“Leave it all on the floor!” is the directive of Legendary. The command speaks to the jaunty energy of HBO Max’s first reality competition show. Pose on FX helped introduce the underground ballroom community, voguing, and houses to mainstream viewers, and Legendary makes the concept into a reality show by bringing together eight houses to compete for a cash prize of $100,000. Competitors are enjoyably shady with each other; there seems to be a significant budget for outfits and accessories; and the judging panel is varyingly supportive, dismissive, thirsty, and impressed. Although there is some bumpiness in the show’s early stages (only the first two episodes were available for review), it’s also clear that Legendary has assembled all the components needed to be a RuPaul’s Drag Race-style hit.
As the reality TV landscape has transformed over the years, niche competition shows have muscled their way into a hegemony once dominated by the likes of The Bachelor/ette, Survivor, and The Amazing Race. Face Off on Syfy, Blown Away on Netflix, The Great British Baking Show on PBS—their respective focuses on makeup artists, glassblowers, and amateur British bakers introduced viewers to the intricate details and techniques of those various crafts. The same goes for Legendary, which opens its first episode with the question, “What is ballroom?”…