‘Drag Me to Dinner’: Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka Say It’s a ‘Perfect’ Time for Their Hilarious Drag Queen Dinner Show (Exclusive)

Drag Me to Dinner is breathing new life into the average dinner party at a time in which drag performers are at the forefront of the national conversation. Hulu’s hilarious, fourth-wall-breaking new competition show pits two teams of successful drag queens against one another to throw the most fabulous and “drag-tastical” dinner parties of all time as they compete for the Glorious Golden Grater. Prior to Drag Me to Dinner‘s May 31 premiere, executive producers and Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka opened up to PopCulture.com about bringing a new angle to the televised drag scene. 

For Harris, who serves as a judge alongside drag superstar Bianca Del Rio, and actress Haneefah Wood, Drag Me to Dinner was a way to see drag queens at their best. “It’s a nice combination, I think, of getting to watch amazing drag queens do what they love doing – to watch them entertain and to be funny and sharp and on point – and then also to watch them panicking and outside of their comfort zone,” he told PopCulture. “And to combine the two into a show that is not making fun of them, but sort of laughing with them, that was very intentional for us. We thought that would be worth watching.”

The show premieres during a time in which drag bans are making headlines, but Harris insists the timing is mere coincidence, as Drag Me to Dinner has been in the works for years. “There was no agenda to the show. We really just respect and admire the queens,” he said. “If there was any agenda, it would probably be that a lot of the drag content that we’ve seen on TV before has required the queens to only really be performing when they were lip-syncing for their life, singing a song that they didn’t normally perform and that was not sort of showcasing them in the way that they’re used to being seen.” He continued, “So, we thought there’s an opportunity to show queens [being] funny on their own terms.”

Butka, who serves as resident expert and life of the party on Drag Me to Dinner, chimed in, “[RuPaul’s Drag Race] is amazing and we love it, and I don’t think our show would’ve been produced without Drag Race, but the only time you really get to see these girls is when they’re doing a runway and lip-syncing for their life.” He continued, “It wasn’t an agenda of like, ‘Oh, drag’s like in trouble now so we’ve got to pick up the pieces.” 

If anything, now feels like the “perfect time” to enrich the variety in the world of televised drag. “Everyone’s talking about it,” Burtka said. “When there’s a fire, put more logs on it.” Harris agreed, “At the end of the day, I think humor is the ultimate unifier. And so when you watch, if you have any questions about drag or concerns, watch Drag Me to Dinner and I think you’ll leave laughing and smiling and perhaps having a change of perspective.”

Competing for the Glorious Golden Grater on Drag Me to Dinner are: Alaska, Alexis Mateo, BeBe Zahara Benet, BenDeLaCreme, Biqtch Puddin’, Chelsea Piers, Darienne Lake, Detox, Gigi Goode, Ginger Minj, Heidi N Closet, Heklina, Jackie Beat, Jaida Essence Hall, Jasmine Rice LaBeija, Jinkx Monsoon, Kiki Ball-Change, Kim Chi, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Marti Gould Cummings, Mayhem Miller, Meatball, Merrie Cherry, Morgan McMichaels, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Naomi Smalls, Nina West, Peaches Christ, Peachez Iman Cummings, Pixie Aventura, Raja, Rhea Litré, Selma Nilla, Sherry Vine, Symone, Thorgy Thor, Trinity the Tuck, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, and Willam. Drag Me to Dinner premieres May 31 on Hulu.