Almost fifteen years ago, the supermodel of the world, RuPaul Charles aired the first episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race; a reality competition show where drag queens compete on national television in designing, dancing, singing, acting, comedy, and makeover challenges every week to win the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar and a cash prize. It was the first queer-centered reality competition show of its kind.
Today RuPaul’s Drag Race has become a global phenomenon, spawning over twenty runs of competition in the United States along with a residential live show in Las Vegas starring fan favorites from various seasons. International versions of the competition have picked up in the United Kingdom, France, Holland, Spain, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand, and even an international contest with cast members from all franchises titled Drag Race vs. the World. Several additional franchises had already been announced this year for nations such as Mexico, Germany, and Switzerland.
But the biggest surprise came earlier this month.
O4 Media, a popular media outlet all over Asia has closed a deal with the Drag Race production company, World of Wonder, to represent the Drag Race franchise in a number of Asian countries. The first on the list include Thailand. This can hopefully mean that Drag Race Thailand will finally move forward with a much-desired third season after the show went on hiatus in 2019. Since then, Drag Race Thailand co-host Pangina Heals appeared as a contestant in the first season of Drag Race UK vs the World and quickly became a showstopping sensation for her head-spinning dance skills, avant-garde club couture costumes, and outrageous lip-sync performances until she was untimely eliminated during the show’s signature Snatch Game challenge by UK representative, Blu Hydrangea.
Drag Race Thailand was confirmed to be getting a third season back in July 2021 but has since seen no public update. Alongside Thailand’s revival, a few other nations are listed to be receiving their own Drag Race franchises including India, Singapore, South Korea, and finally… Japan!
This means that Drag Race Japan is officially happening! Currently, the production schedule and any information regarding auditions, casting, filming, and air date are all unknown, but we couldn’t be more excited to see the charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent that awaits the very first season of Drag Race Japan in the near future.
What’s more, one of the show’s spin-offs, Secret Celebrity Drag Race was included in the deal. In this show, national celebrities compete for cash donations to charity services of their choosing in a setup similar to the Masked Singer. Contestants’ true identities are kept secret, only shown when performing in full costume and makeup under their drag persona. True identities are revealed once they are eliminated from the competition.
Only one question remains, though. How long until we see an iconic episode featuring extra special guest judge, Hatsune Miku?
In the spirit of RuPaul’s Drag Race, to all of Japan’s queens set on auditioning and competing, we have one thing to say:
