The We’re Here Season 4 trailer already has us crying

Season 4 of We’re Here is (almost) here. The moving reality show featuring drag queens touring small town America has just dropped its first trailer — where a new cast faces old prejudices.

Season 4 will star RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Jaida Essence, Latrice Royale, Priyanka and Sasha Velour. Traveling around Tennessee and Oklahoma, the four queens are on a mission to spread the joy of drag in the places where it’s needed most — two states with anti-drag laws on the books.

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The trailer wastes no time laying out the stakes: these drag queens are headed to parts of the country where drag (and the wider LGBTQ+ community) have become convenient props for vilification.

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“Right now in the world, people who are different are being extremely targeted,” Jaida says in the trailer’s opening lines.

“Our survival is at risk. We have to stand up,” Latrice chimes in.

“Because of the drag bans, we have a bigger community to empower,” Priyanka adds.

“Bringing in more voices is essential,” says Sasha. “The We’re Here family just keeps growing.”

The trailer proceeds to show just exactly why these voices are essential. In one clip, a group of locals confront the queens and refer to the LGBTQ+ community as a “religious cult.” In another, a local gay politician describes having a bullet shot through his house when he was running for office. And at another pivotal moment, the queens are threatened with arrest before one of their shows.

But the series is clearly balancing this hate with moments of triumph and hope. The trailer shows the queens helping LGBTQ+ locals find community, bringing family members together, and (we’d expect no less) putting on sickening shows.

The previous seasons of We’re Here were hosted by Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela and Eureka O’Hara. It’s already clear they couldn’t have passed the torch on to a more dedicated group.

“Four seasons later, it’s actually harder to be out and proud,” Priyanka says. “We’re not hiding. We’re not going anywhere.”

Season 4 of We’re Here premieres on HBO and Max on April 26.