“One day we can be doing a reality show, the next day we're shooting something that's like a sitcom, the next day we're shooting a music video,” Kerber adds. “It runs the gamut and it keeps everyone on their toes.”
And while most reality show crews are tasked with learning new faces and names every season, that challenge is doubled on Drag Race.
“On the first day of the shoot, I will say to the queens, ‘I apologize. It's gonna take me some time to learn your names, because even though there's 12 of you here right now, I really have to learn 24 people,’" White says. “Because drag queen looks are often so different than their everyday looks.”
Perhaps the most emotionally difficult task, however, is keeping some professional distance from the queens.
“Back in season 2, I was the person standing behind the light for the queens if they were being gracefully escorted off the show. So I've been in the room with all the girls at some point while they're having a really tough time,” Bloom explains. “It can be difficult to remain totally detached because you're with the girls all the time and you see what they're going through. I'm a protective person by nature and of course I wanna reach out and give a hug, but you have to remain detached and be professional.”
“We honestly begin to care about everybody who comes through there, because we're spending 10 hours a day with them, even if we're not directly interacting,” White says. “One of the hardest parts of the show is just maintaining a professional distance from people that are going through such an emotional journey, and giving so much and exposing so much of themselves. But at the same time, maintaining that distance [makes sure] they don't feel like someone's getting singled out or that someone is getting preferential treatment. I think that equality in treatment across the board creates a sense of trust and comfort.”
Even with that sense of separation, the crew is bound to get caught up doing what keeps fans riveted with each passing challenge -- guessing who’s a winner (baby) and who’s going to sashay away.
“I think half of the fun is being on set and seeing what the girls are doing. I always make a game of it for myself, like, who would I pick?” says Bloom. “But you could never, ever take my guess to the bookie because I'm pretty much wrong all the time. [Season 10 winner] Aquaria was the first person I thought would win that actually won.”