The Signs of a Growing Drag Race Franchise

[@benzabechamel]

Precision about Drag Race France : it is public television. So the fact that the finale is live (+ special spin off with Les voyages de Nicky) shows how the French public was receptive. Our second season kicked tucks ! So proud of them ❤🎉

[@belakboy]

France truly hit it out of the park this year!!

[@pasdepseudooriginal]

Yes, I was about to reply the same! World of Wonder does not have *that* much production power over international seasons. In France, the main productions behind the show are France Television and Endemol (a big household name in reality TV in France). Like Drag Race Mexico, Brazil and Germany all being produced by Paramount + (hence why all three share the same set!), not WOW. Even if all was said in the video is still true! Paramount+ must have a lots of faith in Brazil since they're doing the split premiere.

[@nvrmndy]

Jiggly actually said in a KZbin live that she was greenlit for Drag Philippines Season 3 and DRPH All Stars (which is allegedly to be announced after Season 3). Of course there's no official announcement yet so we still don't really know if it's true or not. Also, the Philippines is the only international franchise, as of the moment, to have its own separate Untucked for two seasons.

[@ntuneric]

sverige had untucked too

[@vivahotbabe]

​@@ntuneric cool. don't care.

[@shanelocsin9906]

I think it is also worth noting that DRPH is the only international franchise who has their own Untucked since season 1. 😊😊😊

[@taylorbarnhart9882]

not y’all forgetting sweden

[@shanelocsin9906]

@@taylorbarnhart9882 wow, they did? That's nice. All along I thought DRPH is the only one with their own Untucked 😅

[@georgiebennett3336]

@@shanelocsin9906DRPH was the first but Sweden’s Untucked followed suit after DRPH Untucked was launched. So far PH and SVE are the only franchises with untucked.

[@0p3Q]

It's so refreshing that a unique, articulate and smart channel is added to the lexicon of DR youtube cinematic universe. I hope your growth skyrockets and triumphs the other channels in no time. All love and appreciations to all the efforts you put Matthew. ❤️

[@belakboy]

Thank you so much 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 I’m glad you enjoy my content and it’s great to hear my efforts are appreciated 😭😭

[@c.k.8585]

I think UK could have had the better growth but the lack of any prize money stunts that show. S15 awarded $317500 during the season, 117500 beyond the big prize. The first out got $4500! It really limits UK's ability to attract talent that the only prize is a show in WoWPresents that seems to only show up over a year after their season and my guess is gets poor viewership.

[@mattc5347]

I feel like Lawrence’s had to have gotten decent viewership because they also showed it on the BBC

[@that1niceguy246]

@@mattc5347 Didn't they distribute every season of Drag Race UK on BBC?

[@mattc5347]

@@that1niceguy246 yes, but we’re talking about the Wow+ spin offs the winners of UK get. I forget what Laurences is called but they aired it on the BBC, which is better than most other Wow+ spin offs

[@velky_reeds]

just to add on to the concept of spin-offs; Philippines being the first international season to officially get its own untcuked seems to be another sign of how confident the producers are with the season being a hit, and it actually worked, I'm sure other seasons would follow this path too to have more content running

[@rocketwars]

I’m pretty sure production had to double down on DRPH as it has an indirect competitor, Drag Den with Manila Luzon. It doesn’t necessarily have the same mechanics but both are Drag Reality TV Contests and both are produced by powerhouses WOW and Amazon, respectively.

[@Jamieswiftie13]

Daddy posted…

[@Jhawk2711]

So real

[@redduskironsky1058]

😩

[@bluepaint4651]

There are already tweets about drag race philippines getting the green lit for season 3 and an all stars season. Season 3 is already confirmed by jiggly but for all stars they might have to wait after season 4 or 5 because people think it was way too soon.

