In the wardrobe department at the Paramount Pictures lot, assistants are bejeweling their final flourishes onto jackets, pants, and flashy accessories. The strangely alluring aroma of hot glue guns and rhinestones permeates the air. And amid it all, floating untouched through the chaos, is Maggie Barry, the head costume designer for HBO Max’s ballroom dance competition show Legendary.
As Barry gives me a mini-tour of all the fabulous, nearly TV-ready looks, she recalls first learning about the ballroom scene decades ago in New York City.
“[Legendary] still has a very street element to it,” she told me. “Everybody here is aware of how to keep it true to its existing roots.”
That feeling is everywhere on my March visit to the show’s set ahead of its third season, which begins airing May 19. Yes, this is a high-budget spectacle made for a major entertainment conglomerate. Yes, there is still a grand prize of $100,000 on the line for the winning voguing house. But Legendary remains committed to bringing vogue to a broader audience without compromising on authenticity.
That means finding a careful balance between casting high-profile celebrity stars like Keke Palmer, who replaces Megan Thee Stallion as a judge for season three, and talents who have deep roots in the underground subculture. Both host Dashaun Wesley and judge Leoimy Maldonado, who has been called the “Wonder Woman of Vogue,” were immersed in New York City’s ballroom scene during their adolescence and have worked for years to expand the reach of their art form.
“Ballroom is a passion,” says Maldonado, wearing a bedazzled denim dress, at a presser held on set. “It comes from struggle. It comes from love. It comes from hate. It comes from everything, honestly.”
Palmer, the Emmy-award winning actress exudes a bubbly charisma on the day of my visit, wearing a vibrant rainbow tutu skirt that matches her mood. Though she doesn’t come from the ballroom scene, Palmer has long been a fan.
“I’ve been an admirer for years,” she says. “So, when I got an opportunity to be a judge on the show I had to make sure that I am on point and make sure I show my respect.”
Returning this season is Jameela Jamil, who ahead of the Legendary premiere in 2020 experienced some social media backlash due to a miscommunication over the nature of her involvement. The entertainment publication Deadline initially reported that she would be the host of the program, before clarifying that the Good Place actress would head the judges’ panel with Wesley as MC. Two successful seasons later, Jamil has never been prouder of the show’s commitment to authenticity.
“It’s on and off camera that we have people in the ballroom community working on the show,” she says, sporting a black corset dress complimented by bold red lipstick and rhinestones encircling her eyes. “That’s why the hair is so amazing. It’s why the makeup and the fashion is so good. It’s because this is authentic to the bone.”
Famously portrayed on the drama series Pose and the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning, the ballroom scene originated with house mother Crystal LaBeija in the 1960s and rose to prominence among LGBTQ+ Black and Latino communities in late-1970s New York City. Grouped into houses that are often named after luxury fashion brands, performers compete against one another at underground balls donning lavish, DIY looks that emulate the chicness of a runway.
However, the significance of ballroom goes far beyond theatrical stunts performed in boisterous getups. For those facing neglect and abuse from biological relatives, houses are a kind of chosen family, offering a space where their queerness is celebrated rather than stigmatized.
Notoriously, in 1990, Madonna released her smash hit song “Vogue,” widely considered to be a textbook case study in cultural appropriation because it popularized voguing while overlooking its origins among queer people of color. Legendary aims to be a corrective to this type of appropriation, giving a major platform to seasoned experts of the form.
“I feel like people are learning about us and have questions that they don’t understand and it’s for us and the people who are part of it to really educate,” Wesley tells me, looking regal in a crop top, jewelry, and crown.
Legendary’s star-studded list of guest judges for season three features industry heavy hitters like Leslie Jones, Dominique Jackson, Issa Rae, and Bob the Drag Queen. But as exciting as the show’s growth is, and as much queer brilliance as there is on set, it’s hard for everyone involved to ignore a political climate rife with anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.
At the time of my visit — and indeed, still today — there is renewed uncertainty about the future of LGBTQ+ rights as conservative politicians and activists across the country mobilize against the queer community.
Texas governor Greg Abbott began clamping down on the parents of trans youth in February, and in early March, the Florida legislature passed the notorious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a piece of legislation that restricts discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in public schools. These are just two of dozens of legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ people, particularly trans youth, in 2022. The Legendary team believes that this political environment has imbued the show with a new sense of urgency.
“Legendary has the opportunity to counteract people’s thoughts and what they think about our community,” says Law Roach, a renowned fashion stylist and a judge on the show. “You have all these people in Texas and Florida doing this radical crazy shit and people who get to vote on these laws and maybe if they see Legendary, they can say ‘this is not what you’ve been telling me.’”
“This show has been able to show the world that we’re humans,” Maldonado agrees, noting that she has received lots of messages from parents who tell her that Legendary has helped them learn to love their queer children. “It actually sucks to say that it took a show for people to see us as humans. That’s crazy. But it’s powerful.”
“No one is apologizing for being here,” adds Jamil. “[The] kids strut down the runway and are proud of themselves.”
After speaking to the Legendary team, I have an opportunity to watch the filming of an episode that is packed with acrobatic dances, elaborate sets, dizzying lights, operatic music, and sparkly outfits. Even when things get tense and emotional as contestants square off in high-stakes battles to see who had the duckwalk or floor performance worthy of a $100,000 bounty, a camaraderie built on mutual admiration and respect remains intact. It is a reminder that no matter what rights politicians try to take away, they can never confiscate queer joy.
“The show represents that all that stuff is still going on, but guess what? We’re still here so you’re gonna have to get used to it,” says Palmer.
The third season of Legendary premieres on HBO Max May 19.
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