ABSTRACT
Drag’s presence on television has increased exponentially since the introduction of RuPaul’s Drag Race in the United States in 2009. Global spin-offs of the reality program have appeared in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, and South America with more in production. The program also generated a reality television series based on Las Vegas stage production. The growth in the franchise has also coincided with a growth in streaming platforms that moved Drag Race from the fringe of television to the mainstream back to the fringe again. This chapter explores the brand extensions of RuPaul’s Drag Race into different parts of the world and the program’s mediated recirculation across various platforms as well as physical extensions that are also re-packaged for television. The chapter also considers how the global Covid-19 pandemic affected production and reception of Drag Race and may have helped secure worldwide audiences for what was initially considered niche programming.
