''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' is a

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series based on the American television series of the same name produced by World of Wonder and

Warner Bros. International Television Production Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) is the global television production arm of Warner Bros. Television Group. The division was formed in 2009 to produce original programming or local adaptations of Warner Bros. formats in no ...

New Zealand. The show documents

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

and a panel of judges' search for "Down Under's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays several roles on the show including host, mentor and head judge for the series, as the contestants are given different challenges to participate in each week. The show also employs a panel of judges: RuPaul,

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

, and

Rhys Nicholson Rhys Nicholson (born 22 April 1990) is an Australian comedian and known for being a judge on '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' from 2021 onwards. Career In 2014, Nicholson featured in the ABC documentary ''GayCrashers'', alongside Joel Creas ...

. The series premiered on

TVNZ 2 TVNZ 2 ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Rua) is the second New Zealand television channel owned and operated by the state-owned broadcaster Television New Zealand (TVNZ). It targets a younger audience than its sister channel, TVNZ 1. TVNZ 2's line up consi ...

and

TVNZ OnDemand TVNZ+ ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Ā-Tono), formerly known as TVNZ OnDemand, is an online New Zealand television and video on demand streaming service offered by TVNZ. It offers a variety of free content, such as news updates and programmes seen on TVN ...

in New Zealand, Stan in Australia, and on

WOW Presents Plus WOW Presents Plus (also called World of Wonder Presents Plus or WOWPresents+) is a subscription-based streaming service owned by production company, World of Wonder. The subscription service is founded in November 2017, by Randy Barbato and F ...

internationally on 1 May 2021. The series is also streaming on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

and

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

in the United Kingdom, and broadcast by both Crave and its associated streaming service in Canada. The ten drag queens compete for the title of the "

Down Under The term ''Down Under'' is a colloquialism which is differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Pacific Island countries collectively.Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry fordown under. The dictionary ...

's first Drag Superstar", a one-year supply of Revolution Beauty Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $30,000. The winner of the first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' was

Kita Mean Nick Nash (born 14 April 1986), better known by the stage name Kita Mean, is a New Zealand drag performer best known for hosting ''House of Drag'' and winning the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''. Career Kita and Anita Wi ...

. In September 2021, the series was renewed for a second season. Casting closed on 5 October 2021.https://www.rdrcasting.com/ It premiered on July 30, 2022.

Format

Like the American version, RuPaul has several roles within the show, acting as host, coach and judge. As the host, RuPaul introduces celebrity guests, announces the challenges the queens will take part in each week, and reveals who will be leaving the competition. For his role as a coach, RuPaul offers guidance to the contestants through each challenge, and as a judge he critiques the queens on their overall performance of the challenge. The show uses progressive elimination to reduce the number of drag queens in the competition from the initial field of ten contestants (series 1), down to the final four. Each episode follows a format consisting of a mini challenge, a maxi challenge, a runway walk (where the contestants model fashion on a runway, usually with a theme based on the main challenge), the judging panel, a lip sync battle, and the elimination of a contestant.

Mini challenges

In mini challenges, each contestant is asked to perform a different task with varying requirements and time limitations. Certain mini challenges are repeated from series to series, or repeated from the original American season. For instance, the first mini challenge is a photo shoot with a photographer or RuPaul himself, that includes a special twist (such as being doused with water while in full drag, having a high-powered fan turned on during the shoot, or being photographed while jumping on a trampoline). One recurring mini challenge is dedicated to "reading", a drag term for making insulting observations about one's peers for comedic effect, inspired by '' Paris Is Burning''. The winner of a mini challenge is sometimes rewarded with an advantage in the main challenge. Though most episodes have a mini challenge, select episodes do not.

