top of page

Drag Race Mania: A Matter of Quantity Over Quality

Álvaro de la Mora

I’m not talking about two cars racing against each other towards a goal, that’s a different drag race. I’m talking about Rupaul’s Drag Race, the popular reality TV show hosted by Rupaul Charles that started all the way back in 2008. The show revolves around drag queens, who are a type of performer (usually men) that dress up as flamboyant and often parodic versions of women to amongst other things, perform and dance. In the show, a number of these drag queens must face a wide variety of challenges to win the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar '' and a cash prize (which over the years has greatly increased, with the current cash prize being 200,000 dollars). The challenges range from acting, sewing, stand up comedy, dancing, and many others, where each “week” (or episode) a queen wins the challenge. However, here goes the catch: Two queens are also placed in the “bottom two”, where they must then face off in a “lipsync for your life”, (lip sync competition), which determines which one of them remains on the show. The series has gained enormous traction and popularity, winning a total of 27 Emmy Awards and 6 MTV Awards, just to name a few. It goes without saying that Rupaul’s Drag Race has become a household name and a staple in American reality television.



Now, Drag Race has become a gargantuan force in its respective genre, with several franchises constantly being pushed by its production company, World of Wonder (WoW). Over the years, several international seasons of the show have been aired, such as Drag Race Thailand, Spain, France, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Mexico, Brazil and Belgium being some examples. Just in September and August, Drag Race had franchises such as Mexico, Germany, Philippines, Brazil and All Stars, with all of these being played simultaneously throughout every week. However, the amount of franchises has begun to be overwhelming, and many of these series have been losing viewers. But does this loss of viewership actually pose a problem for the company, for its viewers and for the franchise as a whole? Or has it just localized audiences and actually made international drag communities flourish?


The overwhelming amount of varying series was not the norm, with only one season being aired at one time, for the whole year. This occurred for a while, with the first eight years of the show being singularly the American franchise of the show. Then, the show grew to international levels, with the UK, Thailand and more. For context, if we count the total number of crowns (winners) being given out in the last three years of the show compared to the first five, we would have a whopping 27 in the last few years compared to six crowns in the first five years. It goes without saying that the international approach to the show has made it grow exponentially.


Drag Race has a few reasons to adopt this new form, but the main one has to do with money. World of Wonder and the production team benefit greatly from having different series throughout the world as all of them are going to get viewers, albeit with fewer viewers than in the past. This quantity over quality approach to media has been actually beneficial to the company, gaining them even more revenue than before. At the end of the day, the production and broadcaster are companies, and they will look for what is best for them economically, so it is normal for them to adopt a new, more profitable approach of pushing out content. So, World of Wonder and the people behind Drag Race actually do benefit from this change, which is great; but is it also beneficial to viewers?


The fanbase is torn on this subject, with some claiming it has been overwhelming to keep up with all of the franchises, while others happily keep up with every season. This polarity may actually be a good thing though, as Drag Race continues to pump out new content, some may cherry-pick the seasons they watch while other, more die hard fans may actually binge every single season. International fans have also been fond of this change, as people from all around the world are able to see this art form and its unique twists from different countries. Some countries and therefore series have unique perspectives, cultures and drag communities that are all interesting to see, especially as someone that isn’t from that specific country.



In my own opinion, having these many seasons at one time is very hard to keep up with, and I have stopped seeing every single season (especially the international ones). Although this is the case, I don’t view the every-growing size of the franchise as a negative, rather as an opportunity to experience different cultures. It also helps drag artists in these countries get international recognition, furthering their employment as more and more people start to recognize their drag. Not only do the drag artists benefit, but the countries where each series is held acts as a spark to many conversations revolving around that specific culture. These conversations are able to provide a unique perspective on issues that may be global, but unheard of from certain communities. Also, the cash prizes have also been increasing continuously, so everyone is winning even more revenue on the show and will continue to win even more once the show ends. The production team is able to earn even more money than it used to, the drag artists are able to get more recognition than ever before, and the viewer is able to watch as much content as they want from cultures that they wouldn’t be able to immerse themselves in.


Drag is a beautiful art form, a community that has outreaches throughout the world and, luckily, we as viewers can experience it with the performers. Although it may seem overwhelming, the amount of different Rupaul’s Drag Race shows across the world are overall beneficial to every single participant. Why limit the reach of this community to certain communities when we can get new perspectives and new drag forms from several others?


Now that I’m reaching the end of this article, I ask myself, should I watch the new episode of Drag Race Philippines, Germany or Brazil?



Comments


Commenting has been turned off.
bottom of page