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Dropout's 'Dungeons and Drag Queens' Is a Nerdy Delight

By Chris Revelle | TV | January 15, 2025 |

Dropout Dungeons and Drag Queens Brennan Lee Mulligan Jujubee Bob the Drag Queen Alaska Thunderfuck Monet X Change.jpg
Header Image Source: Dropout

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves captured something I have always found true about the best D&D games: no matter how high the drama or deep the lore, it’s also funny, silly, and an absolute blast with friends. D&D is more of a framework and a palette of elements that can be used to enact a story than a straightforward board game like Monopoly or Risk. Yes, there are rules and systems to provide structure, but it’s also a platform or medium to tell an interactive story. As someone whose uncle introduced him to D&D at age 12, I’m a big believer in the game’s ability to stimulate creativity and form special communities of players. It can be a little intimidating at the outset, but as Dropout’s Dungeons and Drag Queens demonstrates, it’s easy to learn and so, so much fun to have with friends.

For anyone unfamiliar with D&D, the basic gist is that a group of players form a party and go on adventures in a world run by a Dungeon Master or Game Master who acts as the director of events. The DM/GM prepares scenarios or events for the party to participate in. This makes the experience akin to a group storytelling exercise or an improvisation game. Players create character sheets to record their stats, lore, and equipment and they roll dice to determine whether or not they’re successful in what they do. There’s a learning curve, but nothing is beyond comprehension and that’s one of many sweet truths found in Dungeons and Drag Queens. Like any party of beginners, Drag Race superstars Bob the Drag Queen, Alaska Thunderf*ck, Monet X Change, and Jujubee have a lot to learn in terms of the nuts and bolts of the game, but their earnest and unreserved commitment to trying it anyway feels so wholesome. In the hands of a virtuoso DM like Brennan Lee Mulligan, the queens learn quickly and he smartly gives them enough latitude and leeway to make the game their own. D&D at its best should be reflective of the players and with a party of questing queens, the vibe is witty, silly, and rollicking. Mulligan operates on an “if you say it, it’s canon” rule which has hilarious results. Monet’s assassin character has been assigned someone to kill, but due to a misunderstanding of the word “mark,” that person turns out to be “famed music producer Mark Ronson.”

The queens are smartly cast. Dropout chose drag performers who are known for their quick wits and improvisation, skills that serve them well as players but also make for really fun viewing. They also fall into some classic D&D player roles. Bob usually takes a leadership position as the one who takes the most notes, Alaska plays the most overtly comedic character with a wonderfully dry edge, Monet has a knack for zeroing in on somewhat incidental side characters, and Jujubee is the one always asking questions about what they can do. Not all D&D recordings, be they video or podcast, are created equal. Translating the fun of playing into the fun of observing others play is very difficult, but Dungeons and Drag Queens nails the brief. The queens play in full drag, there are visual aids and references aplenty, and jokes are so free-flowing that it makes each episode feel zippy, light, and highly entertaining. That’s no mean feat either when each episode is usually 2 hours and change. The queens fill the time with such snappy dialogue, hilarious retorts, and playful reads that time simply flies. Check out Monet trying to interview a crocodile.

Perhaps the idea of drag queens playing D&D seems unexpected and that’s understandable to a very real degree. The average person doesn’t necessarily associate a towering glamazon with 20-sided dice, but the magic of D&D is that it’s loved by all kinds of people. Dungeons and Drag Queens stands as a big reminder that there are a lot of queer nerds out there who, like myself, have found queer community in a D&D party. Some nerds find the idea threatening, like queer people are somehow “ruining” the game with their “woke” presence, but I’m happy to inform you that there are tons of us out there and no amount of gate-keeping is going to stop us. It’s empowering to play a different person who lives in a fantasy world and strikes out on quests with their adventurer friends. People of different marginalized groups have flocked to the game for just this reason. Nerdiness and queerness frequently overlap. Dungeons and Drag Queens is well aware of this and during the BTS series/aftershow Adventuring Party, the queens discussed how touched they are by the communities they’ve brought together by just playing D&D in drag:

As someone who plays a character best described as “a Sailor Moon paladin,” I welcome the high femme representation at the D&D table. Seeing some of my favorite drag queens learn a game I love dearly and turn it into a blast to watch is such a joy. I’ve used the word “wholesome” to describe how earnestly the queens engage with the game, but it’s worth noting Dungeons and Drag Queens is not all-ages entertainment. The language can get salty and the humor can get pretty filthy. If anything though, that enriches the experience. Dungeons and Drag Queens is a perfect marriage between irreverent drag and fantasy fun. It just began its second season on Dropout, so give yourself a treat and settle in for a queer good time that’s just as enjoyable if you’ve been cursed with heterosexuality.