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World of Wonder (company)

October 28, 2023

World of Wonder Productions is an American production company[1] founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey.[2] Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productions with a key focus on LGBTQ topics. Together, Bailey and Barbato have produced programming through World of Wonder for HBO, Bravo, HGTV,[3] Showtime, the BBC,[4] Netflix,[5] MTV and VH1,[6][7] with credits including the Million Dollar Listing docuseries, RuPaul's Drag Race,[2] and the documentary films Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016)[8][9][10][11] and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000).[12][7][3]

World of Wonder
TypePrivate
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1991; 32 years ago (1991)
Founder
  • Fenton Bailey
  • Randy Barbato
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Services
Websiteworldofwonder.net

World of Wonder is perhaps best known for its contributions towards LGBTQ programming, for which they won an Outfest Annual Achievement Award in 2011.[13] Their most well known LGBTQ production is RuPaul's Drag Race; they had managed the career of drag queen and titular host RuPaul for many years before this, eventually producing the franchise alongside the majority of its live shows, podcasts, television specials, and conventions.[14]

History edit

 
Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato at the Miami International Film Festival presentation of Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016). Photo: David Heischrek

Bailey and Barbato co-founded World of Wonder after meeting in NYU's graduate film program in the mid 1980s,[15] where they initially formed a disco pop rock duo called the Fabulous Pop Tarts under their record label, World of Wonder (with the name coming from a British comic book Bailey used to get as a child).[16] Bailey and Barbato began performing regularly at Danceteria and other clubs in downtown New York City.[15][17] They produced two albums, Age of the Thing[18] which included their hit single New York City Beat, and Gagging on the Lovely Extravaganza, which included guest appearances by Lady Miss Kier, RuPaul, Martyn Phillips, and Filthy the Dog.[19]

World of Wonder initially acted as a management vehicle for the Fabulous Pop Tarts, organising projects in television production and licensing, documentary filmmaking, and the career expansion of their friends and fellow artists, particularly RuPaul, whom they met in Atlanta in the 1980s and have continued to work with.[20] They produced RuPaul's first album, "RuPaul is StarBooty", in 1986, and became his manager shortly after launching World of Wonder in 1991. They have since produced all of his television shows, his DragCon bi-coastal conventions and music productions, and have earned multiple Emmy Awards.[20]

World of Wonder shares its name with one of its early television documentaries, Died on the 4th of July: Nelson Sullivan's World of Wonder. Nelson Sullivan was a central figure in the downtown New York City art and club scene of the 1980s, obsessively videotaping everyone and everything he saw before dying of a heart attack on July 4, 1989. Sullivan left behind over 1200 hours of video footage taken over the last decade of his life.[21] From this archive, World of Wonder created a one-hour documentary portrait of Sullivan, which aired on UK's Channel 4, and was also included on the DVD release of Party Monster: The Shockumentary.[22] Based, in part, on this documentary, Sullivan continued to gain posthumous respect as a noted historian, with his videos gaining a younger and wider viewership following their upload to YouTube.[21] The early focus on Sullivan formed the basis of the company's ongoing interest in documentary filmmaking. In 2014, Bailey and Barbato were honored with the IDA Pioneer Award, "celebrating exceptional achievement, leadership, and vision in the nonfiction and documentary community".[23]

World of Wonder operates out of a historical art-deco building on Hollywood Boulevard. Designed by architects S. Tilden Norton and Fredrick H. Wallis and erected in 1930, the building served as the original home of the Directors Guild of America.[24][25] The World of Wonder Storefront Gallery now occupies the ground floor retail space, with production and management offices occupying the upper three stories. The basement, once home to the punk rock club The Masque, now houses the company's video archive and a soundstage.[26]

Television edit

World of Wonder primarily produces television content for networks in the US and UK, including BBC, Channel 4, FIVE, HBO, Cinemax, TLC, PBS, Showtime, A&E, MTV, VH1 and Bravo.[7] Productions over the past three decades include RuPaul's Drag Race, Manhattan Cable with Laurie Pike,[27][28] The Adam and Joe Show,[29]Tori & Dean: Inn Love, Good Work, Million Dollar Listing, docuseries, Heli-Loggers, Pam Anderson: Girl on the Loose, Big Freedia, and Island Hunters.[3] World of Wonder also produced the documentary series One Punk Under God, Sex Change Hospital, and TransGeneration, one of the first unscripted television shows to focus on the Trans community,[7] which won the 2006 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Documentary.[30]

Another franchise by WOW, Million Dollar Listing, debuted in LA in 2006 and has since expanded to include New York, San Francisco and Miami series.[31] The spin-off, Sell It Like Serhant, featuring one of Million Dollar Listing New York's top broker, Ryan Serhant launched in 2018.[7] In 2021, World of Wonder produced Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes also directed by Bailey and Barbato, and Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump for HBO.[32][33] The company have also received several Emmy nominations for their documentary programming.

