# Legendary (TV series)

Legendary is an American voguing reality competition television series, exploring the world of ball culture. It premiered on HBO Max on May 27, 2020. The series follows LGBTQ house members—predominantly from eight to ten houses—as they navigate through nine balls (dancing/voguing/walking events), with US$100,000 prize for the winning house. As such, the series was praised by GLAAD for featuring queer and trans artists "from the New York ballroom scene."
In July 2020, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season. It premiered on May 6, 2021.
In June 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a third season. It premiered on May 19, 2022.
In December 2022, HBO Max canceled the series after three seasons and removed it. On January 31, 2023, it was announced that the series will be released on The Roku Channel and Tubi.

## Cast

Each episode features a fashion and performance coaches responsible for polishing the houses' looks and moves on the dancefloor.
* Dashaun Wesley as Master of Ceremonies
* MikeQ as DJ
* Johnny Wujek as Fashion Coach (seasons 1–2)
* Tanisha Scott as Performance Coach
** Jamari Balmain as Assistant Choreographer (season 2)
Judges on Legendary :
| Judge | Season | Season | Season |
| Judge | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jameela Jamil | Main | Main | Main |
| Law Roach | Main | Main | Main |
| Leiomy Maldonado | Main | Main | Main |
| Megan Thee Stallion | Main | Main | |
| Keke Palmer | | | Main |

## Format

The contestants compete in groups named Houses, from which members perform individually or in groups in pre-assigned categories in front of a panel of judges. For seasons 1 and 2, each House is allowed to include five members, including a leader called the Mother or Father of the House. The panel is composed by four permanent judges and a fifth guest judge that changes on each episode.
Most categories involve a qualifying round, in which the member or group representing each house first perform for the judges, who according to ballroom terminology show their approval by giving them a "ten", or their disapproval by giving them a "chop". To advance, a contestant must receive no chops from any judges. In the second round, contestants face each other in knockout battles until only one of them remains, who is named the winner of the category. The winner of each battle is decided by a majority of the votes from the judges.
As an exception, when a category involves all the members of a House, instead of a qualifying round and a battle round each house performs in front of the judges and receives critiques, and then a winner is determined by consensus from the judges.
After all categories are judged, the judges deliberate to decide which House had the best performance overall and name them the Superior House of the Week, and which two Houses had the worst performance. The Mother or Father of each House in the bottom names a member of the House to participate in a vogue redemption battle to be decided by the judges. The House of the winner of the redemption battle is allowed to remain in the competition, while the House of the loser of the battle is eliminated.
In the second season, a format change was introduced, with judges scoring each performance and the sum of the scores from the judges being used to determine the standing of the Houses.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally aired | Originally aired |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | May 27, 2020 (2020-05-27) | July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) | June 10, 2021 (2021-06-10) |
| 3 | 10 | 10 | May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) | June 9, 2022 (2022-06-09) |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Real TV Awards | Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2021 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Reality Program | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Guild of Music Supervisors Awards | Best Music Supervision – Reality Television | Matthew Hearon-Smith | Nominated | |
| 2021 | MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted | Best Competition Series | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2021 | MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted | Best Fight | Law Roach vs. Dominique Jackson | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program | Jerilynn Stephens, Kimi Messina, Dean Banowetz, Kathleen Leonard, Suzette Boozer, Dwayne Ross, Tamara Tripp, and Johnny Lomeli (for "Pop Tart") | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (Non-Prosthetic) | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Silvia Leczel, Jennifer Fregozo, Glen Alen Gutierrez, Sean Conklin, Valente Frazier, and Marcel Banks (for "Pop Tart") | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Realscreen Awards | Competition – Talent & Studio-Based Competition | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Television Critics Association Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Webby Awards | Top Television & Film (Series & Campaigns): Social | HBO Max for HBO Max's TikTok #LegendaryChallenge | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Webby Awards | Top Diversity & Inclusion (Series & Campaigns): Social | HBO Max's Legendary Voices | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Streaming Reality Show or Competition Series | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Makeup in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Nichole Green, Tyson Fountaine, Glen Alen, and Valente Frazier | Nominated | [21] [22] |
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Silvia Leczel, and Jennifer Fregozo | Nominated | [21] [22] |
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Special Make-Up Effects in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Nichole Green, Tyson Fountaine, Sean Conklin, and Marcel Banks | Nominated | [21] [22] |
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Hair Styling in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Jerilynn Stephens, Kimi Messina, Kathleen Leonard, and Dean Banowetz | Nominated | [21] [22] |
| 2022 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Period Hair Styling and/or Character Hair Styling in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Jerilynn Stephens, Kimi Messina, Kathleen Leonard, and Dean Banowetz | Won | [21] [22] |
| 2022 | Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Contemporary Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program (Non-Prosthetic) | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Sean Conklin, Marcel Banks, Jennifer Fregozo, Silvia Leczel, and Glen Alen (for "Whorror House") | Won | |
| 2022 | Television Critics Association Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming | Legendary | Won | |
| 2022 | Dorian Awards | Best Reality Show | Legendary | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Makeup in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Silvia Leczel, Sean Conklin | Won | |
| 2023 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Period and/or Character Make-Up in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Jennifer Fregozo, Glen Alen | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Special Make-Up Effects in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Tonia Green, Tyson Fountaine, Marcel Banks, Sean Conklin | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Contemporary Hair Styling in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Jerilynn Stephens, Kimi Messina, Dean Francis Banowetz, Lalisa Turner | Won | |
| 2023 | Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards | Best Period Hair Styling and/or Character Hair Styling in a Television Special, One-Hour or More Live Program Series or Movie for Television | Jerilynn Stephens, Kimi Messina, Johnny Lomeli, Suzette Boozer | Nominated | |
| 2023 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Reality Competition Program | Legendary | Nominated | |