Culture

RuPaul confirms future of Drag Race Down Under and fans have thoughts

RuPaul has confirmed in a trailer on Twitter that there will be a second season of Drag Race Down Under

Mama Ru officially confirmed Drag Race Down Under will return for a second season, and she’s looking for a new cast of talented Australian and Kiwi queens. (Twitter/@wowpresentsplus)

Drag Race Down Under season two has been confirmed, with RuPaul set to sashay back onto screens.

Kiwi queen Kita Mean’s crown hasn’t even cooled yet, and RuPaul is already on the lookout for the next drag superstar to join the Drag Race Down Under pantheon.

On Friday (10 September), Stan and World of Wonder confirmed the Australian and New Zealand spinoff will start production soon and that RuPaul would return once again as a host. RuPaul told all budding queens in a video announcement on Twitter to throw their wigs into the ring for season two.

“Do you reckon you’re a bit of a goer?” Ru asked. “Do you have what it takes to snatch the crown? We want to hear from you.”

Drag Race Down Under was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand at the start of the year.

It was originally to be made in Australia, but after Sydney experienced a COVID-19 outbreak producers claimed lingering travel restrictions prevented filming from taking place there.

Time Out reported the new series will start production as soon as restrictions allow.

RuPaul said in a statement that the show has only “just begun to shine a worldwide spotlight on the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of Australiasian queens”, QNews reported.

Legendary Drag Race host Michelle Visage also shared in the joy that there would be a new season of the down under franchise. She reposted Ru’s video on her Instagram alongside the joyous caption “here we gooooooo”.

It might be her subtle hint that she will be returning to the judge’s panel alongside RuPaul and Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson.

While many people on Instagram welcomed the news, other fans called for Drag Race Down Under to broaden its casting and highlight the legacy of queer, Indigenous and people of colour in Australia and New Zealand.

“Please cast more Indigenous queens thank you thank you,” one person commented on Visage’s post.

This sentiment was also shared on Twitter where more people called for a more inclusive and diverse cast of queens for the upcoming series.

In March, Courtney Act revealed there was a lot of confusion around casting for the first season of Drag Race Down Under. Though she didn’t appear in the series, she was privy to some inside intel.

Drag Race usually puts out an open casting call for people to audition, but Courtney said Down Under opted to have casting producers send messages to prospective contestants. She claimed these messages weren’t from an “official account” but the casting producer’s personal accounts.

Courtney explained one Instagram account included “exclusively” photos of “those hairless sphynx cats”, which made queens thinking a “lovely but seemingly crazy cat lady” was sliding into their DMs.

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