The Drag Race franchise has always fluctuated in the quality of its seasons. It has either produced some of the best reality TV (Drag Race US season 14) or some of the worst (Drag Race Down Under season one). The season four premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has, if anything, continued the franchise’s surprising streak of successful outings in 2022.
12 new queens have strutted into the ‘werk room’, ready to serve their own brand of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.
Season four sports a diverse crop of queens, from Danny Beard – the first bearded queen in the franchise to be judged by RuPaul – to fashionista Sminty Drop, the drag granddaughter of the first ever eliminated DRUK girl, Gothy Kendoll.
DRUK continues to stun with trailblazing runways
For the first mini challenge of the season, the queens must recreate the Spice Girls’ iconic entrance from the 2012 London Olympics atop a black cab while the Pit Crew try to throw the girls off by simulating traditional British weather – which just means a lot of heavy wind and rain but without the never-ending cold afterwards.
The photoshoot mini challenges were a staple of Drag Race US in its earlier seasons and its nice to see DRUK continuing to embrace the franchise’s roots, and even more enjoyable to see the contestants have fun with it. Black Peppa won the mini challenge, immediately showing that she is a serious contender in the competition.
This season, Drag Race decided to switch up its season premiere a little; instead of the usual hometown runway for the queens’ first outing on the mainstage (which became the season four promo theme), they were asked to model outfits that are inspired by iconic BBC shows to celebrate the 100-years-old institution. The second runway sees the queens adorn their signature drag; outfits that best represent who they are.
While the BBC theme this week felt like a slightly self-aggrandising move for the national broadcaster, the queens – of course – had fun with it, and their signature runways shined a spotlight onto how they interpret drag.
Black Peppa reigns supreme while Just May’s looks are just ‘meh’
Sminty brought pride to the Haus of Kendoll with two iconic fashion moments. In her BBC centennial look, Sminty shined as a beautiful, ornate lamp inspired by Antiques Roadshow, complete with a large lampshade headpiece. It’s out of the box and the best interpretation of the theme. For her second runway, Sminty took the judges’ breath away in a frothy confection that emulates Marie Antoinette’s taste for bows and pastels, but modernised with the inclusion of black, latex gloves.
Starlet also earned a top placement for both of her runways, hilariously and intentionally stumbling down the main stage as Patsy Stone, with much praise from guest judge Joanna Lumley herself. Starlet’s drag aesthetic, as her name implies, is inspired by Old Hollywood glamour. Although she seemed timid this episode, Starlet is incredibly put together which could take her a long way in the competition.
Black Peppa won the challenge – and the episode as a whole. I have not seen such charisma and talent radiate from someone like this before on the show. As soon as they strutted into the werk room with an outstanding facemask reveal, the other queens – and us – knew Black Peppa was that girl. On the mainstage, they sold the judges an editorialised Mr. Blobby (which I didn’t know was possible) and a glamorous, purple gown with a chocolate bar fascinator. Although the fascinator slipped off during the runway, they managed to remain graceful and rightfully earned their RuPeter Badge, showing why I believe in Black Peppa supremacy and so should all of you.
In contrast, Just May received the worst critiques this week. Michelle applauded the absurdity of her EastEnders reference (Just May painted herself as the Queen Elizabeth bust from the show), but her signature drag – simply a dress with her face printed onto it – lacked elevation.
The judges took issue with the simplicity of Dakota's runways, which included a revealing take on Anne Boleyn in Horrible Histories and a mint green signature look inspired by Valentino. While Dakota looked beautiful, I do agree with Graham’s comment that the outfits seemed too plain in comparison to what the other queens presented.
Copper Topp just missed out on the bottom two, mainly criticised for her BBC look which referenced Julie Walters in the ‘Two Soups’ sketch from Our Friend Victoria. She made up for that outfit with her signature drag, which told a great story about reclaiming power from the homophobic abuse she faced growing up.
This meant our bottom two consisted of Dakota and Just May as they lip-synced for their lives to ‘Let Them Know’ by Mabel. It’s a great song choice, but the lip-sync itself wasn’t particularly exciting, a disappointing climax to an otherwise great premiere. That said, Dakota did well enough to save herself from elimination while Just May sashayed away, leaving 11 queens remaining.
A great time to be a Drag Race fan
2022 has been a strong year for the Drag Race franchise. Now that RuPaul’s empire has expanded across the globe, fans can experience how different cultures interpret and experience drag, from France to the Philippines. Already this month we’ve had Gisèle Lullaby and Spankie Jackzon win the crown on Canada’s Drag Race and Drag Race Down Under respectively.
Still, with eight seasons of Drag Race airing or have aired this year, Drag Race UK continues to be the very best the franchise has to offer thanks to its charming cast of queens, irreverent British humour, and display of drag excellence. It is still early days for the season, but this premiere episode is an exciting tease for what’s to come.
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