International reality television drag competition format
Drag Race
The main logo styling; each franchise and iteration uses this alongside the local name for said franchise e.g. RuPaul's Drag Race in the UK and Canada's Drag Race in Canada etc.
Drag Race is a
drag queenreality competition television franchise, created by American drag entertainer
RuPaul with production company
World of Wonder. The franchise originated with RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in the United States in 2009. The objective of that series is to crown "America's Next Drag Superstar" who possesses the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent".[1] The original series is often credited for bringing drag into the "mainstream".[2] The popularity of the original series led to the creation of a media franchise including spin-offs and international adaptations.
Fenton Bailey (left), Randy Barbato (middle) and
RuPaul(right) are the three co-creators of the Drag Race franchise.
In mid-2008, it was revealed that
RuPaul had begun producing a new
reality televisiongame show.[4] The show was pitched to
Logo and they immediately picked the show up for a season, which aired in February 2009, where it was devised as a replacement for Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World (2007–2009).[citation needed] In preparation for the new series, RuPaul made guest appearances on several shows in 2008, including as a guest judge on
season five, episode six of Project Runway and as a guest chef on Paula's Party.[5][6] RuPaul revealed that the show's intent was to find a winner possessing the traits of "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent". RuPaul has stated that the show looks for an entertainer who can stand out from the rest.[7] The series premiered on February 2, 2009. The winner of the
first season of RuPaul's Drag Race and its franchise is
BeBe Zahara Benet.[8]
All Stars spin-off and VH1 movement
In March 2012, it was announced that an "all-stars" spin-off from the original show was set to premiere in late 2012 through Logo (which later moved to VH1, then onto
Paramount+).[9] It was announced as RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, and the winner for the
first season was
Chad Michaels.[10]
RuPaul's Drag Race was the first international edition of the franchise to be produced and broadcast. The program proved a success for Logo and additionally moved to a higher profile channel:
VH1, for their
ninth season.[11] However, the reality show remained to air on Logo.[12] In November 2017, World of Wonder launched their subscription streaming service
WOW Presents Plus.[13] The service provides access to its exclusive library of the Drag Race franchise, and web series from WOWPresents' YouTube channel.[14]
2018–present: International expansion of Drag Race
In February 2018, it was announced that a Thai adaptation of RuPaul's Drag Race was set to premiere in Thailand. The
Kantana Group licensed the reality competition series. The show was named as Drag Race Thailand with its judges and co-hosts:
Art Arya and
Pangina Heals.[15] The
first season winner for Drag Race Thailand was
Natalia Pliacam.
From 2020 to 2022, seven international adaptations of RuPaul's Drag Race were revealed and premiered. In North America, a
Canadian adaptation premiered on July 2, 2020.[16] In Europe, four adaptations premiered from the
Netherlands and
France. In Australia, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under premiered on May 1, 2021, with RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and
Rhys Nicholson judging.[17][18]
British Broadcasting Corporation
In June 2018, the franchise producers hinted that a British adaptation of the series was in the works.[19] It was later confirmed that creators had a meeting with the
BBC and that "something is coming, be afraid – be very afraid. Nothing’s impossible."[20] A year later, the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK was set to premiere through
BBC Three.[21] RuPaul and
Michelle Visage continued to be the main judges of the British adaptation, with
Alan Carr and
Graham Norton as recurring judges.[22]
In December 2021, a press release by the BBC announced an upcoming "international all-stars" series involving the British adaptation.[23] The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World premiered on February 1, 2022.[24]
Atresmedia Televisión
In November 2020, a collaboration was made between production companies World of Wonder and
Atresmedia, in collaboration with Buendía Estudios.[25] In February 2021, the series was confirmed to be hosted by
Supremme de Luxe.[26] The first season of Drag Race España premiered through
Atresplayer, which marks the seventh international adaptation of the American reality competition series.[27]
In September 2022, the Spanish adaptation opened a casting call for its
third season and also announced that a Spanish adaption of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was in the works.[28]
Discovery Plus
In 2021, casting occurred with production starting in the summertime.[29] The first season of Drag Race Italia premiered through
Discovery+, with
Priscilla as the host and head judge of the series.[30] A second season was renewed and premiered in October 2022.[31]
In August 2021, a casting call was made for an upcoming Philippine adaptation of the franchise.[32] In early 2022, it announced that
Paolo Ballesteros would serve as the host,[33] alongside
Jiggly Caliente and
KaladKaren as permanent judges of the series. Drag Race Philippines premiered on August 17, through Discovery+. This marked the tenth international adaptation of the American reality competition series.
Both franchise adaptations no longer premiere on this streaming service.
MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Global
In February 2021, after three seasons of airing the "all-stars" spin-off of the United States in VH1,
Paramount Global decided to move the series to
Paramount+. The
sixth season aired on June 24, 2021.[34]
In August 2022, the production company behind RuPaul's Drag Race announced three casting calls on
social media, taking place in
Brazil,
Germany, and
Mexico.[35] Many fans suspected the casting calls were for new potential Drag Race adaptations.[36] In December, Deadline Hollywood confirmed the casting calls were for the Drag Race franchise. They also announced that World of Wonder partnered with
MTV Entertainment Studios to premiere the new adaptations "on MTV/Paramount+ in their respective territories."[37] With this partnership, they moved the American series to
MTV from VH1; starting with
season fifteen.[38]
After two seasons premiering on
Discovery+, the
Italian adaptation was picked for a third season by Paramount Global and is set to premiere on Paramount+.[39] Casting calls were set up in March 2023.[40] The third season is set to premiere on October 13, with former judge
Tommaso Zorzi being replaced by
Paola Iezzi and Paolo Camilli.[41][42]
O4 Media
In November 2022, Entertainment Weekly reported that production companies World of Wonder and O4 Media partnered to develop more adaptations of the Drag Race franchise.[43] The franchise will set to expand throughout the Asian continent, such as India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.[44] The expansion also includes a new season of Drag Race Thailand and an Asian adaptation of RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race will be picked up from the partnership.[45]
^Adelino, Saulo (September 30, 2022).
"Elenco oficial de Drag Race Italia 2" [Official cast of Drag Race Italia 2]. Draglicious (in Brazilian Portuguese).
Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
^"Drag Race Italia sbarca su Paramount+" [Drag Race Italia lands on Paramount+]. Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). March 22, 2023.
Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.