Bob the Drag Queen has revealed to Newsweek why each season of We're Here is so unique.
The drag artist, also known as Caldwell Tidicue, is resuming their role as co-host and producer of the HBO docuseries for its third installment, alongside co-stars Shangela and Eureka O'Hara.
In We're Here, the trio, who have all competed on RuPaul's Drag Race in the past, journey across small-town America, "spreading love and connection through the art of drag."
In each town the queens meet their own "drag children" who they help transform into drag artists for one-night-only drag shows, while also sharing stories, increasing awareness, and promoting acceptance in the communities.
The first season of We're Here aired in 2020, but was filmed in 2019, while the second was filmed in 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 3 was filmed in early 2022, meaning the COVID restrictions were looser than the previous outing.
The episodes therefore have a very different feel from its predecessor, which required limitations like social distancing and for activities to take place outside.
"Each season, they're so different, because the times have changed so much over the past few years," Bob, who identifies as nonbinary, told Newsweek ahead of the launch of the third season of the Emmy Award-winning show.
"Season 1 was pre-pandemic, Season 2 was in the thick of it and Season 3 was when the world was re-opening," the 36-year-old said.
Bob, who hosts podcast Sibling Rivalry with another fellow Drag Race star Monét Exchange, also said that the seasons can be differentiated by the political landscapes of the time they were filmed during.
"One was before a presidential election, one was during the year of an election, and then post-election. The last three years have been WILD," they said.
This season on We're Here the queens travel to Granbury, Texas; St. George, Utah; Brevard County, Florida; Jackson, Mississippi; and Sussex, New Jersey and Shangela, who recently finished in fourth place on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars, told Newsweek that she and her co-hosts were motivated "now more than ever" to "share and highlight these important stories that deserve to be told across our country."
"Because of everything that's going on in America, the current political climate, [there's a] necessity of greater visibility and representation for us all. Especially in these marginalized places," Shangela, 40, said.
Eureka, 32, added: "We just came to the challenge, ready to do the job that we set out to do in the first two seasons but obviously [having] learned a lot from the first two.
"We've learned how to work with each other better, how to communicate with our [drag] children better, and by using the skills that we learned from the first two seasons we've really been able to navigate and tell the stories and talk about these sensitive subjects and things that are very timely and [happening] now."
Eureka said that they are hoping that the episodes will "really get people talking about the things that are happening in the current climate."
The six-episode-long third season of We're Here will air weekly on HBO on Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes will also be available to stream on HBO Max.
We're Here seasons one and two are available to watch in full on HBO Max.
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About the writer
Laura Donaldson is a Newsweek Film and TV Reporter (SEO), based in Edinburgh, U.K. Her focus is on reality TV. ... Read more
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