RuPaul has been a figure in pop culture for decades, and he has been the host of RuPaul's Drag Race since 2009. That wasn't the start of RuPaul's infamous career, however. RuPaul's debut single was put out way back in 1993, and later in the nineties he hosted The RuPaul Show on VHI. That would mark RuPaul's first foray into talk shows, but it may not be the performer's last. New reports indicate that the Emmy-winning host is filming a talk show pilot for Telepictures.
So, what exactly does that mean? It means there was enough interest in a potential daytime talk series featuring RuPaul that Telepictures commissioned a pilot. If that pilot is well-liked, there will likely be a push to get the potential series into the syndicated TV lineup, which is how programs like The Ellen Show and Dr. Phil are pushed out. Per Variety, the format of this potential new program has already been figured out. It will be shot in front of a live audience. There will be no cooking or exercise segments, segments which frequently pop up on shows like Live with Kelly And Ryan or the recently cancelled The Chew.
Instead, if the pilot is well-received and a series pickup is given, fans of RuPaul will get to see the TV host talking to celebrities, talking about pop culture, playing games (something Jimmy Fallon and Ellen are known for) and also doing beauty segments. So, even without the exercise segments, there should be a variety of content to fill the timeslot.
Daytime TV right now is in a changing landscape. NBC has struggled to figure out what to do with Megyn Kelly's block of time on Today. Live with Kelly managed to pick up Ryan Seacrest after losing Michael Strahan, but that ended up being a whole bunch of drama. Other shows in daytime have outright failed. Even just looking at talk show hosts, the last few years have seen numerous daytime shows fail, including shows starring well-known names like Katie Couric, Harry Connick Jr. and Meredith Vieira. Most recently, long-running daytime series The Jerry Springer Show was also canceled.
Clearly, it's a weird time to be getting into TV programming, but as RuPaul's Drag Race should be able to continue filming alongside the daytime TV program should it get enough syndication pick-ups, this seems like a pretty good opportunity for RuPaul. He'll be able to have his cake and eat it too, if the daytime show does well. We'll have to wait and see whether or not the daytime program pans out, but Telepictures already produces Ellen Degeneres' daytime show and The Real, so the company does have some experience with getting daytime TV to work. We'll let you know as soon as RuPaul's potential series gets a title and maybe even a premiere date.
