HBO Max gets into the reality competition game with Legendary, a show that brings the underground ballroom scene to the masses. The series pits houses against each other in different categories as they walk, pose, and vogue their way towards legendary status. But if you have no idea what that last sentence means, even if you don’t know a dip from a duckwalk, can you still get into Legendary?
Opening Shot: Voguers duckwalking down the runway while the narration and on-screen text asks the question, for the curious, “What is ballroom?” Enter: the montage, of queer performers in various states of eleganza, talking about, thinking about, or preparing to vogue. This is your crash course, the Vogueing 101 the newbies need before they embark on this masterclass in ball culture.
The Gist: Legendary is a reality competition show done only how HBO could do it: elevated. This isn’t RuPaul’s Drag Race or America’s Best Dance Crew, both of which have the very cable aesthetic and format that—no shade—we’ve all come to expect. Legendary still features contestants (8 groups of 5 performers called houses) battling it out in challenges (called “categories,” as in ball culture), for a top prize ($100,000 and the title of Legendary House). There’s an MC, modern ballroom icon Dashaun Wesley, and a lineup of judges: hip-hop hitmaker Megan Thee Stallion; the Wonder Woman of Vogue, Leiomy Maldonado; actress and seasoned TV presenter Jameela Jamil; and stylist and America’s Next Top Model judge Law Roach…