definitely something of a mind-boggler,” he admits. “But I took this opportunity very seriously. So I wanted to come into this as a mentor more than a critic. I always wanted my feedback to be constructive. I always wanted to be almost like a big brother to a younger brother.” Most of all, though, he was excited to show the world the love and camaraderie between the kings. “All drag kings love each other. You'll see that, it's definitely a love fest,” he shares.
Needless to say, an opportunity like this to highlight the art of kinging has been a long time coming, and has been a source ofdebate in the drag community and drag fandomfor years. Some want to see the kings get their own platform, while others have been calling for greater inclusion in other drag competition series. Where does Tenderoni land in the debate? Definitely on the side of, well, why not both?
“I love this platform dedicated to kings, but I also think that kings and queens can live in the same world, too," he explains. “I've used this metaphor before, but I always think of a drag show as like a buffet. When I go to the buffet, I'm getting something from every single part of the different areas. Why can't you have different items of food on your plate? I don't understand why it can't be mixed together.”
The lack of king representation not only translates to fewer bookings for those artists, but fewer artists in general, Tenderoni explains. “If you think of other shows, there's 17 years of drag queen references for young drag queens to refer to. Drag kings don't have that. We're judged so harshly, but we don't have the same references or resources that drag queens do,” he observes. “For me, the most important part of this show is creating a supportive community and just creating platforms for people who are not represented normally. I feel like this is going to do it. I really hope it does."
While fans have yet to see the kings who’ll take part in the series, Revry has teased the permanent and guest judges, and the roster is impressive, to say the least. Drag king icon Murray Hill plays the role of host, while Tenderoni is joined by fellow drag king Dr. Wang Newton as well as drag royalty Sasha Velour, Gottmik, and Damian Pelliccione, on the judging panel. As if that weren't enough star power, guest judges will include Cole Escola, Landon Cider, Lisa Rinna, Vico Ortiz, Liv Hewson, Kathleen Hanna, Cameron Esposito, Bridget Everett, and more. But the guest judge who really surprised Tenderoni might also come as a bit of a surprise to viewers.
“Paul Feig,” says Tenderoni. “When I first saw him, I only saw him from behind, and he had this beautiful, glorious white hair, and he was like, so well dressed. And I was like, is Tim Gunn here?” he laughs. “Then, when it actually came to sitting down and judging, his feedback was so great. It was deep. I was like, 'Wow, you really get drag kings."
Viewers will get to see a new side of the A Simple Favor director during the premiere episode. “If you go watch the trailer back and you do it in slow motion, he goes and pops a split on the stage!” Tenderoni reveals.
There’s something very telling about an A-list director feeling safe and free to be camp and over the top in queer space. That's because this is the place that performers and fans alike can be their fullest, freest selves. It's one of the gifts that drag kings and queens give to their community.
“Even if you don't want it to be, drag is political,” adds Tenderoni. “As a drag king, every time you step on stage, we're making a statement that we exist and we're not going anywhere.”
King of Drag premieres June 22 on Revry. Stay tuned for more updates about the series on PRIDE as they roll out, and watch the teaser trailer below.
