| Drag Den | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Reality competition |
| Directed by | Rod Singh |
| Presented by | Manila Luzon |
| Judges |
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| Country of origin | Philippines |
| Original languages |
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| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Rod Singh |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 45–65 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 8 December 2022 (2022-12-08) – 7 March 2024 (2024-03-07) |
Drag Den is a Philippinereality competition television series that documents drag queenManila Luzon as host and head judge in search of the "Next Drag Supreme" forthe Philippines. Every round, contestants are given different challenges to participate as they're judged by Manila Luzon, beauty pageantNicole Cordoves, with comedianSassa Gurl, alongside one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition.
The television seriesfirst premiered on 8 December 2022 forAmazon Prime Video, and was met with critical acclaim. Rod Singh serves as the director and producer, along with Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects. Manila Luzon is also credited as executive producer with cinematographersAntoinette Jadaone andDan Villegas. The series was later renewed for asecond season in April 2023, and premiered on 18 January 2024.
Manila Luzon grew up surrounded with Filipino pride and being influenced into doing drag with his name referencing the Philippine cityManila, Luzon.[1] After rising to prominence for competing three times on American television seriesRuPaul's Drag Race, fans described the drag queen as "best-loved" for her witty humor.[2] Manila Luzon later mentioned in an interview withVice how outstanding the drag artists are in the Philippines such asVice Ganda, and hopefully be involved in a Philippine adaptation ofDrag Race.[3]
Three months later, the drag queen exclusively toldEntertainment Weekly about an upcoming project taking place in the Philippines.[4] Manila Luzon later revealed she is set to host and head judge reality competition series namedDrag Den.[5][6]
The series' title is a play on "drug den", a term used colloquially in the country in reference tosafehouses holding drug addicts.[7]
| Season | Contestants | Episodes | Originally released | Winner | Runner(s)-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | 8 | 8 December 2022 (2022-12-08) | 26 January 2023 (2023-01-26) | Naia | Shewarma Maria Cristina | |
| 2 | 10 | 8 | 18 January 2024 (2024-01-18) | 7 March 2024 (2024-03-07) | Deja | Mrs. Tan Moi | |
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.
Rod Singh was announced as the director of the series, produced by Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects.[9] The series was later picked up by streaming media serviceTencent Video, with auditions opening in August 2021.[10] Manila Luzon expressed onX (formerly Twitter) that production showed her the finalized first episode in March 2022. Soon after, cinematographerAntoinette Jadaone praised the drag queen and announced herself as an executive producer for the series. After its short hiatus, streaming serviceAmazon Prime Video released ateaser trailer on 16 November 2022 with eight contestants competing.[11]
Three months after thefirst season concluded, the series posted an image similar to the promotional material from American comedy filmBarbie (2023), featuring a doll-like figure of Manila Luzon.[12] Both the head judge and director announced the renewal of the series with auditions forseason two opening in April.[13] A teaser was later released on 1 December 2023 with the judging panel appearing in a new set, featuring ten contestants.[14]
The television series partnered with video-sharing platformTikTok and announced auditions were opened on 16 August 2022 with the deadline being on the last date of the month.[15] 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 participantsYudipota and Marlyn were shortlisted from competing, with O-A winning the fan-vote.[16] With the renewal of season two, auditions were announced onYouTube 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 withNaia and Deja crowned as the Philippines' Next Drag Supreme.[17][18] The series also welcomed its first openly trans woman contestant Barbie-Q,[19] and its first cisgender woman Marlyn.[20]
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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 pageantNicole Cordoves appears supporting the host on the panel every episode, with comedienneSassa Gurl appearing as a messenger and mentoring the competitors.[21] A fourth slot is filled by one or more guest celebrity judges.[22]
Drag Agents were later introduced in season two, where contestants from previous seasons come back as judges.[23] For the fourth episode of the second season, Nicole Cordoves was absent from the panel with actressMegan Young acting as an "honoree" judge.[24]
| Judge | Season | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| Manila Luzon | Main | |
| Nicole Cordoves | Main | |
| Sassa Gurl | Main | |
Drag Den debuted through Amazon Prime Video on 8 December 2022, consisting of eight episodes until 26 January 2023.[25] The second season premiered on 18 January 2024 for eight episodes and concluded on 7 March 2024.[26]
Ysmael Suarez fromCNN 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.[27] Writing forNylon Manila, Rafael Bautista compliments the series for highlighting the Philippines' diverse local drag scene and how it goes "beyond location and gender."[28]
| Award | Year[a] | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Academy Creative Awards | 2023 | Best Entertainment Host | Manila Luzon | Won | [29] |
| Best Non Scripted Entertainment | Drag Den | Nominated | |||
| Asian Television Awards | 2023 | Best Entertainment Presenter or Host | Manila Luzon | Won | [30][31] |
| Best Reality Show Entertainment | Drag Den | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Pending | [32] |
| Title | Season |
|---|---|
| "May Kapa" | 1 |
| "Sustah" | 2 |
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