[@skando_a]

Also here's some drag race france scalding hunty werk tea : For s2, Rumors say that Juda La Vidange, the king who was episode 4's mini challenge guest, was supposed to be a contestant but WOW veto'd the decision. The reason was that they want the US to premiere a drag king on the show. Would getting shut down by WOW be a sign of a franchise that's growing too quickly lmao

[@thedeli4069]

That might explain the weird 11 contestants number and since production now had a extra-episode, they used it for a return. Because otherwise I feel they really wanted to stick to 1 episode = 1 elim (Bertha and Lolita in S1 would probably have a double shantay in a lot of other franchises), I guess to avoid some kind of Italia S1 situation

[@essaly7969]

Yes many people said Drag Race France was open to casting kings but couldn't due to WOW's involvement. And tbh, it's not surprising since kings were featured in the first season - they were already trying to feature them in a way. They already know that the french audience, who is not acclimated to the same rules of drag as the US audience, would like drag kings.

[@tommasolarghetti]

Shot out to drag race Italia going from 8 queens to 13 in 3 season and maybe an alla stars 🤭🇮🇹

[@LightCosmos]

Would have even been 14 if one didnt cancel! Out of the international seasons, only Thailand 2 managed such a cast!

[@c.k.8585]

So happy for Italia because they so very much need the representation.

[@tommasolarghetti]

@@c.k.8585 we really need It even if it's bad

[@davidesilvestro2084]

I saw somewhere that all stars italia is confirmed. Is it true?? I need to see Nehelly with a crown 😂

[@tommasolarghetti]

@@davidesilvestro2084 it's not confirmed yet but It is highly rumored

[@Vaelios3292]

I think France Television has a very precise calendar in airing Drag Race France (this is why we didn't get much more episode in season 2, but they are spending a lot of money on it (considering it has it's own pit stop with Paloma and the live finale). I can confirm Drag Race France had a pretty huge success in France, they had to add dozens of new dates for the Drag Race France Live show ! I really hope France didn't take Espana road for the season 3...

[@yellowpine6787]

I think diversity in winner pool is a interesting concept that this video could maybe have touched on. I think the show using its winner to push an agenda is a clear cut sign it seeks to exist in longevity. We see it in the Established “Legend, lone wolf/underdog, fashionista” trio started in the US by: Bebe, James, and rajah respectively This is mirrored in the Uk with Viv, Lawrence and Krystal It’s also seen in espana with Carmen, Sharrone and Patita, although sharrone does not match, we see carmen and patita match perfectly If we look at down under, we have Keta and Spankie which fit the brief to a T, and if this third season is won by Isis, then we see that as an indication of growth because that means the show plans longevity for itself

[@pepedzluwalhati332]

This might be a long shot but does anyone else thinks that Drag Race Philippines Vs. The Continent would be amazing????

[@belakboy]

There are quite a few Drag Race alum that speak Tagalog and most of the Philippines queen can speak English too!! You could very easily have a Philippines Vs The World season because of this :) Ongina, Rock, Kimmy, Kyne, JAJA, Mocha Diva, etc etc

[@georgiebennett3336]

I’d love a Drag Race PH vs. Asia! That way, Drag Queens from other countries who most likely won’t even have DR franchises due to obvious reasons will have a chance to show their talents to the world.

[@javicastro6748]

actually, DRES did an experiment on a live event in S2. For the coronation episode (after the finale) they did a live event with an audience and all the contestants, and sharonne found out there, at the same time than everyone else, that she was the winner. I was there and it was so cool, i thought after that we for sure were having a live finale for S3 but wasn’t the case. The even went back to the S1 format for the coronation episode with just the finalists in a tv set :(

[@venttsur2021]

Note that *JIGGLY also CONFIRMED* that she was greenlit for _DRAG RACE PHILIPPINES S3 and ALL STARS_ (And people who question where I got the information, it was on Matty Rants Channel where he discuss LIVE on where Jiggly said it on 1:31:00 )

[@hollandvw4250]

France Télévisions shocked me with the budget they put in the second season of DRF, this live finale was easily the best show they've produced in years, I was floored A perfect way to end a season that's made me proud of my country - the queens were all brilliant, talented and full of heart, I truly felt sad at every elimination

[@matchumendoza]

Drag race Philippines is the only franchise with untucked on it. AND RUMORS FOR season 3 and an all stars is coming. AS A FILIPINO, I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS CAUSE THE QUEENS ARE REALLY TALENTED AF! 🥹🙏🏻✨

[@DdumbaStyle]

Ummm akshualy Sverige also has an untucked 🤓

[@georgiebennett3336]

@@DdumbaStyle not sweden being the forgotten franchise 😂 Drag Race fans rarely mention it.

