House of Drag (Season 1)

House of Drag is a New Zealand reality competition show based on the American version of RuPaul's Drag Race. The first season premiered on November 15, 2018 on TVNZ OnDemand. It is hosted by drag queens Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it.^[1]

The first season had 9 contestants: 8 drag queens and 1 drag king to take a series of "awkwardly fabulous" challenges. The contestant who won the challenge had the power to select two contestants who they believe should be in the bottom. Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it then decided who will "have their light dimmed" and be sent home.

The contestants competed to be crowned the winner of The House of Drag, take home a prize of $10,000, a 55" LG Smart LED TV and one year of free Broadband, courtesy of the shows sponsor Chorus Limited. The opening theme is "Devil in Disguise" by Richard Kimmings.^[2]

The winner of the first season of House of Drag was Hugo Grrrl, with Lola Blades placing as Runner-Up.

Contestants

Bunny Holiday

Hugo Grrrl

Leidy Lei

Lola Blades

Luna

Medulla Oblongata

Shavorn Abörealis

Trinity Ice

Vulga Titz

Rank	Contestant	Photo	Real Name	Age	Current City	Ep. 1	Ep. 2	Ep. 3	Ep. 4	Ep. 5	Ep. 6	Ep. 7 (Finale)
1st (Winner)	Hugo Grrrl		George Fowler	27	Wellington	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WINNER
2nd (Runner-Up)	Lola Blades		Logan Russell	28	Auckland	SAFE	SAFE	BTM2	SAFE Team Captain	SAFE	WIN	RUN UP
3rd	Leidy Lei		Leighton Stitchbury	23	Auckland	SAFE	BTM2	SAFE	BTM2	WIN	BTM2	ELIM
4th	Bunny Holiday		Raife May	23	Wellington	BTM2	WIN	SAFE	SAFE Team Captain	BTM2	ELIM
5th	Vulga Titz		Manson Howell	20	Wellington	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	ELIM
6th	Medulla Oblongata		Abraham Naim	32	Auckland	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM
7th	Trinity Ice		Trinity Arianna Johnston	28	Auckland	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM
8th	Luna		Caleb McNabb	24	Auckland	SAFE	ELIM
9th	Shavorn Abörealis		Karin Yamasaki	21	Auckland	ELIM

█ The contestant won House of Drag.

█ The contestant was a runner-up.

█ The contestant was eliminated in third place after the final lip-sync.

█ The contestant won the main challenge and decided the bottom two contestants.

█ The contestant was chosen by the winner to be in the bottom 2.

█ The contestant placed in the bottom two, and was ultimately eliminated by the hosts.

Episodes

Episode 1

Airdate: November 15, 2018

Synopsis: Kita and Anita bring in 9 dragstars from all over New Zealand to live under one roof. A series of challenges will be set where only one dragstar will take home the ultimate prize pack and be crowned New Zealand's first dragstar.

• The Glamour-puss Challenge: Photoshoot
• Main Challenge Winner: Medulla Oblongata
• Bottom Two: Bunny Holiday and Shavorn Abörealis
• Eliminated: Shavorn Abörealis

Episode 2

Airdate: November 15, 2018

Synopsis: The remaining stars prepare for comedy night at the House of Drag. Who will rise to the top? And who will have their light dimmed and be sent packing?

• The Comedy Is Gold Challenge: Perform a Stand-up Routine
• Main Challenge Winner: Bunny Holiday
• Bottom Two: Leidy Lei and Luna
• Eliminated: Luna

Episode 3

Airdate: November 22, 2018

Synopsis: The competition gets tough when a DIY costume challenge leaves one drag-star shaken up amongst the chaos. Which drag star will shine the brightest? And whose light will be dimmed?

• Costume Chaos Challenge: Design a look out of "crap".
• Main Challenge Winner: Hugo Grrrl
• Bottom Two: Lola Blades and Trinity Ice
• Eliminated: Trinity Ice

Episode 4

Airdate: November 29, 2018

Synopsis: The competition amps up as the drag-stars are forced to work in teams of three and devise a skit that's inspired by Kita and Anita's drag careers. Who will light up the stage? And who's light will be dimmed?

• Shit Skit Challenge: Work in teams and devise a skit inspired by Kita and Anita's careers.
• Main Challenge Winner: Vulga Titz
• Bottom Two: Leidy Lei and Medulla Oblongata
• Eliminated: Medulla Oblongata

Groups

Episode 5

Airdate: December 6, 2018

Synopsis: The drag-stars compete in a dance challenge. Plus, negative vibes surround the house as the rift between the Aucklanders and Wellingtonians continues.

• Dance Days Challenge: Devise and perform a dance to an assigned genre.
• Main Challenge Winner: Leidy Lei
• Bottom Two: Bunny Holiday and Vulga Titz
• Eliminated: Vulga Titz

Episode 6

Airdate: December 13, 2018

Synopsis: The final four drag-stars are challenged to write raps about each other and battle it out to stay in the competition.

• That's a Rap Challenge: Devise and perform a rap in the "House of Drag Rap Battle" about the other contestants.
• Main Challenge Winner: Lola Blades
• Bottom Two: Bunny Holiday and Leidy Lei
• Eliminated: Bunny Holiday

Top Three of Season 1

Queens	Challenge Wins	Up for Elimination
Hugo Grrrl	1 (Ep. 3)	0
Leidy Lei	1 (Ep. 5)	3 (Eps. 2, 4, 6)
Lola Blades	1 (Ep. 6)	1 (Ep. 3)

Episode 7

Airdate: December 20, 2018

Synopsis: Season Finale: Only three drag-stars remain and they have one last chance to battle it out for the title of Brightest Star and winner of the first ever season of House of Drag.

• Lip Before They Sync Challenge: Perform a Lip-Sync to "Cherry Blossom" by Sal Valentine.
• Eliminated: Leidy Lei
• Runner-up: Lola Blades
• Winner of House of Drag Season 1: Hugo Grrrl

Trivia

• This is the first international Drag Race spin-off in an English language country.
• This is also the 1st season to have both a transman and a transwoman competing in the same competition.
• Hugo Grrrl is the first drag king to compete on any Drag Race franchise, as well as the first transgender man to compete.
  • He is also the first winner of any season to be a drag king.
• Coincidentally, this season has the same number of competitors as the first season of the RuPaul's Drag Race.

Videos

Gallery

Check out the lookbook gallery to see the queens' looks from each episode.

References

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