“If you’re not watching Untucked, you’re only getting half the story.” It’s the infamous quote attached to the companion series to RuPaul’s Drag Race. The extra time allows viewers to spend a bit more time with the queens following their runway presentations. Whether they are safe and sent straight to Untucked or have to relay the results from the judges’ critiques, what happens in Untucked often leads to historic moments in Drag Race history.
Over the years, we have quoted the best moments. Whether they come from massive blowups, hilarious gaffes, or emotional breakdowns, Untucked truly is necessary storytelling to complete the entire Drag Race narrative. While some international franchises condense their Untucked into a snippet in the main episode, the American franchise has allowed it to live on its own. Sure, not every Untucked is going to be explosive and historic, but when it is, oh boy! The devoted fan base can’t get enough.
Now, celebrating Season 17, Untucked feels a bit different. And it’s been intentional. With a new space, more hands-on fun for the queens, and a new manner in which to tell the story, Untucked has been revitalized. The producers have literally put the cameras in the hands of the queens, allowing them to document the antics within every corner of the room. Speaking exclusively with Mandy Salangsang, one of the brilliant Executive Producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, and Kori King, one of the breakout stars of Season 17, we were given an exclusive glimpse into why and how Untucked has been reinvented. The real story of Untucked starts here.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked’ Has Had Its Moments
To begin this story, we must start from the beginning. As Mandy Salangsang reveals, to understand how and why Untucked has changed is to understand the origins of the companion series. “The original idea of Untucked was hatched in Season 1. Back then, our control room was basically in a closet. During deliberations, the producing team would be huddled in the closet while the queens would untuck in the hallway, literally on the other side of our “control room.” While we were monitoring the deliberations, we were increasingly distracted and totally obsessed with the queens in the hallway; gossiping, relaxing, and connecting. That was when the idea of Untucked was born,” she said. “It was about experiencing the queens free of producer fingerprints. It was an opportunity to connect more deeply with them. Over the past few years, we have been pushing ourselves to get back to our docu roots with Untucked!” The companion series used to be split inside the Gold Bar and the infamous Interior Illusions Lounge. It allowed for separate conversations, but the ultimate drama.
When Untucked began, it took off in a way they never imagined. During the Logo days of the show, the companion series was viewable alongside the flagship series on the network. A few seasons later, it moved to the WOWPresents YouTube channel. The Interior Illusions Lounge was replaced with a backstage space that was a little less iconic. But, once the hit series moved to VH1, Untucked returned to television, airing following the regular episode on VH1, and then on MTV following its move to its sister network. Oh, and now things had moved into the larger and expanded Werk Room. With a handful of awards to its name, Untucked was a groundbreaking series as one of the only reality programs to have a companion series. For Drag Race fans, it was essential viewing. Without Untucked, we never would have gotten our “Sugar Daddy” monologue from Shangela, the battle between Tamisha Iman and Kandy Muse, or Aja’s infamous Linda Evangelista rant.
Perhaps as the voice of the people, Kori King revealed what drew her to Untucked when she was merely just a fan herself. “I just love the drama. I love the drama. I love the yelling. I love the screaming. I love the throwing of the glasses, yelling, and the madness of people being mad,” Kori King said. “I just love the drama aspect.” I mean, who doesn’t?! Her favorite moment? Laganja Estranja’s breakdown after the comedy challenge. Not just for the “I feel very attacked” moment. Kori referenced Laganja asking to get the nail that fell off because she’s an “f–ing disaster.” Looking at that moment in Drag Race herstory, as well as many of the other infamous moments, is the action doesn’t stop, thus the cameras must keep rolling. Imagine a world where we didn’t have cameras to capture the drama. As the brilliant Jasmine Kennedie once said, “This is your moment! Have it!” Untucked hasn’t stopped having its moment.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked’ Goes 360
For Kori, Untucked isn’t just about the extra half hour with your favorite queens. It’s bigger than that. “It’s like the backstage camaraderie of a drag show. I feel like it opens your eyes to how girls really feel behind closed doors, which really helps you understand the girls’ thought process,” Kori said. Oh, and if a meme is made in the process, Kori ain’t mad! But like any good show, it needed an evolution. Cut to Season 17’s edition of Untucked.