RuPaul's Drag Race edit

The production company produced The RuPaul Show, hosted by RuPaul. RuPaul pitched a show with World of Wonder to Logo TV, and they immediately picked the show up for a season. The reality television was called: RuPaul's Drag Race, which aired in February 2009.[34] They also produced a spinoff series called, RuPaul's Drag U, which only lasted for three seasons. RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars was produced by World of Wonder, and was released through Logo TV. RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, a behind-the-scenes after show which is aired following each new episode of the original series.[20]

World of Wonder's work in television has been honored with over two dozen Emmy nominations and multiple wins for RuPaul's Drag Race, including awards for best overall in the reality category and best host.[35]

Documentary Films edit

World of Wonder has produced many feature-length documentaries on provocative subjects over the years, several of which have garnered industry awards and nominations. These include Inside Deep Throat, which premiered at Sundance;[36] the HBO biopic Wishful Drinking, starring Carrie Fisher and received two Emmy nominations;[37] and Becoming Chaz, which premiered at Sundance as the OWN network's first-ever documentary[38] and was nominated for three Emmys.[39] They also produced the feature films Party Monster starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green,[40] and Menendez: Blood Brothers starring Courtney Love, Nico Tortorella, Benito Martinez and Myko Olivier.[41][42]

Bailey and Barbato have produced a host of other original documentaries, including Party Monster: The Shockumentary, which won an editing Emmy;[22] The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Monica in Black and White[2], Gender Revolution with Katie Couric,[43][22] and The Last Beekeeper.[44] In 2017, Out of Iraq, their documentary chronicling the relationship between two enlisted men serving in Iraq won a daytime Emmy for Logo TV.[45] In March 2018, the documentary When the Beat Drops, directed by Jamal Sims, premiered at the Miami International Film Festival, where it won the Knight Documentary Achievement Award.[46][47] In 2018, World of Wonder produced and directed an HBO documentary examining the history of the Statue of Liberty, "Liberty: Mother of Exiles."[48] The company was also commissioned by YouTube to create Stonewall Outloud, a documentary based on the Stonewall gay rights protests of 1969, using the audio recordings of StoryCorps founder, Dave Isay.[49]

Content edit

Over the years, World of Wonder expanded its presence into new media types, including conventions, video-on-demand, social media, and blogging. The WOW Report, a blog providing daily coverage of the pop culture and nightlife sectors and was named Best Counter Culture Blog by LA Weekly in 2011.[50]

In 2015, World of Wonder added conventions to their portfolio, which started the launch of RuPaul's DragCon LA, located at the Los Angeles Convention Center.[51] The largest celebration of drag art and culture in the world with over 50,000 attendees, they launched RuPaul's DragCon NYC in the city's Javits Convention Center in 2017, where it was a complete sell-out.[52][53] In 2020, they have expanded to London, which they launched RuPaul's DragCon UK in 2020.[54][55] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RuPaul's DragCon LA went online as Digital DragCon.[56]

In 2018, World of Wonder hosts their own award show called, the WOWIE Awards, which celebrates "the very best in entertain(t)ment, LGBTQ + artistry, glamazonian realness, and thirst traps".[57] In January 2020, the production company began their first Las Vegas Strip residency called: RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, where former drag queen contestants from the Drag Race franchise performed at the Flamingo Las Vegas, directed by RuPaul and Jamal Sims.[58]

World of Wonder has a YouTube channel with the name, "WOWPresents", which features over 3,000 videos and has more than 1.7 million subscribers.[59]

WOW Presents Plus edit

Main article: WOW Presents Plus

In November 2017, World of Wonder launched the subscription streaming service WOW Presents Plus.[60] The service contains a multitude of original series and live events, along with new original material spanning the realm of pop culture and LGBTQ society.[61] Its exclusive original series include: Sketchy Queens, UNHhhh, and Painted with Raven. The service is also the main international distributor in some regions for RuPaul's Drag Race and its international incarnations of the franchises. It also includes many web series found on WOWPresents' YouTube channel, such as Detox's Life Rehab and La Vida de Valentina.

