RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under officially announced

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 1mo

A new spinoff of RuPaul's Drag Race for Australia and New Zealand is announced, with RuPaul confirmed as the host and Michelle Visage as a judge.

An Australian and New Zealand spinoff of RuPaul's Drag Race has been officially announced, with RuPaul confirmed to host.

Rumours of an antipodean version first emerged earlier this month and now it has been announced that RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will begin filming in New Zealand within days.

The show will be just the second international spinoff that RuPaul has decided to be fully involved in, following on from the successful RuPaul's Drag Race UK, while Michelle Visage will join him on the panel as a permanent judge.

The identity of the third regular panel member - plus the guest judges - will be revealed in the coming months ahead of the show's premiere later this year via Stan (Australia), TVNZ OnDemand (New Zealand) and WOW Presents Plus (US and international).

"I cannot wait for everyone to see that Down Under queens have some of the biggest charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talents in the world," said RuPaul.

"Thank you to Stan and TVNZ OnDemand for providing a platform for these outrageous drag artists to share their heart, soul and humour."

The franchise has been rapidly expanding around the world over the last few years, with local versions of the show also up and running in Thailand, Canada, Chile, the Netherlands and Spain.