[@matchumendoza]

@@DdumbaStyle oh it doess.. well guess what mimi I didn’t watch it. lmao

[@lonelyjesse85]

España 3 is the definition of growing pains. For me it only shows how much it has grown in such a short time which led them to make some mistakes. (I still thought it was a good season though while 1 and 2 were great)

[@Lunariant]

I love original video essays on Drag Race like this. You're inspiring me to go back and finish the España and France seasons!

[@belakboy]

Just look up the results of España 3 on Wikipedia but España 1 and 2 and France are sooooo good

[@davidlovesdragokurr]

I could watch you talk for hours, honestly. Keep it up.

[@Arahnk]

Great conceptual video!

[@rotcehb]

España S3 was godawful. The constant misogyny agaisnt Clover, the rampant xenophobia agaisnt Visa (just like Diamante/Inti, why are you casting latinas if you're gonna do them a disservice!?), they CHOOSING Kelly to comeback even tho she had one of thw worst track records of DR (no really, the person who should've comeback was Visa) and the producers trying WAY too hard creating a forced Carmen/Sharonne storyline with Pitita... It was unwatchable. Thank god that everyone called out production cuz even tho they tried so hard to push a winner, both Clover and Visa are winning in real life

[@MrCyberGal]

Sis, Visa was awful on the comeback challenge. She wouldn't have won it anyways. Clover should've, and she still would've picked Kelly to return.

[@c.k.8585]

Eh Pitita would have still won a fair version of Espana S3. Three out of 4 challenges she won were undeniably her wins and she only might have been low once more for Snatch Game (but even there the bottom two were so much worse than her). Clover absolutely deserved a much better track record including a couple of wins. I am unsure about the Improv episode; on one hand it was supposed to be judged as groups and Clover was in the best group of the night but on the other hand Pitita carried that group to victory, not Clover. The one episode that was truly problematic was the Rusical, in that it was good enough to be a non-elimination episode with two of Pitita, Hornella and Vania lip syncing for the win (and Pitita would have won). And not everything wrong in judging is because of bigotry. Occam's Razor and all.

[@i.f.llamas3922]

xenophobe towards who?? 💀 Diamante was never mistreated. What are you talking about? Inti either. She created by herslef all the drama. Unnecessary and well aware this would favoured her after. Inti act very reprobable in many ways. Inti is no victim rarher than herself questionable behaviour. Visa, what with Visa.. she was praised many times. And the day she was on the bottom It was very deserved. They were not allowed to let the main part ot the reveal on the runways floor, and she did. Clover was overlooked, true.

[@i.f.llamas3922]

The problem you have is thinking to have a "non Spaniard" contestant should be favoured somehow. This is why you see dirty when there is nothing. If Inti, Diamante or Visa were spaniards your probably have no memories about any (unexisting) mistratment. 💀 Rethink.

[@nando_chavez]

Your voice is so calming. Great video! ♥️

[@belakboy]

Thank you!! Maybe I’ll start an ASMR channel

[@tobiasgund8048]

Honestly, it would have been SO camp if none of the chocolate bars had been golden, and it was just so we could see the wonderful "It's chocolate 🍫" moment, with that silly noise and Ru pretending ro be shocked and heartbroken.

[@gerrygaughan73]

Interesting video. A couple of things that weren't mentioned though, Philippines not only got a bigger cast and double premier but a bigger set while Down Under is still limping along with the same dull, tiny set after 3 seasons. Zero investment. Seasons 13 and 15 also had split premiers, of sorts. 15 was much like Brasil but with both episodes shown back to back. 13 had the shenanigans of the Porkchop dock and an eliminated queen who didn't actually go home. UK v the World was commissioned as the centrepiece of BBC 3's relaunch because Drag Race Uk's success played a big part in making the BBC reevaluate the channel's viability. I don't think anyone expected it to have a life of it's own beyond that.

[@0p3Q]

I think Matthew's point on (split premier) is that we get better idea of the queens as they are (((split))) into two episodes.

[@traffiquejamm1780]

Philippines definitely got a bigger set and a double premier but the cast number is the same. Last season was 12 and S2 is also 12 queens.

[@gerrygaughan73]

​@@traffiquejamm1780I'm old, my memory is not what it was.😊

[@traffiquejamm1780]

@@gerrygaughan73 Don't worry about it lmao🫶

[@jmerced123]

Thanks for talking about this, this was such an insightful video! Always look forward to your content because it’s great and it’s like I finally have a person in life that thinks about drag race like I do haha

[@belakboy]

Thank you so much 🫶🏻❤️

[@zenbija]

I was wondering about the opposite question: What are you seeing as signs that an edition is on its way out? There were some signs from Thailand S2 that it was expanding... but Thailand has been on pause since 2019. Maybe we'll know best the first time we get definitive news that one of them is discontinued.

[@themosteliteyoutuberintheu3162]

I am hoping that UK5 has 12 episodes + a live finale

[@michelsennett5375]

I believe another sign of growth is in production. I see Mexico, Brasil and of all countries, Germany use the same filming studios in the country of Colombia. Smart to have production at one place and that keeps overhead low. For the German -speaking Queens, it also keeps isolation in a tighter bubble. If they want a comeback queen, production can save costs to have a queen come back from their home city. That queen is still in Colombia at a nearby hotel. France and Belgium can also find French -speaking queens from Luxembourg, Switzerland and Monaco to boost the casting pool. Tha same with Germany ( Austria and Switzerland). I see a Spain 4 but not a Down Under 4. Yes, RuPaul is directly involved in Down Under, but I can see the cracks in his make-up when it comes to driving this disaster of a franchise. Belgium is filming its second season (YAY!) and Mustii has just been selected as Belgium's artisit for ESC 2024! My wish for Belgium 2 is more Flemish/ Durch soeaking queens. The same with Canada with the French /English languages. Maybe Sverige can be DR Skandinavia? Good video, love from Norway!

[@xtianmiguel9126]

Espana is having an all stars! I can't wait for that!

[@bratpackbimbo]

i think down under has real potential based on how great s2 was with drama, the queens, etc, but production, the stage and budget lets it down.

[@macandrew7711]

highly agree.

[@20averia]

the Philippines just announced to have an all stars too!

[@giu442]

Really? Where did they announce it?

[@ecenbt]

Wow that's crazy after only 2 seasons!

[@tresiol]

Not announced but rumoured. The rumours say they've already greenlit season 3 and shortly after season 3 is announced they'll accounce the all stars

[@venttsur2021]

@@giu442 (it was on Matty Rants Channel where he discuss LIVE on where Jiggly said it on 1:31:00 )

[@abydos7775]

I just wish WOW/TVNZ/Stan just invested more in season 2/3 of DU. You've got 3 production companies from 3 different countries working together and it still looks like Season 2 of US. The New Zealand government even provides international filming companies with a production financial rebate so the season is even cheaper for them to produce from WOWs end. I feel like if it just upped its production quality and didn't look so crunchy it might've got more attention earlier on.

[@diogopereira1215]

Love watching your videos 😊😊😊

[@jacob-968]

It is rumored that DRMX was going to have 12 contestants but two of them were disqualified before the season started taping. And you have to remember that DR has big competition in the form of La Más Draga so they really wanted to start off with a bang.

[@sophiaruizuvalle2523]

I feel really good about the future of DR México I know SO many people that got Paramout+ to wach it since the premiere, people who had just pirated the other seasons before and its already casting the second season We're a market that's already had live finales of drag competitions that bring in a lot of money, im pretty sure WOW knows that Im a queer Mexican living here

[@HergaDergaDonkeyKong]

Drag Race Thailand is in a really weird spot. It has all these positive things going for it, and tons of hype surrounding Pagina on vs the World, All Stars 8, priming people to love DRT, yet they haven't been able to figure out what to do with the show for 4 years.

[@fawli86]

okay I love you even more now that you're slowly creeping into Survivor - my other favorite reality competition show.

[@davidlovesdragokurr]

"Omg a video without my glasses!? How will anybody recognize me!?" 😂

[@zoinomiko]

Prize money & prizes overall is probably an obvious one (UK aside)

[@xtianmiguel9126]

what are your thoughts on Mexico. I love it

[@janetsnakehole-macklin6426]

I think the problem is that what goes up must come down. Most of the time, the season 2 of a franchise will end up being THE best season of that franchise. But almost all of the time if that franchise gets a season 3, that season 3 will be a huge disappointment. While you could argue that UK3 and Espana 3 are bad seasons on their own, the fact that they followed one of the GOAT seasons definitely didn’t help them. Because the negative reaction towards those seasons was more from disappointment, because we expected more from those franchises because we’ve seen their potential. Because the issue is that a franchise can get too confident in itself, and that causes them to forget what made that one season special. But the only franchise (I believe) that currently has more than 3 seasons released is UK, and UK4 wasn’t exactly too well received either. I heard rumours that if UK5 does badly, then it might be over. When you look at UK3 and Espana 3, one of its downfalls is the production. Questionable judging, mistreatment and favouritism are all aspects of those seasons that people particularly complained about. I don’t usually mind a double save, a double elimination, a comeback challenge, a returning queen, double wins, quadruple wins, good challenges, bad challenges, crazy challenges, etc. but I don’t want them all in the same season. Production will take all the aspects of a previous season that people liked and then threw them all in the next season thinking people would respond positively to them, but it all just ends up being too overwhelming for the viewer and that contributes to the season’s downfall. I’m not saying that franchises shouldn’t try new things, but they still need to remember why people love that particular franchise for what it is, whether that’s the contestants, the challenges or the production. I don’t even know if this comment makes sense but what I’m basically trying to say is that I hope Drag Race France Season 3 is not a huge disappointment.

[@francescotesta7136]

drag race italia s3 is coming in october 13th and i’m pretty sure it’s going to break the “third season curse”. the queens went from 8 (s1) to 10 (s2) to eventually 13 (and for this season they should have been 14, but one queen declined just before filming). the expectations are very high, even because the show passed from discovery to paramount+. i really hope the show will get better because italian queers need this kind of representation atm because of the government’s political orientation.

[@Martislayxoxo]

Equally as I think its important to look for signs of a growing franchise, not seeing the sign of a stagnation can also be important. Down Under for example doesn't show any signs of growth, except maybe Anita being on CvsTW, and the cast is still 10 queens, its still only 8 episodes, the set is really small and the format is inconsistent (for example, the judging of the girl groups or premiere challenge being different each time). Of course that last one doesn't have to be a sign of stagnation, but its clear that its hard for producers to find their footing other random things that might signal growth: -budget of the show (editing, the sets, the stage and the workroom) -double shantay (this one is kind of weird, since Canada still has yet to have one, but Mexico had 2 in one season) -having a top 4 instead of top 3 (disregarding the discourse over which one is better, top 4 has been mostly the standard for US so other seasons having it also signals growth)

[@mlgjunfiv92]

If I'm not mistaken Drag race Philippines is the only international franchise with separate Untucked.

[@tyisamess]

I feel like Espana All Stars will help secure Espana’s future after season 3.

[@belakboy]

It’s either going to help España continue for another 3 years or it’s going to k¡ll it forever

[@i.f.llamas3922]

​@@belakboy another season was announced. So It survived. 👏

[@its_eli]

Cool channel, I enjoy your vibe, c'est bonne! 😎

[@NeungVDW]

For Drag Race Thailand, I don't think it's WOW decision to have the live finale. I believe that the live finale came from the production company 'Kantana'. At that time, they produce The Face Thailand which is the hugh hit and have the live finale so they follow that format since they already have experience and everything that they need. I don't think that WOW involves much in the production at all since it's the first franchise and they still don't know what to do. They don't even have the contract to put Drag Race Thailand season 1 on WOW.