Awards edit

See also: List of awards and nominations received by RuPaul's Drag Race
  • The company blog, The WOW Report, was named "Best Counter Culture Blog" by LA Weekly in 2011.[50]
  • Million Dollar Listing New York was a 2015 Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.[62]
  • RuPaul's Drag Race won the 2014 TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming.[63]
  • Big Freedia (Fuse) won the 2014 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program.[64][65]
  • Barbato and Bailey were given the IDA Pioneer Award in December 2014.[66][67]
  • Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures was nominated for two awards at the 2016 Emmy awards, for "Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program" and "Outstanding Documentary or Nonfictional Special".[68]
  • World of Wonder won a Daytime Emmy Award in May 2017 for Out of Iraq,[69] a documentary on Logo TV.[70][71]
  • RuPaul's Drag Race has been nominated for twenty-nine Emmy Awards and has won thirteen, including Outstanding Host for a Reality Series in 2016 and the same award in 2017 along with Outstanding Makeup and Outstanding Editing.[35]
  • When the Beat Drops - Knight Documentary Achievement Award in 2017.[72]
  • UNHhhh has been nominated for two Streamy Awards for Show of the Year and Best Unscripted series in 2017 and 2019.[73]

References edit

  1. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (2019-07-16). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Producers Talk Staggering 14 Emmy Nominations, The Most In VH1 History". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
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  3. ^ a b c Ritchie, Kevin (February 13, 2014). "Realscreen's Trailblazers 2014: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato". Real Scren. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
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  5. ^ D'Addario, Daniel (2018-09-28). "TV Review: Netflix's 'Dancing Queen'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  6. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (2018-03-16). "How 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Sashayed Into a 10th Season". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
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  8. ^ Portwood, Jerry (April 5, 2016). "Why We'll Never Forget Robert Mapplethorpe". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  9. ^ Barnes, Brooks (January 22, 2016). "Interview: The Directors Behind a Mapplethorpe Documentary". New York Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  10. ^ Knight, Christopher (March 3, 2016). "How Robert Mapplethorpe went from America's pariah to America's sweetheart". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  11. ^ Gleibermann, Owen (January 23, 2016). "Sundance Review – Mapplethorpe: Look at the pictures". BBC. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
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  13. ^ "OUTFEST 2011 To Present 15th Annual Achievement Award". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
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  15. ^ a b Nichols, JamesMichael (July 27, 2014). "After Dark: Randy Barbato & Fenton Bailey, AKA The Fabulous Pop Tarts". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  16. ^ "The duo behind Drag Race: 'We saw RuPaul in a loincloth and went, "Oh my God!"'". TheGuardian.com. 21 September 2021.
  17. ^ Pike, L (2006). "Channel XYZ: drag queens, club kids, and amateur erotic filmmakers make WOW TV the online outlet for artists on the edge", Los Angeles Magazine, as , retrieved April 4, 2009.
  18. ^ "The Pop Tarts "Age of The Thing" record album played in its entirety". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
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  24. ^ Chris&Steve (2007-02-01), Los Angeles – Hollywood Bvd, retrieved 2019-10-01
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  27. ^ "From the WOW Vault: Laurie Pike's 1991 Manhattan Cable Report on Plastic Surgery". The WOW Report. October 5, 2017.
  28. ^ "Laurie Pike vs. Katie Puckrick". www.ilxor.com.
  29. ^ "What Have I Done". ADAM BUXTON.
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  32. ^ Petski, Denise (June 14, 2021). "HBO Greenlights 'Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes' Docuseries Based On Ronan Farrow's Interviews". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  33. ^ "HBO's SMALL TOWN NEWS: KPVM PAHRUMP, An Affectionate Portrait Of An Independent Local News Station, Debuts August 2". WarnerMedia. June 22, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  34. ^ . Food Network. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
