Charlotte, N.C. drag king featured in all-new reality competition series

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Who will be the first to claim the title of King of Drag? One performer from Charlotte is vying for the crown in the first-ever reality competition show exclusively focused on drag kings.

Joey Nolfi with Entertainment Weekly first shared on Thursday that the cast of 10 competing kings had been announced for the upcoming show “King of Drag”. The six-episode series will start streaming on the LGBTQ-centric Revry platform on June 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern. Among the 10 kings competing is King Perka $exxx, who is based out of the Queen City.

“Come for the comedy and stay for the social commentary and dad jokes. King is also famous for his ‘Tag Them’ joke meme,” Nolfi writes as Perka’s official bio. On Facebook, Perka shared thanks with his fans and friends for their support on Thursday, promising to share more on an upcoming live stream.

Perka will be up against fellow drag kings from across the country, including Dallas, Texas-based Buck Wylde, Atlanta-based Pressure K, and New York-based Tuna Melt.

“King of Drag” will be hosted by Murray Hill, a longtime iconic drag king and actor who appeared in the HBO comedy drama series “Somebody Somewhere”. It’s the latest reality competition series to launch on television, a path first paved by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” that has seen its own spinoffs. That path has continued to see newcomers to the field, including “Dragula” – which focuses on drag performers of all varieties and is hosted by Los Angeles drag performers The Boulet Brothers – and “Love For The Arts”, a streaming competition show on Twitch hosted by “Drag Race” alum and co-winner of “Drag Race All Stars” Season 4 Trinity the Tuck that is also inclusive of a variety of drag performers.

Perka will be the first drag king from Charlotte to be featured on such a competition and joins a list of performers with North Carolina connections to be featured in this kind of spotlight. His peers with Tar Heel State ties include:

Erica Chanel, a Charlotte-based drag queen who competed on “Love For The Arts”Heidi N Closet, a Ramseur-raised drag queen who competed on “Drag Race” Season 12 and “Drag Race All Stars” Season 8Victoria “Porkchop” Parker, raised in Fayetteville, who competed on the first season of “Drag Race” and was the first queen in the show’s history to be eliminatedStacy Layne Matthews, originally from Back Swamp in Robeson County, who competed on Season 3 of “Drag Race”Dawn, a Raleigh-born drag performer who competed on “Drag Race” Season 16Priscilla Chambers, an Asheville-based drag artist who competed on Season 3 of “Dragula” and its spinoff “Dragula Resurrection”Detox, who lived in both Hope Mills and Wilson while living with her military family,  competed on “Drag Race” Season 5 and “Drag Race All Stars” Season 2Princess Poppy, who was raised in Charlotte and competed on “Drag Race” Season 15Tempest DuJour, who was born in Durham and competed on “Drag Race” Season 7

Avid drag fans and aficionados will recognize members of the full-time judging panel for “King of Drag” plus the guest judges featured. “Drag Race” alums Sasha Velour (winner of Season 9) and Gottmik (Season 13 runner-up and All-Stars 9 competitor) are permanent judges along with drag kings Tenderoni and Wang Newton. Revry CEO Damian Pelliccione is also on the permanent panel.

Guest judges include “Drag Race” alums Kylie Sonique Love and Carmen Carrera, actress Lisa Rinna, “Dragula” Season 3 winner and fellow drag king Landon Cider, and actress and comedian Cameron Esposito, among others.

Download WCNC+ on your on Roku, Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV, and stream the news that impacts you for free.