Culture

Ciao, ciao, ciao! World of Wonder announce first season of Drag Race Italia

By Sam Damshenas

1st July 2021

Drag Race Italia will be the next international iteration in the Emmy Award-winning franchise.

Earlier this week, World of Wonder announced that the first season of the Italian spin-off will sashay onto Discovery+ Italia and WOW Presents Plus later this year. Although details are scarce, WOW shared a promotional image of the series with its official title and a shot of a Roman coliseum.

Drag Race Italia follows in the footsteps of the US original, Drag Race Thailand, Chile’s The Switch Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Canada’s Drag Race, Drag Race Holland, Drag Race Down Under and Drag Race España. The latter is currently airing its first season and will crown its inaugural winner in the coming weeks.

They will join previous 2021 champions such as Lawrence Chaney (Drag Race UK season two), Symone (season 13) and Kita Mean (Down Under season one).

The sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6 is also airing as we speak on Paramount+ and WOW Presents Plus slash Netflix in other territories, meaning we’ll have another winner to add that ever-expanding list in no time.

The queens competing for a place in the Hall of Fame – and a cash prize of $100,000 – are as follows: A’Keria C. Davenport, Eureka, Ginger Minj, Jan, Jiggy Caliente, Kylie Sonique Love, Pandora Boxx, Ra’Jah O’Hara, Scarlet Envy, Serena Cha Cha, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Trinity K. Bonet and Yara Sofia.

If you haven’t checked out the third episode of All Stars 6 yet, do it immediately. It’s potentially one of the best episodes in Drag Race herstory. In the words of Drag Race UK season two runner-up Bimini Bon Boulash, “Not a joke, just a fact.”

Speaking with Variety last year, World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato revealed that seven new international versions of RuPaul’s Drag Race are currently in production.

“We’re excited. None of them can be announced yet, but there is more on the way. It’s been a long process. I think what we’ve seen is a reframing of drag as a cultural/artistic phenomenon,” he explained.

“Every country has a rich tradition of drag, and it’s different in every country. What is true in every country is that it hasn’t been a television proposition. I think it’s taken broadcasters in different territories a little time to adjust, to recognize that.”

Drag Race UK, the first international version of the show to see the return of RuPaul and Michelle Visage, was streamed over 10 million times on BBC iPlayer. Bailey credits its success with opening the door for more spin-offs.

“I think that encouraged other international territories to come along for the ride. The BBC is doing it! It can’t be that scary a proposition!’” he said.