Start your engines! Stan’s Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premieres its first episode on Saturday, May 1st.
The 8-part local adaption of the global hit series will see the most fabulous and fierce local drag queens compete to be the first-ever Down Under Drag Race Superstar.
The local version of the most awarded reality competition show in history will be hosted by RuPaul, with co-judge and Drag Race veteran Michelle Visage by his side. Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson will be the third continuous member of the judging panel.
Rhys Nicholson
Speaking about his time on the show, Rhys Nicholson, said: “I just can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have been invited into the illustrious house of Drag Race. I genuinely still can’t bloody believe it. The first words RuPaul ever said to me were ‘Welcome to the family’ and that’s exactly what it feels like. A family. Ru and Michelle are my new mummies. I hope the editors took out the bits where I’m just staring at them wide eyed trying to comprehend sitting next to them.”
The Stan Original Series will see queens serving high fashion realness, mini and max challenges, shady and heartfelt moments in the workroom, and of course, the all-important lip-sync for your life battles.
The queens who will be racing down the runway soon are: Anita Wigl’it (Auckland, NZ), Art Simone (Geelong, VIC), Coco Jumbo (Sydney, NSW), Elektra Shock (Auckland, NZ), Etcetera Etcetera (Sydney, NSW), JoJo Zaho (Newcastle, NSW), Karen from Finance (Melbourne, VIC), Kita Mean (Auckland, NZ), Maxi Shield (Sydney, NSW) and Scarlet Adams (Perth, WA).
See More: RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under’s 10 Queens revealed at Mardi Gras
The Drag Race Down Under queens
While most of the celebrity guest appearances are yet to be announced, Taika Waititi, Kylie Minogue, and Dannii Minogue are the first three guests to be confirmed.
Kylie said: “I’m SO excited to finally be a part of RuPaul’s Drag Race for the first series Down Under. It’s such an iconic show and I can’t wait to watch the contestants perform their hearts out to win the title of Down Under’s first Drag Superstar!”
Dannii said: “I got to have a cheeky ‘Untucked’ chat with the girls on RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 1. They had come straight from the runway challenge so it was exciting and tense all at the same time, not knowing who was going to have to lip sync for their life!”
The Hit Network has also announced Justin Hill as the host of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under: The Podcast to coincide with the debut of the series. The podcast will be available to stream on LiSTNR every Sunday after each new episode, and will showcase a weekly rundown of each episode and interviews with eliminated queens.
See More: Hit Network to host a podcast for Stan’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under
Stan Original Series RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under is an 8×60’ World of Wonder production in collaboration with Warner Bros. International Production New Zealand for Stan in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand and WOW Presents Plus. Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, Tom Campbell, and RuPaul Charles serve as executive producers. Vicki Keogh (TVNZ), Nick Forward (Stan), and Greg Heathcote (WB) also serve as executive producers. Passion Distribution distributes the series globally in line with Passion Distribution and WOW’s distribution strategy.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premieres on Stan May 1st, 2021