It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Boulet Brothers—Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet—have changed the horror and drag landscape with their ground-breaking series The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. Since its premiere XX years ago, it has spawned a massive fan base and even a spin-off series, The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans, which is now in its second season. This series brings back icons from previous seasons and pits the drag monsters against each other in increasingly terrifying and glamorous challenges.
We spoke with Drac and Swan after the premiere of the first episode to discuss directing this season of Titans, what to expect this season, and the exhausting process of planning all of their incredible looks.
Dread Central: How are you feeling? How are fan reactions? How are you all feeling now that the second season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans is out in the world?
Dracmorda Boulet: I feel great about it because I know this season is just incredible. We both feel like it’s the best season we’ve ever created, so we’ve been excited for people to see it and to see the reaction. From what I hear, the reaction is really good. I’m seeing a lot of people say it’s the best premiere of drag television they’ve seen in years, if not ever. So that makes us happy.
Swanthula Boulet: Yeah, absolutely.
DC: This is the first season of Titans that you’ve directed. I know you directed the seasons of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, but how does it feel now to be directing Titans?
SB: It’s sort of a natural extension. We’ve done several seasons now, so I think it’s not so different from, even, using air quotes, “a regular season” of the show, a core season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. But we learned a lot from the first iteration of Titans. We knew we could expect an entirely different mindset from all of the competitors as opposed to someone fresh and having never been on the show. The Titans come with a whole new set of psychological problems that we have to navigate.
DB: And I was excited to direct some of the cast members who weren’t filming us with us once we became the directors of the show. They didn’t have that experience, some of the people from earlier seasons. So it was nice to be able to interact with them on that level and just reassure them that we’re looking out for them and we want them to look good.
DC: You’ve always been so involved in the project, but to be that much more involved has got to be so incredible as creators to be able to really shape that vision. And I know we’ve talked about that before, but it’s cool, especially with these creators you’ve worked with in the past.
SB: Yeah, I think it becomes hard when you then have to turn around and judge them, but I feel because then you’re like, “Look, I really like you, but your pants suck tonight.” That’s just the truth. So that part gets a little hard, but I think they understand.
DC: Yeah. Well, and you kind of touched on this, and in episode one, you call this a twisted family reunion. I’m curious to know what it feels like for both of you as drag mothers, as creators, to see how much these performers on Titans have grown since being on the show the first time.
SB: Yeah. I think the show is the ultimate, ultimate stimulus for change. And sometimes it happens right on camera, which is so satisfying, but a lot of times it’ll happen weeks and months after they say goodbye to us or they’re exterminated on their season. You see them go back to their town, and the world doesn’t even know that they’re on the show yet. But the transformation starts almost immediately, whether it’s the makeup, the confidence level, the way that they perform, or the way they move on stage. Yeah, it is satisfying. And I think it’s in moments when we get episode one was such a cut, it was just such a thing to just stop, look around and damn, this is six generations of people that we work with coming together and it is big. It’s a lot.
DC: That’s so cool. I mean, that’s just got to feel amazing. I follow so many of these performers, these queens, these kings now, and it’s just seeing how they’ve grown since being on the show, and especially now in this horrible time we live in. It’s incredible to see y’all and so many people still embracing queer monstrosity and joy in the same breath.
DB: I think it is even more important now than ever. And oddly, I think our show is uniquely poised to fill that void because we’ve always been the underdog. The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula has always been the underdog of drag, and you see now it’s more engaging than other similar shows because it’s not predictable, not over-produced. These people are flawed. We’re going to show it, and we show everything, warts and all.
I think we also show queer life in a more realistic depiction. We don’t clean it up for Disney or ABC and pretend like queer people are perfect, we have the same problems that everybody else does. We deal with addictions or fighting or family things or whatever, and we show all that. And I think that’s super important. Acceptance means nothing if you have to whitewash it to get that acceptance. So true acceptance is when people accept you for exactly who you are, warts and all.
DC: Hell yeah, and I do love that. The show does feel so authentically queer, which, it sounds silly to say, but like you said, there’s so much authenticity to what you’re doing. As the directors, as the creators, what is it like balancing the drama with the artistry? I feel like that’s such a hard thing to do in reality TV with shows like this.
DB: Here’s the thing. We don’t direct the parts where there’s fighting and drama. We’re around for Exterminations. We’re around for the floor shows and anything that’s cinematic, but when it comes to “We’re crafting cowboy hats today and we’re going to fight it out”, we’re not there for that. We hear it, we see it. So that’s just not really our interest.
