After thirteen seasons in America, two in the UK, two in Thailand, and one in both Canada and Holland, Australia and New Zealand are now being represented with RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under. 10 new queens enter the Werk Room and each one has a certain flair that immediately makes the season feel exciting. There is something very fresh about watching people with non-American accents showcasing a new style of drag we have not seen emulated hundreds of times on the American version of Drag Race. The dolls are less polished, less produced, and way shadier. The dynamic makes for a very enjoyable hour of television apart from the lackluster runway.
As each queen walks through the door, the Drag Race Down Under dolls have something shady to say. Their big attitudes and low budgets are serving old-school Drag Race. The first queen in the room is Art Simone who makes it clear from her first moment on screen that she is the girl to beat in this competition. Later, Trixie Mattel and Katya's favorite, Karen From Finance, struts in, and the competition is set ablaze between these two competitors. There are a couple of other contenders who seem to have a shot as well. Kita Mean has a campy aesthetic and an interesting story about recently getting surgery and losing a lot of weight. After Kita Mean, there seems to be a huge gap in the competition. A queen named Scarlet Adams walks in looking very polished, but everything about her aesthetic looks exactly like Aquaria. It's not exciting.
RuPaul reveals that she will not be in drag on the judges' panel this season, claiming that her "make-up was lost in transit." It is no secret that RuPaul does not put herself in drag, so this likely means that Raven, who does her make-up, was unable to travel to Australia for filming. It feels lame, but it's also totally understandable considering that they filmed this season in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. This spin-off is certainly a better option than the judges that were picked for Canada's Drag Race.
On the runway, the queens are asked to serve two different looks. The first category is "Born Naked" and the second is a hometown look. The nude runway looks are not worth reviewing. Drag Race should stop doing this category forever. Every single queen wears a nude bodysuit and it as wildly boring as it was on season 7 of American Drag Race. The second category is better, but it is hard to tell if we have been spoiled by designer garments on American Drag Race or if these looks just aren't very good.
Karen from Finance delivers fun, high camp, and Art Simone has a high fashion look that reveals into a funky and exciting bold colored jacket that showcases her hometown. The rest of the looks are... not worth mentioning. The winner of the very first maxi-challenge is Karen From Finance. The bottom two are Jojo Zaho and Elektra Shock. Many of the other queens shaded Elektra Shock for her dry wig so it is not surprising to see her in the bottom. But she absolutely slays the lip-sync. What these gals lacked in runway details they make up for in performing ability. Elektra Shock dances the house down and is asked to stay. Jojo Zaho sashays away.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season 1 airs Saturdays at 12am PT / 3am ET on WOW Presents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide, day-and-date with Stan (Australia), TVNZ On Demand (New Zealand), and BBC iPlayer (UK) local airings.