Queer Producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato Grew Streamer WOW Presents Plus by Gut Checks Not Algorithms

Office With a View: The prolific indie producers of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” create a “fundamentally different space” on their streamer

Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato of World of Wonder
World of Wonder cofounders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey (Credit: Mathu Andersen/Christopher Smith for TheWrap)

Over its 16-season run, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has become a cultural phenomenon and a ratings winner for MTV. Executive producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and their production company World of Wonder have won 10 combined Primetime Emmys for “Drag Race” and its offshoot “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked!,” and they’re up again for Emmys on Monday.

But don’t let their mainstream success fool you. The producers insist they’re still governed by the same queer, by-the-boostraps instincts that led them to RuPaul Charles’ drag queen competition in the first place.

That’s one of the benefits of still being a “fiercely independent” production company, Barbato told TheWrap.

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