But as far as producers who oversee the whole show, I think it’s incredibly important to share that drama and to show that conflict because people are attracted to watching that. I think a lot of times these people will say what you’re thinking and that you would never have the gall to say to someone else, but they will. And I think it’s empowering to watch or, at least satisfying in a way, to see some people do that for real.
SB: I think it’s kind of like a dance, sort of right on the edge of a razor blade. You could fall one way or the other. But one thing that I never doubt is the artistic integrity of the people that we put on the show. I know the drag is going to be there. I know the creativity is going to be there, the shocks they know if they signed up for, they’ve gone through the process. We’ve picked the most interesting people that we were able to, given whatever season it is, and they’re going to be great artists.
Then it becomes a matter of guiding them to be brave enough to show their real, true selves and their real, true feelings about things, but voice them when the camera is rolling. And I think that can be really tricky, but when it works, that’s when the fireworks go off, and it’s great.
DC: Like you said, it is like dancing on a razor blade, so that’s cool to hear y’all’s perspective about honing that. So we have all these different challenges, but we also have the extermination challenges or the extermination challenges. What’s it like for you guys to ideate and figure out what to do next or how to top what you did before? I’m always just curious about that process.
DB: I would say that’s probably the most fun part when we’re sitting down just the two of us and plotting out what we want it to look like. Even if you look at the first episode of this season, it’s a very classic Halloween party, and we love that. We love classic Halloween. We love antique blow molds and horror movies from the 1970s and 1980s, and all that stuff. It’s just a little self-gratifying. I think we build a little world that we love and then put our characters in it and watch them play in there, and I think it’s fun.
SB: Well, I also feel so lucky because people, as far as the network and our executives that we work with, they don’t say no to us. We get away with everything. So Drac and I are kind of jumping up and down in the wings, like children excited to see our twisted little ideas come to reality and then put them on TV.
DC: It’s so cool. You’re like, “I can do the coolest, weirdest shit, and people are going to love it”. And that’s just, again, it’s so nice to have that outlet and be that creative. It’s so cool. But I also wanted to know, you guys obviously have such incredible coordinated looks. Has being part of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula shifted your own perception of your drag slash your own drag personas at all?
DB: I would say in some ways, because you have to strike a balance. You want to look striking because you’re the judge, but you don’t want to compete with the cast or outdo them because that’s not really a fair playing field. I’m not sitting there from week to week crafting our looks in between sets. So it’s a bit of an unfair advantage. And we also have to fulfill our brand. I can’t come out dressed like a werewolf with purple hair or something. It just, it’s not on brand for us. So it’s a little limiting,
SB: Even though she really wants to do the purple werewolf. [Laughs]
DB: Yeah, I mean, honestly, I want to evolve into the classic horror host that has one look forever, and I’m on my way. We’re on our way to that.
DC: Hell yeah. That’s cool. I love that.
DB: Right? I’m like, I’ve earned it. I get one supreme fit and that’s it.
DC: I think you’ve turned enough looks that you guys can just have one beautiful, glamorous look now.
SB: My God. Thank you. That’s going to make life so much easier, less heavy.
DB: I don’t know why we can’t get away with it. Elvira gets away with it. Vampira gets away with it, Svengoolie gets away with it. Why can’t we?
DC: I know. Well, I was going to ask, I mean, you are obviously turning looks every episode. How long does it take y’all to even plan those out and figure, because you have to plan them, but then also create and design, and how long does that take? That feels like it’s a whole other process on top of making the show happen.
DB: It is, and we do all of it. We don’t have someone who comes in and oversees our costuming, and it is literally ordering everything, drawing it out, designing it, and working with designers to get it made. And I have these huge boards in my office with jewelry and shoes, and each outfit, piecing it together. It’s a real pain in the ass, to be honest with you.
DC: I was going to say it has to be a huge pain in the ass. I know it looks incredible, but that’s a lot to piece together and produce. Oh god. Producing drag outfits is a job in and of itself.
SB: Oh, totally. And plus, if you think about how many episodes there are, we will appear in our horror host look at the beginning of every episode. Sometimes we’ll have two outfits per, and then there’s the finale, the reunion. Sometimes our judgment in the finale, that look will be different. So by the end of it, we’re looking at maybe 20 different looks each. That’s like 40 dresses. It’s a lot.
DB: 40 pairs of earrings. Yeah, it’s ridiculous. And then you can never wear it again. The fans never let us wear anything twice. I’m like, well, “I’m glad I spent a month on this look so I could just throw it in the trash.” [Laughs]
DC: You just need to make a museum of all of the looks.
