Wikipedia

Drag Den

For the most recent season, see Drag Den season 2.

Drag Den is a Philippine reality competition television series that documents drag queen Manila Luzon as host and head judge in search of the "Next Drag Supreme" for the Philippines. Every round, contestants are given different challenges to participate as they're judged by Manila Luzon, beauty pageant Nicole Cordoves, with comedian Sassa Gurl, alongside one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition.

Drag Den
GenreReality competition
Directed byRod Singh
Presented byManila Luzon
Judges
Country of originPhilippines
Original languages
  • English
  • Filipino / Tagalog
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
ProducerRod Singh
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time45–65 minutes
Production companies
  • Cornerstone Studios
  • Project 8 Projects
Original release
NetworkAmazon Prime Video
Release8 December 2022 (2022-12-08) –
7 March 2024 (2024-03-07)

The television series first premiered on 8 December 2022 for Amazon Prime Video, and was met with critical acclaim. Rod Singh serves as the director and producer, alongside with Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects. Manila Luzon is also credited as executive producer with cinematographers Antoinette Jadaone and Dan Villegas. The series was later renewed for a second season in April 2023, and premiered on 18 January 2024.

Background

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Drag is still kind of underground here, so I'm excited to bring the Filipino audience and let them see underground and see the scene that's happening and to fall in love with these queens and to be inspired by their creativity, to be in awe of their beauty and their transformations, and so it's going to be like a pageant.

Manila Luzon, introducing Drag Den to Mega Entertainment.[1]

Manila Luzon grew up surrounded with Filipino pride and being influenced into doing drag with his name referencing the Philippine city Manila, Luzon.[2] After rising to prominence for competing three times on American television series RuPaul's Drag Race, fans described the drag queen as "best-loved" for her witty humor.[3] Manila Luzon later mentioned in an interview with Vice how outstanding the drag artists are in the Philippines such as Vice Ganda, and hopefully be involved in a Philippine adaptation of Drag Race.[4]

Three months later, the drag queen exclusively told Entertainment Weekly about an upcoming project taking place in the Philippines.[5] Manila Luzon later revealed she is set to host and head judge reality competition series named Drag Den.[6][7]

Episodes

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SeasonContestantsEpisodesOriginally airedWinnerRunner(s)-up
First airedLast aired
1888 December 2022 (2022-12-08)26 January 2023 (2023-01-26)NaiaShewarma
Maria Cristina
210818 January 2024 (2024-01-18)7 March 2024 (2024-03-07)DejaMrs. Tan
Moi

Production

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Development

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Rod Singh was announced as the director of the series, produced by Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects.[8] The series was later picked up by streaming media service Tencent Video, with auditions opening on August 2021.[9] Manila Luzon expressed on X (formerly Twitter) that production showed her the finalized first episode in March 2022. Soon after, cinematographer Antoinette Jadaone praised the drag queen and announced herself as an executive producer for the series. After its short hiatus, streaming service Amazon Prime Video released a teaser trailer on 16 November 2022 with eight contestants competing.[10]

Three months after the first season concluded, the series posted an image similar to the promotional material from American comedy film Barbie (2023), featuring a doll-like figure of Manila Luzon.[11] Both the head judge and director announced the renewal of the series with auditions for season two opening in April.[12] A teaser was later released on 1 December 2023 with the judging panel appearing in a new set, featuring ten contestants.[13]

Auditions

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The television series partnered with video-sharing platform TikTok and announced auditions were opened on 16 August 2022 with the deadline being on the last date of the month.[14] A month later, a public vote was conducted online for three days named Call Beks, where fans decides which drag queen would be able to compete in for season one. The two participants Yudipota and Marlyn were shortlisted from competing, with O-A winning the fan-vote.[15] With the renewal of season two, auditions were announced on YouTube and opened on 13 April 2023 with the deadline ending on the last date of the month.

There has been a total of eighteen contestants featured in two seasons of the reality series so far with Naia and Deja crowned as the Philippines' Next Drag Supreme.[16][17] The series also welcomed its first openly trans woman contestant Barbie-Q,[18] and its first cisgender woman Marlyn.[19]

Judges

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Manila Luzon (left) and Nicole Cordoves (right), the judges of the series.

The judging panel cast opinions about the challenge performances and theme-wear looks made from contestants. Dubbed as the Drag Lord, Manila Luzon has been the host and head since the series' premiere. Beauty pageant Nicole Cordoves appears supporting the host on the panel every episode, with comedienne Sassa Gurl appearing as a messenger and mentoring the competitors.[20] A fourth slot is filled by one or more guest celebrity judges.[21]

Drag Agents were later introduced in season two, where contestants from previous seasons come back as judges.[22] For the fourth episode of the second season, Nicole Cordoves was absent from the panel with actress Megan Young acting as an "honoree" judge.[23]

Judges on Drag Den
Judge Season
1 2
Manila Luzon Main
Nicole Cordoves Main
Sassa Gurl Main

Release

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Drag Den first debuted through Amazon Prime Video on 8 December 2022, consisting of eight episodes until 26 January 2023.[24] The second season premiered on 18 January 2024 for eight episodes and concluded on 7 March 2024.[25]

