The idea of drag queens roving around small-town America might seem like a farce, but HBO's series We're Here is far from being a situational comedy. Instead, it's queer activism with remarkable heart and insight. The first season of the reality and documentary series bucks against the idea that all queer and trans people reside—or at least want to reside—in metropolitan areas, a trope that ignores family, community, and economic ties.
The premise is simple. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009) alum Eureka O'Hara (from Bristol, Tennessee), Shangela Laquifa Wadley (from Paris, Texas), and Bob the Drag Queen (from Columbus, Georgia) join together to essentially “queer eye” people with drag; the goals are far more reaching than a makeover. When the queens enter a small town, they each get assigned to a vetted person or group—an ally, an aspiring drag queen, and a social-justice-oriented wildcard. At the end of each...