# Drag Me to Dinner
**Drag Me to Dinner** is an American reality comedy television series in which two teams of drag queens compete each episode to stage the most entertaining themed dinner party, judged by [Neil Patrick Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-patrick-harris), drag performer [Bianca Del Rio](https://www.edgepedia.org/bianca-del-rio), and actress Haneefah Wood and hosted by Murray Hill. Hulu describes it as a "riotous, format-busting, fourth-wall-breaking, unapologetic sendup of traditional reality competition shows" and a "faux competition show that no one takes too seriously."[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) It premiered on Hulu on May 31, 2023.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Two teams of drag queens per episode throw themed dinner parties, judged on Food & Drink, Design & Decor, and Entertainment & Overall Vibe[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) |
| Premiere | May 31, 2023, on Hulu[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01) |
| Season | 1 season, 10 episodes, TV-MA, about 39 minutes per episode[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/drag-me-to-dinner) |
| Cast | Host Murray Hill; judges Neil Patrick Harris, Bianca Del Rio, Haneefah Wood; David Burtka as theme-revealing producer and advisor[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) • [4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews) |
| Prize | The Glorious Golden Grater, awarded to the winning team each episode[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) |
| Performers | More than 40 drag performers, many known from RuPaul's Drag Race and The Boulet Brothers' Dragula[4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews) |
| Reception | 60% Tomatometer and 52% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 6.0 on IMDb[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/drag-me-to-dinner) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The premiere opens on [Jinkx Monsoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jinkx-monsoon) and Bendelacreme, Drag Race alums, facing Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat, the foul-mouthed legends of the West Hollywood club scene. Both duos build their parties, banter through the prep, and present the results to the judges, who score the food and drink, the design and decor, and the entertainment and overall vibe.[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/) • [5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/) The winning team gets the Golden Grater and a silly bonus prize; the losers get Sue Chef.
**The most memorable invention in the show is not a dish but a punishment: Sue Chef.** When a team loses, [David Burtka](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-burtka) arrives at their party as Sue Chef, the world's most annoying drag alter ego, a destructive gremlin of a character who torments the defeated queens while they clean up.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/) It is the show's running gag and its signature: a judge's husband in a wig, sent in to kick over the party.
There is no season-long arc, no elimination ladder, and no finale showdown. Each of the ten episodes is a self-contained battle: two duos, one theme, one dinner party, one winner. The themes are the show's engine, and they get sillier as they go. An episode might ask for a Tropical Kiki, a Whoring '20s speakeasy, a Tupperware Party, a toga party, or a divorce party, and the queens have to deliver a table, a menu, cocktails, and a bit of performance that all hang together under that theme.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/) • [17](https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/)
The food swings between genuinely good and genuinely criminal. [Latrice Royale](https://www.edgepedia.org/latrice-royale) serves a lemon chicken that Decider calls literally show-stopping. At the other end sit hot dogs and olives suspended in jello, dishes that exist purely as punchlines.[17](https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/) The judging table gets the full spread, and the editing cheerfully cheats, with dishes appearing at the table that viewers never saw anyone make.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/)
The interstitial nonsense is where the show lives. Host Murray Hill, deadpan in a suit, hands out the episode's absurd prizes and props: a Cher-cuterie board, meats and cheeses arranged in the likeness of Cher; a bathtub of butter; a jar of eau de [Harry Styles](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-styles); 55 gallons of lube; and, for the truly fortunate, a high five from Bianca Del Rio.[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/) Later in the run, Alaska sums up the whole enterprise in one line: "I didn't come here to make friends. I came here to make dinner."
The last episode is one more theme, two more parties, one more Golden Grater. No champion is crowned across episodes. Neil Patrick Harris described the ethos as "a sloppy, hot mess of a show" that pretends the rules don't really exist.[4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews) The competition is a frame; the content is thirty-odd very funny drag performers riffing at full glam for forty minutes at a time.[18](https://web.archive.org/web/20240201161003/https:/www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv)
### Characters
- **Murray Hill** hosts, playing the beleaguered straight man in a world of chaos, handing out the lube and the Cher-cuterie boards with a showbiz veteran's shrug.[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/)
- **Neil Patrick Harris** is head judge, scoring the parties with a game-show polish he is happy to undercut.