DB: I know. It’s like we should sell them, but then I don’t know, people will be like, “Look, they’re going broke” or something. I’m like, I don’t know what to do with them, though.
DC: “No, I just don’t have any space left in my home. There’s too much stuff!”
DB: That’s the thing. We have these giant pieces of armor that we can never wear twice. They’re just hanging up in the garage. I’m like, “What am I supposed to do with this?”
SB: My God, we had someone like a carpenter or something come to the house, and they went up in the garage—I don’t think about these things anymore, I’m just desensitized living in my horror world of my own creation. But we went up there, all the super spiky, black and red armor is dangling from the ceiling, and I’m talking about 15, 20 pairs. It looks like Hellraiser. And the guy just blanched; he was so nervous.
DB: I didn’t even think about it. And I was like, oh my God, that guy’s probably like, please help someone help me.
DC: Where do you put all the costumes and the hair??
DB: Oh, we have a huge room of wigs in our house. It’s just like nothing but wigs. That’s all that’s in the room.
DC: The logistical nightmare of storage. I can’t even imagine.
DB: And you don’t want to throw stuff away because it’s expensive, but then you’re like, “Well, what am I doing with it?”
DC: That’s why it’s a museum!
SB: History has taught us that the second you throw it away, literally the next day you’re like, “Oh God, I can’t believe I threw that away. I need it.”
DC: I did want to talk about the music that you use for the Lip-Syncing Challenge. It’s from your EP Halloween House Party that came out last year.
I love the vibes of your music and the approach that y’all did for the songs. I just wanted to hear a little bit more about that side of making this album. You’re not new to making music, but I just love this album, and I’m glad that it’s in this season to bring more people to it.
SB: Thank you. We’ve played around with music quite a bit over the last few years in a lot of different styles. Some of it’s more electro or punk, but Drac had an epiphany at the early part of last year and was like, “I want us to swerve into this lane. It’s retro, it’s classic Halloween.” And I was like, “Oh my God, this is so perfect.” Why did it take us this long to come to this place? And I think the fans see it, too.
We are so connected to and love Halloween so much. We wanted to make the album that you break out at the end of September, early October, and play through the month. There are Christmas albums like that, but there are no Halloweens. So we wanted to make one.
DC: God, that’s so cool. I can’t wait to play it all Halloween. It really is the perfect Halloween album. Do you have anything planned for more music?
DB: I would like to make a follow-up Halloween album. Other songs we wanted to do that we didn’t get to. We also discussed creating a sort of ghastly Christmas or holiday version of it, blending horror and darkness with the Christmas theme in that same style. So, we might work on that too.
DC: Oh, that sounds so good. And then just before we wrap up, I would love to know, what are you excited for people to see this season? It’s a bigger season than ever. You’re so excited. What are you particularly stoked for fans to get to experience with season two of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans?
SB: How good we look? [Laughs] I can’t resist. I have to throw some shit in there like that.
DC: I love it.
DB: I guess for me, I’m equal parts excited and equal parts nervous because I know what happens, and it is very exciting. It’s very thrilling, but it is very divisive. I know it’s going to be talked about. It’s going to be a thing, multiple things, and I’m just sort of waiting for impact.
SB: Ooh, it’s traumatic. Sparks are going to fly. I think there’s going to be more drama and chatter online about this season, I think, than any other season. I hope the fans are ready because it is drama.
DB: One thing I actually want to say, which is, it’s a little departure. I don’t know how we could fit it in, but I really want to remind the fans to treat the cast and the show like a person.
DC: This is very important. This is a very important thing that not a lot of people remember about people on television. They are human beings, and the people who make it are humans.
DB: Not only that, but sometimes you do bad stuff, sometimes you do good stuff. There are areas of gray, and I think we should treat people that way, versus everything this person does is evil, let’s destroy them. Everything this person does is good; let’s love them. And I think the way social media influences us now with algorithms, it just constantly feeds you what you already think. And I think it pushes people to the extreme, and I hope we can kind of get away from that and break that. I mean, it’s literally destroying our country. So it is society in general. It’s just a very bad effect.
DC: I’m glad you said that because I think that is a huge issue with how people view, especially in shows like this, and how fans treat contestants. It’s a very black and white way, and social media becomes an echo chamber.
DB: Yeah. I mean, I’ll make an example for you. The first episode just aired last night, and Eva already has death threats today.
DC: Oh my God.
DB: It’s crazy.
DC: Well, I’m glad that you’re saying that because again, fans need to check themselves, I think.
SB: Definitely. I think so, too.
New episodes of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans premiere on Shudder every Tuesday.
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