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  38. ^ "SUNDANCE REVIEW: 'Becoming Chaz' Is a Powerful Study in Personal Courage". The Hollywood Reporter. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  39. ^ "Becoming Chaz". Television Academy. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
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  41. ^ Menendez: Blood Brothers, 11 June 2017, retrieved 2019-10-01
  42. ^ "Courtney Love Is the "Only Reason" Her Menendez: Blood Brothers Costar Did the Movie". 11 June 2017. Tierney Bricker, E News. June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017
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  44. ^ The Last Beekeeper, 14 March 2009, retrieved 2019-10-01
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  48. ^ "Liberty: Mother of Exiles - About | Liberty: Mother of Exiles | Documentaries". HBO. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  49. ^ Bloom, David. "World of Wonder Races Beyond RuPaul Into Retail, Live Events, SVOD And More". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  50. ^ a b Ohanesian, Liz (June 9, 2011). "Best Counterculture Blog: the WOW Report". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  51. ^ "RuPaul's DragCon Draws Record Attendance, New York Convention Announced". May 2017. Lawrence Yee, Variety. Retrieved July 4, 2017
  52. ^ Im, Jimmy (2019-05-30). "How 'RuPaul's Drag Race' helped mainstream drag culture — and spawned a brand bringing in millions". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  53. ^ "RuPaul Reigns Supreme at DragCon NYC" Vogue. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  54. ^ "RuPaul's DragCon UK Was Just Announced!". What A Drag. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  55. ^ Ramsden, Sam (22 December 2019). "These Are The Queens Attending The First Ever RuPaul's DragCon UK". Bustle. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  56. ^ Cooper, Matt (May 2, 2020). "Sashay down to RuPaul's Digital DragCon: It's your weekend quarantine must-watch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  57. ^ Piedra, Xavier (December 7, 2018). "Trixie Mattel & Billboard Pride Among World of Wonder's 2018 WOWIE Award Winners". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  58. ^ Niemetz, Spencer (2020-01-31). "Jamal Sims Talks Bringing the Magic of Drag to Las Vegas in RuPaul's Drag Race Live". The WOW Report. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  59. ^ "WOWPresents - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  60. ^ "‘Drag Race’ Producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato on WOW Presents Plus, Their New Streaming Service for Queer Programming" Decider. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  61. ^ Spangler, Todd (2017-11-06). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Producers Launch Subscription-Video Service With LGBTQ Content and More". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  62. ^ "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  63. ^ Sandberg, Bryn Elise (June 19, 2014). "Critics' Choice Television Awards 2014: Complete Winners List". Hollywood Insider.
  64. ^ "25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Winners Announced". Deadline.com. April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  65. ^ Townsend, Megan (May 3, 2014). "George Takei, "Orange is the New Black", "Concussion" among #GLAADAwards recipients in New York City". GLAAD. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  66. ^ "2014 IDA Documentary Awards". International Documentary Association. 15 May 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  67. ^ "IDA Awards: Netflix's Ted Sarandos to Receive Special Honor (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 15, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  68. ^ Lewis, Dave (July 14, 2016). "Complete list of 2016 Emmy Nominations". LA Times. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  69. ^ "Out of Iraq (2016) - IMDb". 2 June 2016 – via www.imdb.com.
  70. ^ "Amazon & Netflix Lead Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Winners". 29 April 2017. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood. April 29, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017
  71. ^ "Logo Documentary "Out Of Iraq" Wins Daytime Emmy". Dan Avery, Logo. May 1, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017
  72. ^ "Miami Film Festival 2018 Awards: A Sort of Family, La Familia, and Others" Miami New Times. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  73. ^ "7th Annual Nominees & Winners". Streamy Awards. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2020.