[@lilou17000]

for me only country with English as official language will have "VS the world" for the other it'll be "all star". It's "easer" to make it 100% in english. Imagine an VS the world in french with juste some canada queen and Belgium vs french queens.

[@mrkcfan]

in holland the issue is we dont have enough talent that wanted to do dragrace

the switch

[@ItsSashion]

great video!!! ....just wait until canada 4

[@eudaldvidalcodony7089]

Another obvious growing sign is the final prize money

[@serenerhapsody]

Art Simone coming back was a sign of growth? more like immediate chaos. hahahahaha

[@lucasoliver2571]

If you are planning to do a Drag Race Brasil video, it will be out before or after the finale?

[@Anthony-fz9ye]

You kept using the word “lexicon” but its usage didn’t feel right to me. Maybe it’s diff in the US though :)

[@marcouscous527]

Yeah I think portfolio would work better than “lexicon” in the context he keeps using

[@callumfriel6092]

TLDR: the reason españa received an all stars not a vs season is purely due to the language difference Not that anyone asked me but I think españa received an all stars instead of vs. Season is simply due to the language barrier. International queens would struggle. Take LGD and keta minaj as on vs as an example. Both formidable queens… both fail at comedy challenges due to the nuance of understanding comedy in a language that wasn’t their own. I’m convinced you could put queens like trixie, alaska, even jinx on an españa vs the world season and they won’t survive comedy challenges. If the UK and U.S.A. didn’t share a language I’m convinced the UK would’ve had at least 1 all stars already (it’s cheaper. Much cheaper to offer a tv show via bbc than £50,000 to entice American queens).

[@i.f.llamas3922]

I also think A3player wanted to be the first one to do an All Stars outside the US

[@BeckywiseTheDancingClown]

I don't think Holland is coming back and I truly wonder if Down Under will have a Season 4

[@gameperson5]

Quoting Jenny Nicholson is SUCH a green flag

[@aquapichu4863]

Daddy uploaded...

[@levibaraujo5911]

will you talk about DR Brazil?

[@R92-q4b]

Smother me and order us pizza 🔥

[@dinojohnson305]

What happened to Thailand tho?

[@Alejandro415.]

U POSTED😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@peach-ls5uk]

please make survivor videos toooooo!!!

[@belakboy]

I’ve only watched like 5 seasons of survivor I’m nowhere near an expert enough to start making videos on it 😭

[@KwonJigglypuff]

I think you are wrong regarding the Vs the World franchises. I think they just want to capitalize on the fact that the queens speak English. I could see Down Under Vs the World someday to give this serie a redemption. Just watch Sparkie beat all international queens, that would shut people's mouth regarding the quality of work of these girls.

[@JDoradoTube]

I’m obsessed with Survivor. I know it’s a different demographic, but the fact that you made a nod to it is great 😂

[@belakboy]

I haven’t watched all of them but of what I’ve seen, I like them a lot :)

[@Themuseisback]

As much as I agree with most of your opinions, I don’t really think Philippines season two grew because it has been so stale and very shady and even Mama Pao with the runway and her outfits have not been improving at all since season one .for me 😅season one she was so unique the music was unique the looks were unique it just felt more unique. It was brand new, but it felt genuine season two does not feel genuine.

[@georgiebennett3336]

The production budget obviously grew, but there’s a change of the staff. Ice Seguerra did not return this season as director so understandable that there were changes in production. But the budget’s there. I also have a feeling that Mama Pao tries to set a theme this season “Blonde Bombshell or something” for her looks that’s why most of her looks have blonde hair. I believe this season has been experimenting to new stuff and took some risks. I’m looking forward for Season 3 anyhow.

[@blakepizarro1105]

Daddy

[@tyrensalchi5131]

Im so dissapointed and sad by the effort the production has put in to downunder.. the worst of the whole franchise

[@Greapes]

I say this with absolute respect that you look like a gay Hasan, especially whenever you wear your glasses

[@codeinesnaps]

was about to comment this lmao

[@0p3Q]

First duh

[@mrwoots9289]