Television
'Drag Race' Has an Important (Envy-Inducing) 'Down Under' Announcement
It's getting closer and closer.
March 02 2021 9:10 AM EST
May 26 2023 1:27 PM EST
MikelleStreet
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It's getting closer and closer.
Hold on to your wigs ladies, we're going down under.
AsRuPaul's Drag Raceand RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. barrel toward their respective season finales, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is kicking the tires and revving its engines. First announced in 2019, the show is set to make its debut this year and judge Michelle Visage just made an announcement about the series.
"Hello Australia! It's me Michelle Visage," the longtime judge said in a video posted to social media. Visage flew to New Zealand with show host RuPaul to oversee the competition. "Now, we all know that you love a big surprise, so we have some major news for you. We will be Ru-vealing the queens of the Stan Original series RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under this Saturday at the Sydney Gay and lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, this Saturday, March 6. See you then."
The drag queen RuVeal is honestly the official kickoff to the season, debuting all of the competitors. From there, the social media accounts leap in following and people begin to put their bets down on the top four. And while the rest of the world has to do everything virtually as a result of the pandemic, Down Under gets to RuVeal its queens at Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade because of how the country has handled outbreaks.
Stan, the local station and partner with Drag Race will have a float in the parade where the competing queens will be revealed.
"We're very excited to be helping announce the local queens at Mardi Gras, and showing the rest of the world the talent we have Down Under," Mardi Gras CEO Albert Kruger said in a statement.
Down Under will feature queens from both New Zealand (where it was filmed) as well as Australia -- that the show was not filmed in Australia due to the pandemic became a point of discussion in Australian parliament. The guest judge lineup has yet to be announced. The spinoff will air on WOW Presents Plus for most viewers outside of Australia.
Later this year we also expect to see the debut ofAll Stars season six, Drag Race U.K. series three, as well as the first season of Drag Race Espana.
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Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.
Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.