Further reading edit

  • Bailey, Fenton; Barbato, Randy (2013). The World According to Wonder. Hollywood: World of Wonder Productions. ISBN 978-0-9855834-0-8.
  • Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (February 2013). "Freakshow: World of Wonder is Hollywood's Nuttiest Production Company". Out.

External links edit

  • Official website

October 28, 2023
world, wonder, company, this, article, contains, wording, that, promotes, subject, subjective, manner, without, imparting, real, information, please, remove, replace, such, wording, instead, making, proclamations, about, subject, importance, facts, attribution. This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance October 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message World of Wonder Productions is an American production company 1 founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey 2 Based in Los Angeles California the company specializes in documentary television and film productions with a key focus on LGBTQ topics Together Bailey and Barbato have produced programming through World of Wonder for HBO Bravo HGTV 3 Showtime the BBC 4 Netflix 5 MTV and VH1 6 7 with credits including the Million Dollar Listing docuseries RuPaul s Drag Race 2 and the documentary films Mapplethorpe Look at the Pictures 2016 8 9 10 11 and The Eyes of Tammy Faye 2000 12 7 3 World of WonderTypePrivateIndustryEntertainmentFounded1991 32 years ago 1991 FounderFenton Bailey Randy BarbatoHeadquartersLos Angeles California United StatesServicesFilm production Film distribution Television production Television distributionWebsiteworldofwonder wbr netWorld of Wonder is perhaps best known for its contributions towards LGBTQ programming for which they won an Outfest Annual Achievement Award in 2011 13 Their most well known LGBTQ production is RuPaul s Drag Race they had managed the career of drag queen and titular host RuPaul for many years before this eventually producing the franchise alongside the majority of its live shows podcasts television specials and conventions 14 Contents 1 History 2 Television 2 1 RuPaul s Drag Race 3 Documentary Films 4 Content 5 WOW Presents Plus 6 Awards 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory edit nbsp Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato at the Miami International Film Festival presentation of Mapplethorpe Look at the Pictures 2016 Photo David HeischrekBailey and Barbato co founded World of Wonder after meeting in NYU s graduate film program in the mid 1980s 15 where they initially formed a disco pop rock duo called the Fabulous Pop Tarts under their record label World of Wonder with the name coming from a British comic book Bailey used to get as a child 16 Bailey and Barbato began performing regularly at Danceteria and other clubs in downtown New York City 15 17 They produced two albums Age of the Thing 18 which included their hit single New York City Beat and Gagging on the Lovely Extravaganza which included guest appearances by Lady Miss Kier RuPaul Martyn Phillips and Filthy the Dog 19 World of Wonder initially acted as a management vehicle for the Fabulous Pop Tarts organising projects in television production and licensing documentary filmmaking and the career expansion of their friends and fellow artists particularly RuPaul whom they met in Atlanta in the 1980s and have continued to work with 20 They produced RuPaul s first album RuPaul is StarBooty in 1986 and became his manager shortly after launching World of Wonder in 1991 They have since produced all of his television shows his DragCon bi coastal conventions and music productions and have earned multiple Emmy Awards 20 World of Wonder shares its name with one of its early television documentaries Died on the 4th of July Nelson Sullivan s World of Wonder Nelson Sullivan was a central figure in the downtown New York City art and club scene of the 1980s obsessively videotaping everyone and everything he saw before dying of a heart attack on July 4 1989 Sullivan left behind over 1200 hours of video footage taken over the last decade of his life 21 From this archive World of Wonder created a one hour documentary portrait of Sullivan which aired on UK s Channel 4 and was also included on the DVD release of Party Monster The Shockumentary 22 Based in part on this documentary Sullivan continued to gain posthumous respect as a noted historian with his videos gaining a younger and wider viewership following their upload to YouTube 21 The early focus on Sullivan formed the basis of the company s ongoing interest in documentary filmmaking In 2014 Bailey and Barbato were honored with the IDA Pioneer Award celebrating exceptional achievement leadership and vision in the nonfiction and documentary community 23 World of Wonder operates out of a historical art deco building on Hollywood Boulevard Designed by architects S Tilden Norton and Fredrick H Wallis and erected in 1930 the building served as the original home of the Directors Guild of America 24 25 The World of Wonder Storefront Gallery now occupies the ground floor retail space with production and management offices occupying the upper three stories The basement once home to the punk rock club The