Tally-ho queens! All the tea about ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ returning
Rejoice, Drag Race fans! Fans were spoiled in 2020 with Drag Race content. There was season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 5, and the first seasons of Canada’s Drag Race & Drag Race Holland. Fortunately, fans didn’t have to wait for long before getting a new season from the UK version of the popular competition show.
It’s been a year since The Vivianne won and, despite a production delay due to COVID-19, we’re finally getting a new season, which is set to premiere in early 2021. Here are all the details we know about the new season and what to expect from a fresh slate of fashionable queens.
When can we expect season 2?
RuPaul revealed in a video on the WOWPresents+ Instagram account we’ll finally be able to see RuPaul’s Drag Race UK sometime early in 2021 on BBC Three for UK residents and the WOWPresents+ streaming service for the U.S. & other select territories. According to The WOW Report, RuPaul said, “season 2 will arrive with all the hope, joy, laughter, and glitter you’ve come to expect from our brilliant queens”.
We were probably going to have this new season released earlier, but the pandemic halted production, which had initially started at the beginning of 2020. Fortunately, in September, Alan Carr announced RuPaul’s Drag Race UK would resume production in November, so they’ll be ramping up production imminently. Carr said the talent is “amazing” and is looking forward to seeing the queens back on the runway again.
Who’s returning?
According to RadioTimes, all three judges will be returning, including Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, & Graham Norton, and, of course, RuPaul herself. Unlike it’s first season, we’re getting even more Drag Race, as we can expect twelve queens competing for the coveted crown, according to RadioTimes.
Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about the guest judges set to appear, Dawn French from the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley seemed to have revealed to be appearing next season. RadioTimes reported French accidentally spilled the tea on the podcast Table Manners. French said she was asked to be a full-time judge, but she doesn’t live in London so couldn’t commit to the gig.
Other rumored guest judges include Judi Dench, Joan Collins, Naomi Campbell, & Joanna Lumley, according to TVZoneUK, but none of these famous Brits have been confirmed.
Will there be a third season?
Luckily, BBC had already renewed Drag Race UK for season three. RuPaul revealed they were accepting applications for their third season and will be holding auditions soon for all of the UK drag queens hoping to take a shot for the crown.
Don’t be surprised if we get a season 3 announcement before the end of 2021. While no date is confirmed, World of Wonder’s co-founders & Drag Race executive producers Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato, said there will be two seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2021. They said, “Sashay away 2020. 2021 is just around the corner, and with it not one but two seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK”, according to The WOW Report.
What about the rest of the franchise?
With its multiple Emmy wins & massive popularity, Drag Race has been able to expand its franchise to introduce Drag Race around the world. According to Entertainment Weekly, Bailey & Barbato announced there were more international versions of Drag Race in the works, confirming there were “three or four” countries looking to add to the already expanded franchise.
While we don’t know the fate of Drag Race Thailand & Canada’s Drag Race, you can still catch up with Drag Race Holland now, as it’s still in the midst of its first season. The next seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race & All Stars don’t have premiere dates, but rumor has it they both filmed their newest seasons earlier this year when COVID-19 restrictions loosened.
