Drag Race España is making franchise history, with Marcus Massalami announced as the first contestant in the wider Drag Race universe to compete exclusively as a drag king.
Marcus was unveiled as part of the 12-strong cast for season six of the Spanish franchise, which premieres on 27 September.
His casting brings drag king artistry onto one of queer television’s biggest stages and expands what audiences can expect when they hear the words Drag Race.
A First For The Franchise
The Drag Race franchise has spent more than 15 years bringing drag into the mainstream, but its competition casts have overwhelmingly centred drag queens.
Marcus changes that.
While Velma Jones competed on season six of Canada’s Drag Race and performs as both a drag queen and drag king under the name Johnny Jones, Marcus is the first contestant whose drag persona is exclusively a king.
That distinction makes his casting a genuine franchise first.
For drag kings, who have long been an important part of queer performance scenes but have received considerably less mainstream television exposure than drag queens, the moment is significant.
More Than One Kind Of Representation
Marcus is also a lesbian and deaf performer who wears hearing aids.
His appearance therefore brings several forms of representation to the Spanish edition at once, while introducing a style of drag that plays with masculinity rather than exaggerated femininity.
Marcus has previously spoken about discovering drag king performance through theatre and using drag to explore ideas around masculinity, gender and social expectations.
That makes Drag Race España an especially interesting stage for his work, given how strongly the franchise has traditionally been associated with a particular form of queen-centred drag.
Drag Race España Returns With 12 Competitors
Marcus joins Àlex Marteen, Alma Desoul, Buba Anorex, Coco Luna, Joan Chevalier, Kim Miller, Liak, Liz Dust, Maitetxu Mia, Sorny and Vanessa Artiles in the season six cast.
Supremme de Luxe returns as host, alongside judges Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi and Ana Locking.
Producers are already promising new twists and previously unseen contestant profiles for the season.
But before the first challenge has even aired, Marcus has already made his mark.
His casting does not suddenly solve the lack of drag king visibility across mainstream entertainment, but it does put that artistry in front of a global Drag Race audience.
And after years of fans asking when kings would finally get their shot, the answer is officially: now.