Masque now houses the company s video archive and a soundstage 26 Television editWorld of Wonder primarily produces television content for networks in the US and UK including BBC Channel 4 FIVE HBO Cinemax TLC PBS Showtime A amp E MTV VH1 and Bravo 7 Productions over the past three decades include RuPaul s Drag Race Manhattan Cable with Laurie Pike 27 28 The Adam and Joe Show 29 Tori amp Dean Inn Love Good Work Million Dollar Listing docuseries Heli Loggers Pam Anderson Girl on the Loose Big Freedia and Island Hunters 3 World of Wonder also produced the documentary series One Punk Under God Sex Change Hospital and TransGeneration one of the first unscripted television shows to focus on the Trans community 7 which won the 2006 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Documentary 30 Another franchise by WOW Million Dollar Listing debuted in LA in 2006 and has since expanded to include New York San Francisco and Miami series 31 The spin off Sell It Like Serhant featuring one of Million Dollar Listing New York s top broker Ryan Serhant launched in 2018 7 In 2021 World of Wonder produced Catch and Kill The Podcast Tapes also directed by Bailey and Barbato and Small Town News KPVM Pahrump for HBO 32 33 The company have also received several Emmy nominations for their documentary programming RuPaul s Drag Race edit The production company produced The RuPaul Show hosted by RuPaul RuPaul pitched a show with World of Wonder to Logo TV and they immediately picked the show up for a season The reality television was called RuPaul s Drag Race which aired in February 2009 34 They also produced a spinoff series called RuPaul s Drag U which only lasted for three seasons RuPaul s Drag Race All Stars was produced by World of Wonder and was released through Logo TV RuPaul s Drag Race Untucked a behind the scenes after show which is aired following each new episode of the original series 20 World of Wonder s work in television has been honored with over two dozen Emmy nominations and multiple wins for RuPaul s Drag Race including awards for best overall in the reality category and best host 35 Documentary Films editWorld of Wonder has produced many feature length documentaries on provocative subjects over the years several of which have garnered industry awards and nominations These include Inside Deep Throat which premiered at Sundance 36 the HBO biopic Wishful Drinking starring Carrie Fisher and received two Emmy nominations 37 and Becoming Chaz which premiered at Sundance as the OWN network s first ever documentary 38 and was nominated for three Emmys 39 They also produced the feature films Party Monster starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green 40 and Menendez Blood Brothers starring Courtney Love Nico Tortorella Benito Martinez and Myko Olivier 41 42 Bailey and Barbato have produced a host of other original documentaries including Party Monster The Shockumentary which won an editing Emmy 22 The Eyes of Tammy Faye Monica in Black and White 2 Gender Revolution with Katie Couric 43 22 and The Last Beekeeper 44 In 2017 Out of Iraq their documentary chronicling the relationship between two enlisted men serving in Iraq won a daytime Emmy for Logo TV 45 In March 2018 the documentary When the Beat Drops directed by Jamal Sims premiered at the Miami International Film Festival where it won the Knight Documentary Achievement Award 46 47 In 2018 World of Wonder produced and directed an HBO documentary examining the history of the Statue of Liberty Liberty Mother of Exiles 48 The company was also commissioned by YouTube to create Stonewall Outloud a documentary based on the Stonewall gay rights protests of 1969 using the audio recordings of StoryCorps founder Dave Isay 49 Content editOver the years World of Wonder expanded its presence into new media types including conventions video on demand social media and blogging The WOW Report a blog providing daily coverage of the pop culture and nightlife sectors and was named Best Counter Culture Blog by LA Weekly in 2011 50 In 2015 World of Wonder added conventions to their portfolio which started the launch of RuPaul s DragCon LA located at the Los Angeles Convention Center 51 The largest celebration of drag art and culture in the world with over 50 000 attendees they launched RuPaul s DragCon NYC in the city s Javits Convention Center in 2017 where it was a complete sell out 52 53 In 2020 they have expanded to London which they launched RuPaul s DragCon UK in 2020 54 55 Due to the COVID 19 pandemic RuPaul s DragCon LA went online as Digital DragCon 56 In 2018 World of Wonder hosts their own award show called the WOWIE Awards which celebrates the very best in entertain t ment LGBTQ artistry glamazonian realness and thirst traps 57 In January 2020 the production company began their first Las Vegas Strip residency called RuPaul s Drag Race Live where former drag queen contestants from the Drag Race franchise performed at the Flamingo Las Vegas directed by RuPaul and Jamal Sims 58 World of Wonder has a YouTube channel with the name WOWPresents which features over 3 000 videos and has more than 1 7 million subscribers 59 WOW Presents Plus editMain article WOW Presents Plus In November 2017 