Co-founders Damian Pelliccione and Christopher J. Rodriguez chat about the streaming network’s early days, the success of King of Drag and what viewers can expect in the future…
By Stephan Petar
It’s been a decade since Toronto-born Damian Pelliccione (they/them) bought an Apple TV in 2015 and was disappointed they couldn’t find any LGBTQ+ apps. “That’s when the light bulb went off,” they say.
That moment sparked a desire to create Revry, the world’s first global queer streaming network. The company was co-founded by Pelliccione, alongside Christopher J. Rodriguez, Alia J. Daniels and LaShawn McGhee in 2015. From Day 1, its mission was clear: create a destination with a diverse array of queer content.
Revry officially debuted at San Francisco Pride in 2016. The team did everything to get the word out, including handing out flyers in Mission Dolores Park. Then, an interview with Mac World changed everything. “We instantly saw 5,000 downloads,” says Pelliccione, the company’s chief executive officer. “Press outlets from around the world in multiple languages wanted to write about us. It was overwhelming and exciting.”
Today, Revry has been downloaded in more than 140 countries and has 6.8 million monthly active viewers. It has grown into a team of 35 people and, in 2021, started creating original content. This year, it launched King of Drag, the world’s first drag king competition series and one of the network’s biggest shows.
We spoke to co-founders, and life partners, Rodriguez (he/him) and Pelliccione over Google Meet from Seattle, where they were attending the third annual Emerald City Kings Ball. In the conversation, they shared their vision for Revry, the response to King of Drag and what’s next.
Building a network for queer joy without barriers
“We try to always come from a place of queer joy with everything we do,” says Pelliccione. “We want to uplift and empower.” Not only does Revry’s content uplift, it’s truly diverse. It’s multicultural, highlights a variety of sexual and gender identities, and challenges age-old tropes.
The co-founders believe in using media to amplify meaningful queer stories that create “long-lasting acceptance” for LGBTQ+ people. “Media has the ability to change hearts and minds,” Pelliccione explains. “We’re able to introduce our culture and introduce different terminology.…”
A way to ensure people have access to these stories is by making the streaming network free for viewers. ”This was part of our thesis from the beginning, wanting to remove barriers to access,” says Rodriguez, the company’s chief creative officer.
Revry’s logo proudly states “Free Queer TV,” though there is an option for a paid subscription. “Ninety-five per cent of our users are watching in a free model,” Pelliccione says, noting that paid subscribers are usually superfans who don’t want ads. “We are democratizing the ability to see your stories on screen.”
“Seeing yourself represented can save lives, change lives and change people’s perspectives on how they view members of our community,” Rodriguez adds.
The streaming network has changed lives, as evident in the letters the company gets from around the world, from countries such as India or Saudi Arabia. “There have been moments in the history of this company where we’ve seen such a positive and impactful response for what we’re doing,” Pelliccione shares.
When asked who a majority of their audience is, the pair say they cannot assume. “We can’t quantify that they’re all LGBTQ+,” Pelliccione tells IN. “We see that as a positive that our audience is not necessarily all queer – that people are coming to watch because they’re drag fans, an ally to the community, or want to watch something good and exciting.”
Introducing the world to drag kings
The world is now very aware of what a drag queen is, thanks to 80 seasons of Drag Race and other drag queen-related content. But, while drag kings have been around for centuries, Revry quickly noticed a lack of understanding of these performers. “Believe it or not, one of the biggest challenges in making King of Drag was having to educate everyone on what a drag king is,” Pelliccione shares. “Drag kings have been part of our culture and part of drag artistry for a really long time.”
For Revry, drag kings have been cast in several of their programs over the years. Then, three years ago, it came up with the concept for a drag king competition series. “There is so much drag queen content out there.… At the end of the day, drag kings are not drag queens,” Rodriguez says. “King of Drag wasn’t just, ‘Hey, this is an untapped market’; it was genuinely what was next.”
Pelliccione recalls bringing King of Drag host Murray Hill to the network’s 2024 Newfronts, where Revry presents its upcoming programming slate to advertisers. Hill’s role was to educate the audience on what a drag king is.
Advertisers didn’t immediately hop onto the project, so Revry invested the small profits it had accumulated in 2024 to make it themselves. Then, in the weeks prior to shooting, e.l.f. Cosmetics came on board. “We made an even bigger show with that money, but it was not planned in that way,” Pelliccione admits. “We truly believe that if you make it, they will come.”
The series has become a phenomenon and a major flagship for the streaming network. “There were 212 watch parties between Taiwan and South Africa, all organic!” Pelliccione says with excitement, noting L.A. alone had four watch parties. “It’s such an amazing moment to witness the crowd’s reaction and to see how excited they were.”
In the first 90 days of its global release, the show garnered more than 30 million impressions globally. For those wondering if a second season is in the cards, Rodriguez and Pelliccione remain tight-lipped. But with numbers like that, it would be surprising if the show was not greenlit for Season 2.
What’s next for Revry in 2026?
With the rise of anti-2SLGBTQI+ rhetoric and attempts of erasure across the world, specifically towards trans people, the co-founders believe viewers need to continue seeing stories of queer joy – and that’s what they’ll continue to deliver. “When times get dark, people want to have a reprieve from that,” Rodriguez shares.
“There is enough depressing information in the news that we see on a daily basis to keep ourselves down,” Pelliccione adds. “We need things to lift ourselves up.”
The pair say there is a need to continue telling refreshing queer stories and present LGBTQ+ experiences in different ways. “Not just the coming-out stories and not the sad stories where all the lesbians die at the end, which is unfortunately a common trope,” Rodriguez says. He notes that audiences need interesting, entertaining and fresh content that continues to bring people together.
As for specific content coming soon to Revry? The pair say, get ready to laugh and vogue. “We’re going to be doing some fun stuff with comedy,” Rodriguez says. “We have a couple of projects that we’re super excited about, but they’re very early in development.”
Pelliccione then teases the return of the International Vogue League (IVL), which focuses on the ballroom community and sees legendary houses battle it out with fierce and iconic performances.
Whatever’s next for the streaming network, it seems they’ll continue to deliver joyous, diverse and unique narratives to viewers worldwide.
STEPHAN PETAR is a born and raised Torontonian, known for developing lifestyle, entertainment, travel, historical and 2SLGBTQI+ content. He enjoys wandering the streets of any destination he visits, where he’s guaranteed to discover something new or meet someone who will inspire his next story.
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