Drag Race Germany


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.
ContestantAgeHometownOutcome
Pandora Nox29Vienna, Austria
Metamorkid24Vienna, Austria
Yvonne Nightstand29Berlin, Germany
Kelly Heelton41Wiesbaden, Germany4th place
Loreley Rivers24Düsseldorf, Germany5th place
Victoria Shakespears29Basel, Switzerland6th place
Nikita Vegaz38Berlin, Germany7th place
Tessa Testicle25Basel, Switzerland8th place
LéLé Cocoon23Frankfurt, Germany9th place
22Cologne, Germany10th place
Barbie Q25Munich, Germany11th place

Notes:

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:
Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1
  • Walter Gomez, photographer
Episode 3
Episode 12