RuPaul’s Drag Race is headed to the UK!
World of Wonder, RPDR’s production company, tweeted the news first, along with a video from RuPaul herself announcing the upcoming search for British queens. Then RuPaul confirmed, tweeting “UK version of #DragRace is airing on BBC Three next year.”
The eight-part series will feature ten local drag queens fighting to become the first "Queen of Great Britain." And yes, RuPaul and Michelle Visage will both still sit on the judges panel.
“It is a dream come true to extend our royal family to the United Kingdom with our partners at BBC Three," said RuPaul in a statement. "I am beyond excited to celebrate the massive charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of the Queen’s queens. And before anyone asks, yes, we would be thrilled to have Meghan Markle join us, as we are already preparing a ‘Royal-Mother-To-Be’ runway challenge.”
While a number of fans, particularly in the US, are obviously excited for more RPDR content, some on social media are nervous about what this might mean for the culture of drag across the pond.
RuPaul’s Drag Race has done a ton for visibility and helping bring drag into the mainstream consciousness, but has also been criticized for its narrow version of what makes up “good” drag, and who can be a drag queen. These issues have not been lost on those concerned about the upcoming show.
But others remain cautiously hopeful that this will be an opportunity for good.
The first outlet to report the news, The Sun (which one Twitter user referred to as “the most transphobic newspaper in the U.K.”), quoted a source as saying the show “will follow the exact same format as the American version” and “there’ll be a huge budget for costumes and production and bosses are hoping that a star is born.”
These comments probably don’t do much to assuage dissenters’ fears, though hopefully RuPaul’s own quote in the announcement — “I am beyond excited to celebrate the massive charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent of the Queen’s queens” — signifies that there will be some room for this UK version of Drag Race to take on a life that reflects the culture its coming from.
Let’s be real, we’ll certainly be watching to find out.