Reception

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Ysmael Suarez from CNN Philippines sees the series focusing the growth of the contestants "before and during the competition" with no competitor being filmed "in a bad light, each having their clear strengths and defined perspective" for their drag persona.[26] Writing for Nylon Manila, Rafael Bautista compliments the series for highlighting the Philippines' diverse local drag scene and how it goes "beyond location and gender."[27]

Accolades

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Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award Year[a] Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Asian Academy Creative Awards 2023 Best Entertainment Host Manila Luzon Won [28]
Best Non Scripted Entertainment Drag Den Nominated
Asian Television Awards 2023 Best Entertainment Presenter or Host Manila Luzon Won [29][30]
Best Reality Show Entertainment Drag Den Nominated
2024 Pending [31]

Discography

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List of singles
Title Season
"May Kapa" 1
"Sustah" 2

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

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  1. ^ "From drag kings To trans queens, Manila Luzon welcomes all to Drag Den Philippines". Mega Entertainment. One Mega Group. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  2. ^ Neveling, Andre (13 August 2020). "Manila Luzon, Phi Phi O'Hara, and 4 other queens from RuPaul's Drag Race that you probably didn't know were Filipino competition series". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Reiss (23 April 2021). "Manila Luzon 'wasn't waiting around' for Drag Race Philippines to come knocking". PinkNews. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  4. ^ Kilter, Isabelle (23 April 2021). "Manila Luzon wants to see a Philippine version of Drag Race". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  5. ^ Nolfi, Joey (1 July 2021). "RuPaul's Drag Race queen Manila Luzon to host new Drag Den competition series". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. ^ Nolfi, Joey (21 July 2021). "Drag Race queen Manila Luzon says new Drag Den series will 'take over the world'". Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Manila Luzon on hosting Drag Den Philippines: I'm excited to live my own RuPaul fantasy!". CNN Philippines. 15 November 2022. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Drag Den Philippines to premiere on Prime Video tomorrow". CNN Philippines. 7 December 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Manila Luzon wants to see you get your drag on for Drag Den Philippines!". ClickTheCity.com. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  10. ^ Colcol, Erwin (19 November 2022). "Get set! Here's the cast of the Manila Luzon-starring Drag Den Philippines". Preview Philippines. Summmit Network. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  11. ^ Roque, Nika (13 April 2023). "Are we getting Drag Den Philippines season 2?". GMA News Online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  12. ^ Pasajol, Anne (14 April 2023). "Drag Den Philippines renewed for season 2". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  13. ^ Antonio, Josiah (7 December 2023). "List: Meet the queens of Drag Den Philippines season 2". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Digital:Drag Den Philippines with Manila Luzon kicks off auditions on TikTok". Adobo Magazine Online. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  15. ^ Samonte, Jujiin (8 December 2022). "Meet O-A, the campy chameleon of Drag Den". Mega Drag. One Mega Group. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  16. ^ Tunac, Hermes Joy (26 January 2023). "Naia is the first-ever "Drag Supreme" of Drag Den Philippines". GMA News Online. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  17. ^ Tunac, Hermes Joy (7 March 2024). "Drag Den Philippines reveals new "Drag Supreme" for season 2". GMA News Online. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  18. ^ Samonte, Jujiin (8 December 2022). "Get to know Barbie-Q, the trans queen of Drag Den". Mega Drag. One Mega Group. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  19. ^ Samonte, Jujiin (24 January 2024). "Drag Den season 2 grand opening night captures the essence of Pinoy queer fun". Mega Drag. One Mega Group. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  20. ^ Antonio, Josiah (17 November 2022). "Nicole Cordoves, Sassa Gurl join Drag Den Philippines judges' panel". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  21. ^ Cruz, Dana (1 December 2022). "Catriona Gray confirmed to appear in Drag Den Philippines". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  22. ^ Arsua, Koji (22 December 2023). "Here's Everything you need to know about Drag Den Philippines season 2". When in Manila. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Megan Young is an intergalactic queen in Drag Den guesting". GMA News Online. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  24. ^ Samonte, Jujiin (17 November 2022). "Drag Den finally has a birth date". Mega Drag. One Mega Group. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Drag Den Philippines drops teaser for season 2". GMA News Online. 1 December 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  26. ^ Suarez, Ysmael (18 January 2024). "Why Drag Den's second coming is crucial for Filipino drag". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  27. ^ Bautista, Rafael (26 January 2024). "With Drag Den season 2, Manila Luzon is going bolder and braver". Nylon Manila. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  28. ^ Enriquez, Em (10 December 2023). "Manila Luzon wins Best Entertainment Host at the 2023 Asian Academy Creative Awards". Preview Philippines. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  29. ^ Tunac, Hermes Joy (14 January 2024). "Manila Luzon of Drag Den Philippines wins Best Entertainment Presenter at Asian Television Awards". GMA News Online. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  30. ^ Tunac, Hermes Joy (14 November 2023). "Drag Den Philippines, Manila Luzon nominated at 28th Asian Television Awards". GMA News Online. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  31. ^ Deals, Joanna (18 October 2024). "Drag Den season 2 nominated for Best Reality Show at 29th Asian Television Awards". RepublicAsia. Retrieved 21 October 2024.

Further reading

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