World of Wonder Productions is an American production company founded in 1991 by filmmakers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. Based in Los Angeles, California, the company specializes in documentary television and film productions with a key focus on LGBTQ topics. Together, Barbato and Bailey have produced programming through World of Wonder for HBO, Bravo, HGTV, Showtime, BBC, Netflix, MTV and VH1, with credits including the Million Dollar Listing docuseries, RuPaul's Drag Race, and the documentary films The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000) and Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016).
RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV, WOW Presents Plus, VH1 and, beginning with the fifteenth season, MTV. The show documents RuPaul in the search for "America's next drag superstar". RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. Contestants are judged by a panel that includes RuPaul, Michelle Visage, an alternating third main judge of either Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, or Ts Madison, and one or more guest judges, who critique their progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
Ts Madison is an American reality television personality and actress. With the reality show The Ts Madison Experience, she became the first Black trans woman to star in and executive produce her own reality series. She has appeared in a variety of smaller films and some major television programs.
The eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race aired on VH1 from February 28, 2019, to May 30, 2019. The cast featured fourteen new queens and one returning queen, making it the largest cast of the series at the time; the contestants were announced in a live stream hosted by season 10 winner Aquaria and Adam Rippon on January 24, 2019.
Mrs. Kasha Davis is the stage name of Edward Paul Popil Jr., an American drag queen, actor and television personality from Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is best known for competing on the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. After appearing on the reality television show, Mrs. Kasha Davis toured internationally, released several musical singles, and performed in film, television and theatre.
The twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on February 28 and concluded on May 29, 2020. The competition was broadcast on VH1 in the United States and saw 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and its spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for a twelfth and fifth season respectively on August 19, 2019. At the time of the renewal the Drag Race franchise had earned VH1 a total of 14 Emmy nominations. Casting calls were opened in January 2019 while the cast was revealed by season 11 winner Yvie Oddly on January 23, 2020.
James Lee Williams, better known by the stage name The Vivienne, is a drag queen, known for being appointed the first UK RuPaul's Drag Race ambassador in 2015, winning the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2019, and later returning to compete in the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars in 2022. As part of her victory, she was awarded her own online television series, later titled The Vivienne Takes on Hollywood. The series premiered on 9 April 2020 on BBC Three and follows her trip to Hollywood to produce her own music video.
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked! is a spin-off of the American reality competition RuPaul's Drag Race, currently airing on the cable channel MTV. The program debuted on Logo in the United States on February 1, 2010, as a companion show launched in conjunction with the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race; it moved to WOWPresents on March 3, 2015, as a web series, coinciding with the debut of the seventh season of the parent series. The series returned to cable television on VH1, on March 22, 2018, coinciding with the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The show now airs on MTV as of January 6, 2023, in conjunction with the fifteenth season of the main series.
The thirteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 1 and concluded on April 23, 2021. The cast was announced via Twitter on December 9, 2020. The competition is broadcast on VH1 in the United States and showcases 13 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". VH1 renewed both RuPaul's Drag Race and its spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for a thirteenth and sixth season respectively on August 20, 2020. Casting calls for season 13 were opened in December 2019. In addition to airing on VH1, the premiere episode was simulcast across 5 other channels: Logo, MTV, MTV2, Pop, and The CW, becoming the most-watched episode in the franchise's history.
You're a Winner, Baby is the thirteenth studio album by American singer and drag queen RuPaul, released on January 10, 2020. The album features eight new songs. The album was released on the same day as the Netflix original television series AJ and the Queen, starring RuPaul.
Heidi N Closet is the stage name of Trevien Anthonie Cheek, an American drag queen from Ramseur, North Carolina, best known for competing on the twelfth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed 6th and won the Miss Congeniality award. She returned to the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, but decided to quit the competition early, citing her mental health and wellbeing as the reason for her withdrawal.
Boris Itzkovich Escobar, known by the stage name Envy Peru, is a Peruvian drag queen, actor, model and makeup artist settled in the Netherlands, most notable for being the winner of the first season of Drag Race Holland. He is also known as one of the top three drag presenters in the Netherlands for the BNNVARA television show De diva in mij.
Justin Omar Mooijer, known by the stage name Janey Jacké, is a Dutch drag queen, actor and presenter, most known for competing in the first season of Drag Race Holland (2020) and later the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2022).
The fourteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 7, 2022. The reality competition series, broadcast on VH1 in the United States, showcases 14 new queens competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". Casting calls for season 14 were opened in November 2020, and the cast was officially revealed by season 13 winner Symone on VH1 on December 2, 2021. The season premiere received 738,000 viewers, making it the most-watched premiere since Season 10.
Lawrence Chaney is a Scottish Glasgow-based drag queen. They are best known for winning the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, becoming the first Scottish drag queen and the second Plus Size contestant to win across the franchise. Their role on the series later earned them the 2021 BAFTA Scotland Audience Award. As part of their Drag Race victory, Chaney was awarded their own online television series, later titled Tartan Around, which premiered in 2022.
The second season of Drag Race España premiered on March 27, 2022. The season aired on ATRESplayer Premium in Spain and WOW Presents Plus internationally.
Painted with Raven is a makeup competition television series hosted by Raven, which premiered on WOW Presents Plus on November 25, 2021. RuPaul serves as co-executive producer alongside Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, and Tom Campbell of World of Wonder. After two weeks of the debut competition show, on December 9, 2021, it was announced that it had been picked up for a second season.
The fifteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered January 6, 2023. The reality competition series moved to MTV for broadcast, instead of VH1 in the United States.
Tongue Thai'd with Pangina Heals is a talk show hosted by Drag Race Thailand co-host and RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World contestant Pangina Heals, produced by World of Wonder. The first season premiered on December 6, 2022, through WOW Presents Plus. A second season was renewed and premiered on December 4, 2023.
Drag Race España All Stars is a Spanish reality competition series. It is a spin-off of Drag Race España and is based on the original American series, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. The series is being broadcast by Atresplayer in Spain, and on WOW Presents Plus internationally.
