'Drag Race Philippines' releases first trailer
With just two weeks to go before its premiere, Drag Race Philippines has now released its promo trailer for its inaugural season, which features Kapuso star Paolo Ballesteros as the reality show's host.
In the minute-and-a-half trailer, the season's 12 contestants are seen not just wearing jeepney-themed fashions, they are also delivering witty puns playing on well-known jeepney sign boards and exclamations.
Paolo is also seen in two outfits and sporting the immaculate makeup the Kapuso star is known for.
Watch the trailer below.
The release of the trailer is the latest treat to Filipino Drag Race fans who have been looking forward to a local iteration of the show for several years now.
Last month, the show announced RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Jiggly Caliente and social media personality Kaladkaren as the two permanent judges on its panel.
The announcement was made on the official Drag Race Philippines Twitter account through a short clip. The tweet also said that the inaugural season will premiere on August 17 on the Wow Presents Plus streaming service.
Jiggly Caliente and Kaladkaren are two transwomen who will be sitting in the judging panel, a fact that Jiggly pointed out in a tweet has not been so far in the currently airing seasons of the Drag Race franchise.
Aside from the Wow Presents Plus streaming service, Drag Race Philippines will also air on HBO Go and the discovery+ streaming services, with new episodes premiering every Wednesday.
Aside from featuring two transwomen on the judging panel, Drag Race Philippines will also be the first international franchise to have Untucked, the behind-the-scenes show of the American version of the show where the queens are unfiltered and often confront each other.
Drag Race Philippines is the latest international version of RuPaul's Drag Race, which over 14 seasons and multiple All-Stars seasons has won multiple Emmy Awards and GLAAD Media Awards. It has spawned several international spin-offs like RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Drag Race España, and Drag Race France.
RuPaul's Drag Race has made a number of historic first throughout its history, such as casting a straight, cisgender man in the form of contestant Maddy Morphosis during season 14.
Through the years, the show has steadily expanded its qualifications for drag queens that are allowed to compete on the show. Victoria Scone, who competed on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, was the first cisgender female to compete on any franchise of the show. In the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, transgender female contestant Kylie Sonique Love became the first out trans woman to win the crown.
The queens on Drag Race Philippines will be joining the list of Filipino queens that have competed on the American version of RuPaul's Drag Race. Check them out in the gallery below.