• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, May 30, 2023

The culture wars surrounding transgender and LGBTQ+ issues and lifestyles are breaking out in the worlds of retailing and beer marketing, but not in the TV biz -- at least, not yet.

The TV Blog has not yet detected or seen any stories about anybody raising their voices to decry the proudly queer and drag content that is all the rage on TV today.

This contrasts sharply with the recent experiences of Target and Anheuser-Busch InBev, both of which have found themselves caught between two worlds.

On one side is a customer base that has reacted negatively to attempts by both companies to aim some of their advertising and promotion messaging at gay and transgender communities.

On the other side are those who support gay and transgender communities, and make it a point to be tuned in and vocal when big companies cut back on the very messages and product lines that are costing them customers.

Target became ensnared in the issue when some customers reportedly became so enraged by a line of Pride apparel that they reportedly attacked the stores’ displays.

In response, Target stores reportedly moved the Pride displays to less conspicuous parts of the stores, which raised the hackles of supporters of gay and transgender pride.

InBev reportedly lost thousands and possibly even millions (according to some stories) of regular Bud Light customers after the brand engineered a promotion featuring Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender, social media influencer.

These were hot-button issues for Target and Bud Light, but TV has been immune from these kinds of uproars, despite the fact that the TV networks and streamers are, in their own way, among the biggest and most conspicuous consumer companies on the planet.

Drag performers reading kiddie books to schoolchildren might be a flashpoint in many communities, but on TV, campy celebrations and send-ups of the drag lifestyle are all over the place. They are apparently well-received too. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any, right?

The TV Blog has long championed the granddaddy of them all -- “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” This show has proven time and time again to be one of the funniest and most entertaining shows in all of television. As far as I know, no one has ever demanded a “Drag Race” boycott.

Far from cutting back on drag and queer content, TV takes pride in expanding the category. Coming soon are at least two more shows that are sure to vex Bud Light drinkers and Target shoppers.

One of them is “Drag Me To Dinner” (pictured above), a new take on cooking competition shows coming to Hulu on Wednesday (May 31).

“ ‘Drag Me To Dinner’ is a riotous, format-busting, fourth-wall breaking, unapologetic send-up of traditional reality competition shows!” says Hulu.

“In each episode, two teams of successful drag queens go head-to-head to throw the most fabulous, drag-tastical dinner parties of all time. 

“At the end of each episode, one team will be proclaimed the winner and walk away with the grandest ‘prize’ in the history of television: The Glorious Golden Grater -- because one team may be GREAT … but the other is GRATER!” Hulu says.

Meanwhile, another hackle raiser comes to Netflix June 22. This is a new scripted series called “Glamorous.”

“ ‘Glamorous’ tells the story of Marco Mejia, a young gender non-conforming queer man whose life seems to be stuck in place until he lands a job working for legendary makeup mogul Madolyn Addison [Kim Cattrall],” says a Netflix description.

“It’s Marco’s first chance to figure out what he wants out of life, who he actually is, and what it really means for him to be queer.”

Both shows are brought to you by Bud Light and Target. Kidding!