World of Wonder launched the subscription streaming service WOW Presents Plus 60 The service contains a multitude of original series and live events along with new original material spanning the realm of pop culture and LGBTQ society 61 Its exclusive original series include Sketchy Queens UNHhhh and Painted with Raven The service is also the main international distributor in some regions for RuPaul s Drag Race and its international incarnations of the franchises It also includes many web series found on WOWPresents YouTube channel such as Detox s Life Rehab and La Vida de Valentina Awards editSee also List of awards and nominations received by RuPaul s Drag Race The company blog The WOW Report was named Best Counter Culture Blog by LA Weekly in 2011 50 Million Dollar Listing New York was a 2015 Emmy Award nominee for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program 62 RuPaul s Drag Race won the 2014 TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming 63 Big Freedia Fuse won the 2014 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program 64 65 Barbato and Bailey were given the IDA Pioneer Award in December 2014 66 67 Mapplethorpe Look at the Pictures was nominated for two awards at the 2016 Emmy awards for Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfictional Special 68 World of Wonder won a Daytime Emmy Award in May 2017 for Out of Iraq 69 a documentary on Logo TV 70 71 RuPaul s Drag Race has been nominated for twenty nine Emmy Awards and has won thirteen including Outstanding Host for a Reality Series in 2016 and the same award in 2017 along with Outstanding Makeup and Outstanding Editing 35 When the Beat Drops Knight Documentary Achievement Award in 2017 72 UNHhhh has been nominated for two Streamy Awards for Show of the Year and Best Unscripted series in 2017 and 2019 73 References edit Ramos Dino Ray 2019 07 16 RuPaul s Drag Race Producers Talk Staggering 14 Emmy Nominations The Most In VH1 History Deadline Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b c Kilday Gregg October 2 2014 Robert Redford to Be Honored by International Documentary Association The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved January 31 2017 a b c Ritchie Kevin February 13 2014 Realscreen s Trailblazers 2014 Fenton Bailey Randy Barbato Real Scren Retrieved August 2 2016 Freakshow World of Wonder is Hollywood s Nuttiest Production Company www out com 2013 02 18 Retrieved 2019 10 01 D Addario Daniel 2018 09 28 TV Review Netflix s Dancing Queen Variety Retrieved 2019 10 01 Turchiano Danielle 2018 03 16 How RuPaul s Drag Race Sashayed Into a 10th Season Variety Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b c d e World of Wonder us IMDb Retrieved August 2 2016 Portwood Jerry April 5 2016 Why We ll Never Forget Robert Mapplethorpe Rolling Stone Retrieved August 2 2016 Barnes Brooks January 22 2016 Interview The Directors Behind a Mapplethorpe Documentary New York Times Retrieved August 2 2016 Knight Christopher March 3 2016 How Robert Mapplethorpe went from America s pariah to America s sweetheart Los Angeles Times Retrieved August 2 2016 Gleibermann Owen January 23 2016 Sundance Review Mapplethorpe Look at the pictures BBC Retrieved August 2 2016 The Eyes of Tammy Faye IMDb October 2000 Retrieved 2019 10 01 OUTFEST 2011 To Present 15th Annual Achievement Award BroadwayWorld com Retrieved 2019 10 01 How RuPaul Built a Mothertucking Empire Out of Nothing E Online November 17 2018 Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b Nichols JamesMichael July 27 2014 After Dark Randy Barbato amp Fenton Bailey AKA The Fabulous Pop Tarts Huffington Post Retrieved August 2 2016 The duo behind Drag Race We saw RuPaul in a loincloth and went Oh my God TheGuardian com 21 September 2021 Pike L 2006 Channel XYZ drag queens club kids and amateur erotic filmmakers make WOW TV the online outlet for artists on the edge Los Angeles Magazine as archived on gcnext com retrieved April 4 2009 The Pop Tarts Age of The Thing record album played in its entirety YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 15 Retrieved 2019 10 01 The Fabulous Pop Tarts Gagging On The Lovely Extravaganza Discogs in French Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b c Schneider Michael 2018 08 22 RuPaul s Drag Race Producers on Being the Voice of Resistance and Turning That Empowerment Into a Historic Emmy Win IndieWire Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b Colucci Emily 2014 07 07 Remembering New York s Downtown Documentarian Nelson Sullivan Vice Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b c Knegt Peter 2011 06 01 Outfest To Honor Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato IndieWire Retrieved 2019 10 01 Monica Lewinsky presents the IDA Pioneer Award to Fenton Bailey amp Randy Barbato YouTube Archived from the original on 2021 12 15 Retrieved 2019 10 01 Chris amp Steve 2007 02 01 Los Angeles Hollywood Bvd retrieved 2019 10 01 How RuPaul s DragCon became big business for the beauty industry Los Angeles Times 2019 05 16 Retrieved 2019 10 01 The Masque Atlas Obscura Retrieved 2019 10 01 From the WOW Vault Laurie Pike s 1991 Manhattan Cable Report on Plastic Surgery The WOW Report October 5 