- **Bianca Del Rio**, the insult-comic queen who won [RuPaul's Drag Race](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupauls-drag-race) season six, delivers the cutting remarks from the judging panel.[19](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/01/first-look-premiere-date-and-cast-queen-announcement-hulu-original-drag-me-to-dinner-22310/20230501hulu01/)
- **Haneefah Wood** rounds out the panel, keeping the tasting and scoring moving.[19](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/01/first-look-premiere-date-and-cast-queen-announcement-hulu-original-drag-me-to-dinner-22310/20230501hulu01/)
- **David Burtka** appears as the advisor and, on losing nights, as Sue Chef, his drag alter ego and the show's recurring villain.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/)
- The **queens** rotate through the season's ten episodes: Jinkx Monsoon and Bendelacreme, Sherry Vine and Jackie Beat, BeBe Zahara Benet, Kim Chi, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Ginger Minj, Latrice Royale, Alaska, and more than thirty performers in all.[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/) • [5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/) • [17](https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/)
### Interpretations and controversies
The show arrived in the middle of a wave of anti-drag legislation and drag bans across the United States, and several critics read it as a deliberate answer. [The Daily Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-daily-beast) called it a glittering example of Pride's permission to be absolutely ridiculous, and Kevin Fallon named it his perfect idea of what [Pride Month](https://www.edgepedia.org/pride-month) programming should be. Decider went further, framing the whole deeply silly series as an act of protest: joy as a rebuttal to the lawmakers trying to shut drag out of public life.[16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/) • [17](https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/) David Burtka made the same case from inside the show, saying that amid the anti-drag rhetoric he was glad audiences could see these queens in a light they don't normally get to be seen in.[4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews)
### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations
None. The series is an original format with no source material and no announced follow-up.
## Format
Each episode follows the same structure. Two pairs of drag queens prepare food, drinks, decor, and entertainment for a dinner party built around a theme, which David Burtka, a trained chef and the show's co-creator, reveals as its resident expert.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) • [5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/) Murray Hill, a veteran New York drag king, hosts.[6](https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story/325603) At the end, one team wins the episode's prize, the Glorious Golden Grater, a pun on the idea that one team may be GREAT but the other is GRATER.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/)
The ten first-season themes doubled as episode titles: "Tropical Kiki," "Whoring 20s," "Baby Shower," "Toga Party," "Divorce Party," "Tupperware Party," "Beach Blanket Bing-Ho," "Slumber Party," "Tailgate Weiner Roast," and "Big Bottom Big Top."[7](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/06/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review/) The first episode, "Tropical Kiki," paired [BenDeLaCreme](https://www.edgepedia.org/bendelacreme) and Jinkx Monsoon against Jackie Beat and Sherry Vine.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/26/drag-me-to-dinner-review-so-stressful-and-chaotic-it-makes-the-bear-look-like-a-picnic) Other contestants included Symone and Gigi Goode of the House of Avalon, drag mother and daughter [Alexis Mateo](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexis-mateo) and [Vanessa Vanjie Mateo](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-vanjie-mateo), and All Stars teammates Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon.[9](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review) Peaches Christ and Heklina competed against Biqtch Puddin' and Meatball in another episode.[10](https://48hills.org/2023/06/peaches-christ-and-heklina-serve-up-scrumptious-fun-in-drag-me-to-dinner/)
The show borrows deliberately from several reality genres at once. The Guardian's reviewer counted elements of Come Dine With Me, Interior Design Masters, MasterChef, the performing challenges of RuPaul's Drag Race, and a brief quiz segment.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/26/drag-me-to-dinner-review-so-stressful-and-chaotic-it-makes-the-bear-look-like-a-picnic) The winning team also receives a cooking consultation with Burtka.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/)
## How real is the competition?
The cooking is largely theatrical. Murray Hill told EDGE Media Network that "out of the 40 queens on the show only one can actually cook."[6](https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story/325603) The reality-blurred review observed that when the dinner parties are revealed, the queens' work has been replaced by decor and food clearly designed or prepared by professionals.[7](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/06/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review/) [The Boston Globe](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boston-globe) described cooking that "bends the time-space continuum": queens shove a crown roast with a blender blade still inside into the oven, and minutes later guests eat a browned roast; with 10 minutes of competition time left, one team is only starting its meatloaf.[5](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/)
Hill defended the format as a chance to show the queens' range: "They get to talk, they get to improv, they get to shtick. We get to see a three-dimensional portrayal of drag queens."[4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews) Bianca Del Rio said she judged the dinner parties bluntly, telling contestants when she thought a party was poor.[4](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews)
