King of Drag competition series hosts premiere party in West Hollywood

“King of Drag” hosted its premiere at Beaches Tropicana in West Hollywood on Sunday, June 22, uniting kings from all across the land, far and near. 

The TV reality show premiere brought in a packed house with guest appearances, famous drag kings in their full regalia and guests who were more than eager to see the first episode in the historic series. 

The series was created by Damian Pelliccione and Christopher J. Rodriguez and hosted by Murray Hill, who bring together a significantly underrepresented group of performers from all across the United States for a competition show on more than just looks and their ability to beat their faces. This diverse group of kings represent various cultures, inspire different communities and bring their unique skills and personalities to compete against each other for the title of king. 

And the 10 kings are:

Buck Wyld from Dallas, Texas 

Alexander the Great from Austin, Texas

Perka $exxx from Charlotte, North Carolina

Pressure K from Atlanta, Georgia

Dick Von Dyke from Minneapolis, Minnesota

King Molasses from Washington D.C.

Charles Galin King from Los Angeles, California 

Tuna Melt from Queens, New York 

Henlo Bullfrog from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Big D from Bellingham, Washington

The prizes 

Crown and scepter from Fierce! Drag Jewels 

Custom suit courtesy of Sharpe Suiting

Talent Management from Queer Up Agency

Round-trip flight to Seattle to headline the Emerald City King’s Ball

One year’s worth of e.l.f cosmetics and e.l.f skin products

$10,000 in cash

Kings Court 

The battle for king has to be judged by the first and foremost kings, queens and icons of all the land. The Kings Court was made up of Tenderoni, the Puerto Rican King of Charisma,; 

Sasha Velour, Brooklyn drag icon, author of “The Big Reveal,” and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race; Wang Newton, from New York City; legendary director Paul Feig and last, but not least, executive producer and judge of the GLAAD award-winning series “Drag Latina,” and queer style icon, Damian Pelliccione.

Episode One

The first episode’s theme was none other than: sports. 

The first challenge was “The Weenie Challenge,” where contestants had to pose for player cards, with only five minutes to suit up in semi-used sports gear. The photoshoot was judged by Chicago-based king Tenderoni and WNBA all-star Layshia Clarendon.

The second challenge brought teams together to write and record a verse, while also coming up with the choreography for a performance. The teams assembled and got to planning — prizes all in mind.

Tuna Melt (Teo Pactong) became the first king to be eliminated from the competition in the series premiere episode. Pactong, who runs the Hause of Melt, a production brand — was voted off after a singing and dancing competition and sports photoshoot during the first episode.   

Pactong has been doing drag for four years after being introduced to drag by their drag father Theydy Bedbug. Before doing drag, they held music industry positions at Youtube Music and Google. 

In the episode, Pactong opens up about their identities.

Pactong says that in the process of finding their drag king persona Tuna Melt, they found Theo. In their cameo, they explain that when they came out as trans, they didn’t feel like they fit in the world of music tech anymore. 

“For the longest time, I never felt like a girl and I also never felt a hundred percent a man,” said Pactong. “It’s always been this spectrum of existence.” When Pactong was put up for elimination, they also opened up about their family background and how that influences their passion for this competition. 

“I’m Asian, I’m Latin [American], I’m transgender. I come from a family of immigrants.” they said. “My mother instilled in me that I had to work two times harder than everybody else.” 

In the first round of eliminations, it was Henlo Bullfrog and Tuna Melt who ended up in the bottom two, facing off against each other in a final redemption round.

Each week the kings will fight for a last chance during “The Final Thrust” round, and this time it was a breakdancing battle. 

In the end, it was Tuna Melt who was voted off by the majority of the Kings Court.

Each week, we will be interviewing the kings as they get eliminated. Stay tuned for more!

Where To Watch

King of Drag is now available to stream on RevryTV, an LGBTQ streaming platform for queer movies, TV shows, music and more — all for free. New King of Drag episodes will premiere weekly on Sundays.