Paramount+ Announces Global Expansion of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Franchise
Paramount+ customers in Brazil, Germany, and Mexico will no longer have to sashay away if they want to see episodes of the hit reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The show is now available to watch in each of those territories, marking a new international expansion for the franchise.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is the most celebrated reality competition franchise in history, with 27 Emmy Awards to date. Each season, the top drag queens in the U.S. vie for stardom as RuPaul, in full glamazon drag, reigns supreme while helping guide the contestants as they prepare for each challenge.
“With the global expansion of RuPaul’s Drag Race, we’re thrilled to bring the franchise into three new Paramount+ territories - Germany, Brazil and Mexico,” Paramount Media Networks’ president and CE) Chris McCarthy said.
In addition to the global expansion of the “Drag Race” franchise to new territories, fan favorites from around the world will enter the first ever “Drag Race Global All Stars” exclusively on Paramount+ globally. No release date has yet been announced for this global “Drag Race” event.
“Drag Race is about universal themes of love, self-expression, and acceptance - and there has never been a more important time than now for these ideas to be expressed internationally,” Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the CEOs of “Drag Race” production company said. “Thanks to Chris McCarthy, Nina L. Diaz and their incredible team at MTV Entertainment Studios, we are honored to continue our mission to showcase the artistry of drag in different languages, and cultures around the world.”
Paramount Global has also announced a new season of “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race,” which will air on VH1 in 2023. In that series, undercover celebrities will undergo complete drag transformations and compete in the ultimate lip sync showdown based on a new category until one of them is crowned “America’s Next Celeb Drag Superstar” and awarded $100,000 for their favorite charity.
Previous seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked! are available to stream on Paramount+. That service has done quite a bit of expanding of its own in 2022, rolling out in several global territories it was not previously available in. Paramount+ launched in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland in 2022, and now claims a global subscriber total of 46 million.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.