## Origin and production
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, married in real life, created the show and serve as executive producers. Burtka told Attitude that a producer at Matador Entertainment brought them the title with no real concept; an early idea of drag queens actually competing in cooking was developed into a parody of the familiar cooking-show formula.[11](https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/david-burtka-on-drag-me-to-dinner-and-neil-patrick-harris-doctor-who-role-436101/) Harris told The Advocate that the pair had conceived the show years earlier as the project they wanted to do together.[12](https://www.advocate.com/people/neil-patrick-harris-burtka-drag)
The executive producer roster spans several companies: Todd Lubin for Boat Rocker's Matador Content and Jay Peterson for Boat Rocker; Chad Mumm and Mark W. Olsen for Vox Media Studios; and [David Chang](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-chang), Dave O'Connor, Chris Ying, and Christopher C. Chen for Majordomo Media. James [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland) is the showrunner and executive producer.[1](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/) Hulu scheduled the premiere for May 31, 2023, which it called "Pride Eve," as part of its "Pride Never Stops" programming hub.[13](https://press.hulu.com/storage/uploads/CC/8D/CC8D6CD3-4F12-8571-199A-CF42D4EC223A/press-release-34-1403805.pdf)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. Rotten Tomatoes recorded a 60% Tomatometer from 5 reviews and a 52% Popcornmeter score from more than 50 audience ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01) Andy Dehnart of reality blurred gave it a C-, writing that the 44 minutes "drag and drag" and that the heavily scripted show was also too chaotic to showcase the queens' personalities.[7](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/06/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review/) The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson gave it 2 of 5 stars, saying she could not stomach more than a couple of episodes.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/26/drag-me-to-dinner-review-so-stressful-and-chaotic-it-makes-the-bear-look-like-a-picnic) Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast took a warmer view, calling the series "a glittering example" of the permission to be ridiculous and celebrate LGBT+ culture.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01) Time placed the premiere within a 2023 wave of LGBTQ-centered reality series alongside Queen of the Universe, describing the show as "joyfully anarchic."[14](https://time.com/6283950/queer-eye-drag-race-ultimatum-2023/)
The show ran for one season and is listed as canceled.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/drag-me-to-dinner) • [15](https://www.ismyshowcancelled.com/show/2023/drag-me-to-dinner/) It remains available on Hulu in the United States.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/drag-me-to-dinner)
## References
1. [Drag Me To Dinner, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/shows/drag-me-to-dinner/)
2. [Drag Me to Dinner: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/drag_me_to_dinner/s01)
3. [Drag Me to Dinner, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/drag-me-to-dinner)
4. [Drag Me to Dinner Stars Had a Kiki Judging Queens & Making the Show, Out.com](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/drag-me-to-dinner-interviews)
5. [Drag Me to Dinner puts the kitsch in kitchen, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/13/lifestyle/drag-me-dinner-puts-kitsch-kitchen/)
6. [Drag King Murray Hill is Having a Moment, EDGE United States](https://www.edgemedianetwork.com/story/325603)
7. [Drag Me To Dinner: Hulu's drag show is too often a drag, reality blurred](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2023/06/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review/)
8. [Drag Me to Dinner review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jul/26/drag-me-to-dinner-review-so-stressful-and-chaotic-it-makes-the-bear-look-like-a-picnic)
9. [Drag Me to Dinner Is the Glitzy Gay Fever Dream You Need to Watch Right Now, Bon Appétit](https://www.bonappetit.com/story/drag-me-to-dinner-hulu-review)
10. [Peaches Christ and Heklina dish up scrumptious TV in Drag Me to Dinner, 48 hills](https://48hills.org/2023/06/peaches-christ-and-heklina-serve-up-scrumptious-fun-in-drag-me-to-dinner/)
11. [David Burtka on Drag Me to Dinner and Doctor Who, Attitude](https://www.attitude.co.uk/culture/david-burtka-on-drag-me-to-dinner-and-neil-patrick-harris-doctor-who-role-436101/)
12. [Neil Patrick Harris, David Burtka on Their Special Relationship With Drag Queens, The Advocate](https://www.advocate.com/people/neil-patrick-harris-burtka-drag)
13. [Hulu Expands Live Offerings in Fifth Year of Pride Never Stops Campaign, Hulu Press](https://press.hulu.com/storage/uploads/CC/8D/CC8D6CD3-4F12-8571-199A-CF42D4EC223A/press-release-34-1403805.pdf)
14. [Reality TV Is Struggling to Meet a Painful Moment for LGBTQ Rights, Time](https://time.com/6283950/queer-eye-drag-race-ultimatum-2023/)
15. [Drag Me to Dinner: Cancelled or Renewed, IsMyShowCancelled.com](https://www.ismyshowcancelled.com/show/2023/drag-me-to-dinner/)
16. [https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv/)
17. [https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/](https://decider.com/2023/06/01/drag-me-to-dinner-an-act-of-protest-anti-lgbtq-laws/)
18. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240201161003/https:/www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv](https://web.archive.org/web/20240201161003/https:/www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/drag-me-to-dinner-review-perfect-ridiculous-pride-month-tv)
19. [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/01/first-look-premiere-date-and-cast-queen-announcement-hulu-original-drag-me-to-dinner-22310/20230501hulu01/](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2023/05/01/first-look-premiere-date-and-cast-queen-announcement-hulu-original-drag-me-to-dinner-22310/20230501hulu01/)
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*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license