Drag Race Germany is a German reality competition series, based on the original American series, RuPaul's Drag Race. The series is broadcast on MTV and Paramount+ in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and on WOW Presents Plus internationally.
Drag Race Germany is the fifteenth international adaptation of the American reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, following Chilean, Thai, British, Canadian, Dutch, Australian and New Zealand, Spanish, Italian, French, Filipino, Belgian, Swedish, Mexican, and Brazilian versions.
Production Originally in 2013, the German company Phantomfilm acquired the production rights to create a German adaptation of RuPaul's Drag Race. World of Wonder, the production company behind RuPaul's Drag Race, confirmed the upcoming adaptation by releasing a teaser trailer featuring RuPaul. Taç Romey, the spokesperson for Phantomfilm at the time, announced that there would be little changes to the format, other than it having greater focus on comedy to adapt to the country's market, and that the show was going to air on a mainstream network, although the company was still negotiating with various channels for the broadcast. Ultimately, the company's licensing rights expired, which led to a second attempt of producing Drag Race in Germany.
In 2019, RedSeven Entertainment has opened casting for a reality competition focused about drag queens. The show, with the name of Queen of Drags, aired in the same year on ProSieben. Bambi Mercury, one of the contestants on the show, later revealed in a podcast that the series was supposed to be a German adaptation of Drag Race franchise. However, after RedSeven failed to get licensing rights, the production company was forced to change the format of the show.
On August 8, 2022, World of Wonder posted three casting calls on social media. The casting calls were for new potential Drag Race adaptations in Brazil, Germany, and Mexico. The deadline for the potential competitors was set for August 26, with the deadline for audition video submission set for September 9, 2022. In December, it was confirmed that the new editions of the Drag Race franchise will premiere "on MTV/Paramount+ in their respective territories."
Barbie Breakout and Gianni Jovanovic were confirmed as hosts and head judges in August 2023. A third judge, American fashion designer Dianne Brill was confirmed the next day, as well as the premiere date, which was set for September 5. The cast was revealed on August 15, 2023, featuring contestants from all over the DACH zone.
The winner of the first season of Drag Race Germany, is Pandora Nox from Vienna, Austria. This also makes her the first AFAB winner in the history of the franchise.
Contestants Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
+Contestants of Drag Race Germany and their backgrounds Contestant Age Hometown Outcome Pandora Nox 29 Vienna, Austria Metamorkid 24 Vienna, Austria Yvonne Nightstand 29 Berlin, Germany Kelly Heelton 41 Wiesbaden, Germany 4th place Loreley Rivers 24 Düsseldorf, Germany 5th place Victoria Shakespears 29 Basel, Switzerland 6th place Nikita Vegaz 38 Berlin, Germany 7th place Tessa Testicle 25 Basel, Switzerland 8th place LéLé Cocoon 23 Frankfurt, Germany 9th place 22 Cologne, Germany 10th place Barbie Q 25 Munich, Germany 11th place
Notes:
Contestant progress
Lip syncs Legend:
Episode Contestants Song Eliminated 1 Tessa Testicle vs. Victoria Shakespears ""(Shirin David) None 2 Barbie Q vs. Victoria Shakespears "Break My Heart"(Dua Lipa) Barbie Q 3 Tessa Testicle vs. The Only Naomy "Holding Out for a Hero"(Bonnie Tyler) The Only Naomy 4 LéLé Cocoon vs. Tessa Testicle "About Damn Time"(Lizzo) LéLé Cocoon 5 Pandora Nox vs. Tessa Testicle "Atemlos durch die Nacht"(Helene Fischer) Tessa Testicle 6 Loreley Rivers vs. Nikita Vegaz vs. Victoria Shakespears "Flowers"(Miley Cyrus) Nikita Vegaz 7 Loreley Rivers vs. Victoria Shakespears "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here (Hex Hector Dance Mix)"(Deborah Cox) Victoria Shakespears 8 Loreley Rivers vs. Pandora Nox "Chandelier"(Sia) Loreley Rivers Episode Contestants Song Winner 9 Metamorkid vs. Yvonne Nightstand "Rock Me Amadeus"(Falco) Metamorkid Episode Contestants Song Eliminated 10 Kelly Heelton vs. Metamorkid "Heart to Break"(Kim Petras) Kelly Heelton Episode Final contestants Song Winner 12 Metamorkid vs. Pandora Nox vs. Yvonne Nightstand "Rise Like a Phoenix"(Conchita Wurst) Pandora Nox
Guest judges Listed in chronological order: Shirin David, singer-songwriter and rapper (episode 1) KonstantinosTheStylist, fashion designer (episodes 3 and 5) Denis We, choreographer (episode 4) Raffaela Zollo, YouTube personality (episode 6) Estefania Elisa, social media personality (episodes 7, 8 and 9) Sasha Velour, winner of the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (episode 10)
Special guests Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1 Walter Gomez, photographer
Episode 3 Nubia Ortega, musician and vocal coach
Episode 12 Norvina, president of Anastasia Beverly Hills
Episodes
References