2017 Laurie Pike vs Katie Puckrick www ilxor com What Have I Done ADAM BUXTON GLAAD Media Awards 2006 IMDb Retrieved 2019 10 01 Bravo Moves Into Miami With New Million Dollar Listing Spinoff TheWrap 2013 10 23 Retrieved 2019 10 01 Petski Denise June 14 2021 HBO Greenlights Catch and Kill The Podcast Tapes Docuseries Based On Ronan Farrow s Interviews Deadline Hollywood Retrieved August 2 2021 HBO s SMALL TOWN NEWS KPVM PAHRUMP An Affectionate Portrait Of An Independent Local News Station Debuts August 2 WarnerMedia June 22 2021 Retrieved August 2 2021 Diva Party Paula s Party Food Network Archived from the original on December 7 2013 Retrieved December 3 2013 a b RuPaul s Drag Race Emmys Retrieved 2018 03 30 Deep Throat documentary bares all at Sundance Pittsburgh Post Gazette Retrieved 2019 10 01 Carrie Fisher In Wishful Drinking Television Academy Retrieved 2019 10 01 SUNDANCE REVIEW Becoming Chaz Is a Powerful Study in Personal Courage The Hollywood Reporter 24 January 2011 Retrieved 2019 10 01 Becoming Chaz Television Academy Retrieved 2019 10 01 Party Monster 17 October 2003 retrieved 2019 10 01 Menendez Blood Brothers 11 June 2017 retrieved 2019 10 01 Courtney Love Is the Only Reason Her Menendez Blood Brothers Costar Did the Movie 11 June 2017 Tierney Bricker E News June 11 2017 Retrieved June 27 2017 Gender Revolution A journey with Katie Couric National Geographic Retrieved July 4 2017 The Last Beekeeper 14 March 2009 retrieved 2019 10 01 Avery 5 1 2017 Dan Logo Documentary Out Of Iraq Wins Daytime Emmy NewNowNext www newnownext com Retrieved 2019 10 01 Argentina Takes Top Prizes US Docs Spain Venezuela Make Strong Showings At 35th MDC s Miami Film Festival Awards SW The Magazine Retrieved 2018 03 30 When the Beat Drops Miami Film Festival Retrieved 2018 03 30 Liberty Mother of Exiles About Liberty Mother of Exiles Documentaries HBO Retrieved 2019 10 01 Bloom David World of Wonder Races Beyond RuPaul Into Retail Live Events SVOD And More Forbes Retrieved 2019 10 01 a b Ohanesian Liz June 9 2011 Best Counterculture Blog the WOW Report LA Weekly Retrieved August 2 2016 RuPaul s DragCon Draws Record Attendance New York Convention Announced May 2017 Lawrence Yee Variety Retrieved July 4 2017 Im Jimmy 2019 05 30 How RuPaul s Drag Race helped mainstream drag culture and spawned a brand bringing in millions CNBC Retrieved 2019 10 01 RuPaul Reigns Supreme at DragCon NYC Vogue Retrieved 2018 03 30 RuPaul s DragCon UK Was Just Announced What A Drag 8 September 2020 Retrieved 24 August 2022 Ramsden Sam 22 December 2019 These Are The Queens Attending The First Ever RuPaul s DragCon UK Bustle Retrieved 24 August 2022 Cooper Matt May 2 2020 Sashay down to RuPaul s Digital DragCon It s your weekend quarantine must watch Los Angeles Times Retrieved May 3 2020 Piedra Xavier December 7 2018 Trixie Mattel amp Billboard Pride Among World of Wonder s 2018 WOWIE Award Winners Billboard Retrieved December 5 2020 Niemetz Spencer 2020 01 31 Jamal Sims Talks Bringing the Magic of Drag to Las Vegas in RuPaul s Drag Race Live The WOW Report Retrieved 2021 02 11 WOWPresents YouTube www youtube com Retrieved October 15 2021 Drag Race Producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato on WOW Presents Plus Their New Streaming Service for Queer Programming Decider Retrieved 2018 03 30 Spangler Todd 2017 11 06 RuPaul s Drag Race Producers Launch Subscription Video Service With LGBTQ Content and More Variety Retrieved 2019 10 01 Nominees Winners Television Academy Retrieved 2019 10 01 Sandberg Bryn Elise June 19 2014 Critics Choice Television Awards 2014 Complete Winners List Hollywood Insider 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Winners Announced Deadline com April 12 2014 Retrieved April 14 2014 Townsend Megan May 3 2014 George Takei Orange is the New Black Concussion among GLAADAwards recipients in New York City GLAAD Retrieved May 4 2014 2014 IDA Documentary Awards International Documentary Association 15 May 2014 Retrieved August 2 2016 IDA Awards Netflix s Ted Sarandos to Receive Special Honor Exclusive The Hollywood Reporter October 15 2015 Retrieved August 2 2016 Lewis Dave July 14 2016 Complete list of 2016 Emmy Nominations LA Times Retrieved August 2 2016 Out of Iraq 2016 IMDb 2 June 2016 via www imdb com Amazon amp Netflix Lead Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Winners 29 April 2017 Nellie Andreeva Deadline Hollywood April 29 2017 Retrieved June 27 2017 Logo Documentary Out Of Iraq Wins Daytime Emmy Dan Avery Logo May 1 2017 Retrieved June 27 2017 Miami Film Festival 2018 Awards A Sort of Family La Familia and Others Miami New Times Retrieved 2018 03 30 7th Annual Nominees amp Winners Streamy Awards 7 October 2018 Retrieved 10 September 2020 Further reading editBailey Fenton Barbato Randy 2013 The World According to Wonder Hollywood World of Wonder Productions ISBN 978 0 9855834 0 8 Vargas Cooper Natasha February 2013 Freakshow World of Wonder is Hollywood s Nuttiest Production Company Out External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title World of Wonder company amp oldid 1177332193, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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