With the beloved elements of Untucked still intact, the look and feel have evolved into something special. As Salangsang pointed out, “The goal with Untucked has always been to help create the most immersive docu-experience possible. It contributes significantly to the 360 experience of connecting more deeply with the queens.” With the freedom and ability to move around the space, camera phones in hand, the revamped Untucked has given the series a revitalization. The queens are in control of the narrative. What they want to say will be caught by the camera in some way, shape, or form. Even if that camera is in their hands. “Handing the reins over to the cast reinforces the notion that these queens have talent! They are natural-born content creators and handing them the cameras honors that,” she said.
Mandy Salangsang expressed “total excitement” for this season’s Untucked, especially with the exceptional cast’s personality on display. Based on what we saw, it’s understandable why. Beyond the queen’s personality coming out, there is a lot more freedom to explore. Physically. The space has been transformed to give the cast more room to have their side conversations, launch their own web series, or, as Lana Ja’Rae did, sit alone at the picnic table. “The room’s a lot bigger, and we’re not all confined and like sitting in one tiny little like sectional and talking about drama. We can kind of like branch off and talk sh– about people.” Kori noted how that helped bring the color of the series. “I feel as though our season we’re just not afraid to be shady. We’re not afraid to be evil and disgusting,” said the Season 17 queen.
The ‘Untucked’ Phenomenon Is All Over the World
This season, the on-the-fly chats with the vlogging camera, taking selfies, and playing the role of podcast host have given the queens a bit of informality to be able to properly express themselves. Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but Kori King compared it to playing an invigorating round of “The Sims” where everyone is an NPC, or “non-player character.” It allows them to put on the director hat, or as I referred to Kori, the Entertainment Director of Untucked. “Anything that I did, I was in on the joke. I was purely here in Untucked to cause chaos.” While Kori did note that her Boston sister, Plane Jane, did do much of the “heavy lifting” last season, this season, the cast shared the weight equally due to the nature of the revised format. “We’re all crazy, so it just makes it so much better.”
Just look at some of the greatest hits of this season’s Untucked. Whether it was Joella’s incredible local queen meltdown, Kori, Lana, and Onya Nurve gossiping about Joella in the corner, Arrietty’s call-outs down the line, Kori and Lydia B Kollins getting closer and closer to snuggling on the couch, and Sam Star declaring “Send Them Home…Together,” this could not have transpired as they did had Untucked not evolved this season. The space allowed for extraordinary storytelling while maintaining the history and nostalgia that Untucked had been built upon. What Mandy Salangsang and her team fell in love with all those years ago is still there, just with a massive glow up. And let’s not forget about the celebrity guest judges coming backstage to schmooze and give the queens advice and share anecdotes. Whether it was Adam Lambert sharing tales from his time on stage in Wicked, Quinta Brunson doing her impeccable Sheryl Lee Ralph impersonation, or Hunter Schafer having a beautiful moment with the trans contestants of the season, Lexi Love and Hormona Lisa, the Untucked sprit was alive, and captured with a selfie at the end. The only thing we were not privy to this season was the video messages from home, but some of the parents did stop by for a makeover.
The new iteration has already proven to be a success. Just look at the ratings. It has delivered its highest-rated season in 3 years, marking the best in the series’ history. Between generating 10M views on the socials, becoming the #3 show on cable in quarter one among adults 18-34, and having a 28% increase with that demographic compared to last season, the fans are “eating it up,” as the queens say. While the American version started the trend, Untucked has continued to grow. RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars received its own version. Even RuPaul’s Drag Race Live welcomed the concept to its Las Vegas stage show. Internationally, Drag Race Philippines, the origin of the snacking during Untucked, launched their version alongside Season 1 in 2002. Months later, Drag Race Sverige included a standalone companion series. But wait, there’s more. According to Mandy Salangsang, the standalone Untucked has plans to expand. “Our ultimate goal is to have free-standing Untucked episodes for all the versions around the globe….it’s just a matter of time,” she said. Kori King just has one more request for Untucked that perhaps the incredible team can take into consideration that’s reminiscent of the past: “We need more drinks.” And we know what happens when the drinks are flowing! Cheers to more Untucked. RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 airs Fridays at 8:00pm on MTV. RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked airs immediately after. Previous seasons are available to stream on MTV.