The hardest working queen in showbiz, RuPaul has been bouncing back and forth between the US and the UK to judge endless seasons of her reality TV empire Drag Race—all while new international editions she produces spring up in Spain, Thailand, Holland, Canada, France, and soon Belgium and the Phillipines. Sissy that passport, Ru.
Perhaps because her hubby is from Australia, Ru’s always had a soft spot for drag styles of the Southern Hemisphere, and so fans are getting blessed with a second season of Australia and New Zealand’s fiercest drag talent. Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under premieres exclusively on Stan this July 30, with new episodes arriving each Saturday until one fab contestant is crowned the latest drag superstar of the world.
This year’s batch of queens look ready to slay, with campy comedians competing alongside statuesque young up-and-comers, all with snatched make-up and dick jokes ready to go as they assess a huge chode of meat at a sausage sizzle photoshoot.
Michelle Visage, the Simon Cowell of drag, won’t go easy on these tested new talents. And even the nice local judge Rhys Nicholson tells one of the queens in the trailer below that they’re serving Play School realness. Ouch.
Within the Drag Race fandom, season one was seen as an uneasy start to the Aus/NZ edition of the fab Emmy-winning reality TV format. Kita Mean was a deserving winner, bringing home the crown and sceptre to Aotearoa. But before that finale there were questionable eliminations, multiple queens accused of blackface, and plenty of regional gags that flew right over Ru’s towering wig.
We had the pleasure of speaking to Melbourne drag legend and season one finalist Art Simone about how the worldwide fanbase may have not appreciated our dinky-di humour.
“International audiences were like, ‘oh they’re all so meeean! I don’t get it, she’s just wearing a jumper with an ugly koala on it, how ugly!'”, she laughed. “So many times, some really fun Australian-isms and references to our drag weren’t received the best which is such a shame.” Here’s hoping season two can exhibit that gritty NZ and Aus comedy and glam in a more flattering light.
