The first season of Drag Den premiered on 8 December 2022, through Amazon Prime Video. The premiere season showcased a total of eight contestants competing for the title of the "First Filipino Drag Supreme".
Casting calls for the first season were opened in August 2021, and the cast was officially revealed in a teaser trailer in November 2022. The season also welcomed its first openly trans woman contestant, Barbie-Q. The winner of the season received a cash prize of ₱1,000,000, a one-year makeup supply from Téviant Beauty cosmetics, a one-year contract with Avignon Clinic, and a three-year management contract with CS Entertainment. The first season was won by Naia, with Shewarma and Maria Cristina as runners-up.
Production In July 2021, RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Manila Luzon exclusively told Entertainment Weekly about an upcoming project she is up to host and judge. Luzon said, "I'm excited that we're going to create an opportunity similar to [what] RuPaul and World of Wonder have given to me." The upcoming show is not affiliated with RuPaul's Drag Race or its production company, World of Wonder.
On 16 August 2021, Luzon partnered with TikTok and announced a casting call for the reality competition show. The deadline for the casting call ended on 31 August 2020. After the casting call announcement for Drag Den, RuPaul announced a casting call for Drag Race Philippines. Many fans called this announcement from RuPaul and World of Wonder: "foul" and "shade". A year later, Drag Race Philippines started to premiere in August 2022. Jiggly Caliente (presented as a judge) addressed the situation with Digital Spy saying, "There is definitely no rivalry because Manila knew about me doing Drag Race, and I knew about her doing Drag Den."
Format Contestants are instructed to participate in two challenges in the series. In both challenges, the judges will critique based on both challenges and choose their winner. The episode's winner will enter a battle with their chosen opponent, named the Dragdagulan, involving a wrecking ball. The winner of the battle will gain an advantage for the next episode; the opponent will not be eliminated and will continue in the competition.
Promotion After the series' long hiatus, the show's social media posted an update with the caption saying, "#justwokeup". Many people speculated that the show is yet to come sooner. On 16 November 2022, an official teaser was revealed with Manila Luzon sitting on a throne in the dark.
On 17 November 2022, eight contestants were shown in the new trailer heading down the runway. Sassa Gurl, Nicole Cordoves, and Manila Luzon, who served as the competition's main judges, all made appearances in the same trailer. Additionally, it revealed the official premiere date, which is slated for 8 December 2022, and will be available through Amazon Prime Video. On 30 November 2022, an official series trailer debuted, showcasing the candidates taking part in challenges while being judged, as well as the first challenge from the season premiere. It was revealed in the same official teaser that Catriona Gray will serve as a guest judge on the premiere of Drag Den. Luzon was recently signed with Warner Music Philippines, and announced the theme song for the series that is set to release on 2 December 2022.
Contestants On 17 November 2022, throughout the show's social media, they presented "Manila by Night" where they showed promotional images of their contestants' looks. This was a nod to the controversial Philippine film, Manila by Night (1980), directed by Ishmael Bernal. The series also welcomed its first openly trans woman contestant, Barbie-Q. Ages, names, and cities stated are at the time of filming.
+ Contestants from the first season of Drag Den and their backgrounds Contestant Age Hometown Outcome Naia 26 Las Piñas, Metro Manila Shewarma 22 Pateros, Metro Manila Maria Cristina 28 Bulacan, Central Luzon Barbie-Q 35 Quezon City, Metro Manila 4th place Lady Gagita 29 Davao City, Davao del Sur 5th place Aries Night 24 Antipolo, Rizal 6th place O-A 24 Parañaque, Metro Manila 7th place Pura Luka Vega 32 Manila, Metro Manila 8th place
Contestant progress Legend:
+ Contestant Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 Naia SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Winner Shewarma TOP SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Runner-up Maria Cristina SAFE TOP SAFE SAFE SAFE Runner-up Barbie-Q SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Guest Lady Gagita SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Guest Aries Night SAFE SAFE SAFE TOP Guest O-A SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Guest Pura Luka Vega SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE SAFE Guest
Rankings + Progress of contestants including rank in each episode Rank Round Final Ranking Total Points 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Shewarma Maria Cristina Maria CristinaBarbie-Q Lady Gagita O-AAries Night Barbie-QAries Night Maria CristinaNaiaShewarma rowspan="3" 2 Lady Gagita Naia Shewarma 3 O-A Aries Night Naia Maria Cristina Naia Naia 4 Maria Cristina Pura Luka Vega Pura Luka VegaShewarma Naia Pura Luka Vega Shewarma Barbie-Q 90.2 5 Pura Luka Vega Lady Gagita Pura Luka Vega Barbie-Q O-A Lady Gagita 90.14 6 Aries Night Barbie-Q Lady Gagita Barbie-Q Lady Gagita Lady Gagita Aries Night 87.53 7 Barbie-Q Shewarma O-A O-A Shewarma Maria Cristina O-A 87.43 8 Naia O-A Aries Night Aries Night Maria Cristina Pura Luka Vega Pura Luka Vega 87.2
Guest judges Guest judges are known as the "Drag Enforcer" in the series. Guest judges are listed in chronological order.
Catriona Gray, model and Miss Universe 2018 K Brosas, actress and comedian Eula Valdez, actress KZ Tandingan, singer and rapper Francis Libiran, architect and fashion designer Antoinette Jadaone, filmmaker and podcaster Mela Habijan, model and Miss Trans Global 2020
Special guests Guests who appeared in episodes, but not judge on the main stage.
Episode 8: Mama Bobby, drag queen Mama Let-Let, drag queen Mama Pie, drag queen
Episodes
Notes
References