How The 'American Horror Story' Finale Brought Drag Queens To The Mainstream

Not today, Satan, not today! The #AmericanHorrorStory finale slayed the runway with a siiiickening Season 6 sendoff and more than a few unexpected twists. It appears that co-creator Ryan Murphy has been lurking on the subreddit of the show and listening to fans, because the last episode of Roanoke contained one hell of a crossover — welcome to American Horror Story: My Drag Race Nightmare.

An AHS/ #RuPaulsDragRace crossover would truly be an amazing thing to behold, and YouTuber Lee Dawson has even even made a mashup of Drag Race and Horror Story — presumably to replace the lack of titles from Roanoke.

Long have I wished to write about my love for RuPaul's Drag Race, and now that day has come in the most unlikely of all places. Thank you #FX and thank you Ryan Murphy.

Drag me to hell.

Fans of a certain search for America's next drag superstar will recognize that a glammed up Trixie Mattel from #RuPaulsDragRace appeared at the start of Roanoke's "Chapter 10" in a parody of PaleyFest. Everything turned into a show within a show, within a show as we reunited the dearly departed cast of both Roanoke shows for one last time.

The segment was hosted by Mattel and Edward Hansen, who regularly present their own recap of American Horror Story episodes on the World of Wonder YouTube, so including them was yet another Meta-Murphy nod to the world outside AHS. With her Lady Penelope hair and garish makeup, it was hard not to miss Mattel, who starred in the seventh season of Drag Race. Although she didn't walk away with the crown and $100,000, she has since gone on to be one of the show's most successful exports. While it may have only been a small part, it looks like fans of both shows were more than impressed with the cameo.

Gay For Slay

Over the course of Drag Race's eight seasons we have seen it rise in popularity from cult favorite to peripheral masterpiece, but it is sadly still to break into the world of Horror Story adoration. However, with a high proportion of Horror Story fans fitting in the LGBT demographic, the audiences are bound to overlap. Some huge stars of stage and screen have appeared as guest judges on RPDR (hosted by RuPaul Charles), including Debbie Reynolds, Vanessa Williams, and Horror Story alumna Chloë Sevigny.

The finale of Roanoke also saw the return of Leslie Jordan, who himself is a RuPaulophile, having appeared on the show several times. Jordan's appearance as the camp as Christmas Cricket Marlowe on Horror Story added some light homosexual relief with his jokes about "gay for pay," but sadly he himself has yet to drag up. Both Drag Race and Horror Story have reinvented Jordan's career and elevated him from his Will & Grace days.

It's a gay ol' time.

Trolls of the Horror Story Reddit are quick to point out that they often aren't sure whether it is the Horror Story or Drag Race subreddit that they are on due to the influx of various memes and GIFs from Drag Race.

Horror Story itself is one of the most LGBT-inclusive shows out there, with openly gay actors like Zachary Quinto, Sarah Paulson, Clea DuVall, Denis O'Hare, Matt Bomer and of course Ryan Murphy himself heading it up. Past seasons have included the same sex couple who owned the original Murder House, Lana Winters's lesbian relationship in the '50s, and Liz Taylor, the crossdressing salesman from Hotel. While Season 6 was much lighter on the LGBT tones, and Murphy's usual campy comedy, the Mattel cameo was a great pay off for fans of both shows and a rare moment of recognition for how inspirational some shows can be. Drag Race is usually a show about bullying, acceptance, and being who you want to be, where Horror Story always breaks the moulds of convention. Yes gaaaaaaawd, tune in next season for American Horror Story: Drag Race!