Maxi challenges and runways

The requirements of the maxi challenge vary across each episode, and can be individual or group challenges. The winner of the maxi challenge also receives a special prize for their win. The final maxi challenge consisted of the queens taking part in an all-singing and all-dancing routine to one of RuPaul's songs. The goal of each maxi challenge involves a new theme and outcome. Contestants are often asked to design and construct a custom outfit, sometimes incorporating unconventional materials. Other challenges focus on the contestants' ability to present themselves on camera, perform with music, or perform humorously. Some challenges became a tradition across seasons, such as the "Snatch Game" (in which the contestants impersonate celebrities as a parody of ''Match Game''), a ball or a makeover, in which the contestants create drag personas for other people. The contestants walk down a runway presenting outfits. If the maxi challenge involves the creation of an outfit, that outfit is presented to the judges in the runway. Otherwise, a theme is assigned and the contestants must put together a look that fits the theme, which is presented to the judges. The runway looks and presentation are judged along with the maxi challenge performance.

Judging panel

A panel of judges cast opinions about the challenge performances and runway looks, first to the contestants onstage, and then again with them offstage.

acted as both the host and main judge, with

and

as supporting judges. The show made an unsuccessful attempt to book New Zealand Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

for some form of appearance, either as a guest judge or making a cameo appearance in the workroom.Ethan Sills
"Jacinda Ardern turned down cameo role in RuPaul's Drag Race"
''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

'', 4 August 2021. Ardern declined, citing scheduling issues.

Companion series

There are web series also accompanying each episode of ''Drag Race''. ''How's Your Head, Queen?'', features

checking in with the newly eliminated queen from RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under to chat about their experience, their passions, the future, and more. ''Fashion Photo Ruview'', aired for the first season, co-hosted by

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

and Raven who evaluate the runway looks of the main show. ''Binge Queens'' with

, Angeria Paris VanMicheals,

Jasmine Kennedie Jasmine Kennedie is the stage name of Kyle Koritkowski (born May 22, 1999), an American drag performer most known for competing on season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life Jasmine Kennedie was raised in Binghamton, New York and Morgant ...

and June Jambalaya who threw a couch kiki for a weekly watch party for ''

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under (season 2) The second season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' premiered on 30 July 2022 and concluded on 17 September 2022. The cast was announced via TVNZ's Instagram account and a live interview with Kween Kong on TVNZ's '' Breakfast'' show on 7 J ...

''.

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

The first season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' began airing on 1 May 2021 on Stan in Australia,

in New Zealand and World of Wonder's WOW Presents Plus streaming service internationally, and ran for 8 episodes. The judging panel included RuPaul,

and

. The cast was announced on 6 March on YouTube. Art Simone, Karen from Finance, Kita Mean and Scarlet Adams made it to the final, with Kita Mean being crowned Down Under's first Drag Superstar.

Season 2 (2022)

The second season was confirmed and casting was opened on 9 September 2021. Casting closed on Tuesday October 5. TVNZ Director of Content Cate Slater said that TVNZ will be partnering with Stan, World of Wonder, Passion Distribution and Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand for another season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under due to film in New Zealand and premiere in 2022."https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/rupauls-drag-race-down-under/season-2 According to media reports, the season began filming on 18 January and was scheduled to run through to 14 February 2022. Season 1 judges

and

were spotted in south Auckland around this time, leading to speculation that both would be returning to judge season 2. The winner of the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under'' was Spankie Jackzon, with Hannah Conda and Kween Kong as runners-up.

Season 3 (2023)

The third season was confirmed and casting was opened on 24 October 2022. Casting closed on 13 November 2022 at 12:00am PST.

Contestants

There has been a total of 20 contestants featured in ''RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under''.

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* (Australia) * (New Zealand) {{Stan (streaming service) 2020s LGBT-related reality television series 2021 Australian television series debuts 2021 New Zealand television series debuts 2021 web series debuts 2020s Australian reality television series Australian television series based on American television series Australian non-fiction web series Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the LGBT community Australian LGBT-related web series New Zealand reality television series New Zealand television series based on American television series Stan (service) original programming Television series by World of Wonder (company) Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic Television shows filmed in New Zealand TVNZ original programming WOW Presents Plus original programming