‘Drag Race Philippines’ Is the First International ‘Drag Race’ With Its Own ‘Untucked’
RuPaul’s Drag Race has taken over the world in recent years, with international spin-off series in four continents. Drag Race Philippines may be a unique Filipino competition, but many elements of American Drag Race are still there — most notably, a separate Untucked aftershow.
‘Drag Race Philippines’ is hosted by Paolo Ballesteros and judged by Jiggly Caliente and KaladKaren
Filipino-American drag queens such as Ongina, Manila Luzon, and Jiggly Caliente have competed on the American versions of RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in the past. So when it was announced that Drag Race was coming to the Philippines, fans were clamoring to see one of their favorite Pinay queens hosting the show.
Filipino drag icon Paolo Ballesteros, a.k.a. Mawma Pao, hosts the show, switching between English and Tagalog effortlessly. She’s joined by Drag Race alum Jiggly Caliente and TV host KaladKaren as main judges. This means that for the first time in Drag Race herstory, a trans woman sits on the judging panel — or in this case, two. They’re joined by three rotating judges: photographer BJ Pascual, fashion designer Rajo Laurel, and veteran actor and drag entertainer Jon Santos.
‘Drag Race Philippines’ is the first non-US ‘Drag Race’ to have its own ‘Untucked’
Drag Race Philippines is also unique in that it’s the first non-American season of Drag Race to have its own half-hour Untucked show. In the US, Untucked airs after the main episode to give fans a look into what the queens discuss backstage while the judges deliberate. In the Philippines, Untucked episodes air two days later.
By contrast, every other international version of Drag Race features an Untucked-like segment woven into the show, but never its own standalone series, and nowhere near a half hour in length.
Some fans of Drag Race have lamented the lack of drama in certain Untucked episodes in recent years, but Drag Race Philippines: Untucked makes up for it, showcasing the Pinay queens’ wide range of emotions.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked’ has won an Emmy in the US
In the US, RuPaul’s Drag Race has won two dozen Emmy Awards, making it the most-awarded reality show in the history of the Emmys.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked has also won an Emmy Award on its own: the aftershow has earned five nominations for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program and four for Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program, with one win for Unstructured Reality Program.
