House of Drag is a New Zealand reality competition show based on the incredibly popular 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] Like Queen of Drags, Camp WannaKiki, Las Mas Dragas, and Dragula, House of Drag is not part of the official RPDR franchise.
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
| 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 | RUNNER 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
Since the episodes do not have official names, the titles will be based on the challenge of the episode.
| Series # | Episode # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Glamour-Puss Photoshoot | November 15, 2018 |
| 2 | 2 | Comedy Is Gold | November 15, 2018 |
| 3 | 3 | Costume Chaos | November 22, 2018 |
| 4 | 4 | Shit Skit | November 29, 2018 |
| 5 | 5 | Dancing Days | December 6, 2018 |
| 6 | 6 | That's a Rap! | December 13, 2018 |
| 7 | 7 | Lip Before You Sink | December 20, 2018 |
Episode 1: "Glamour-Puss Photoshoot"
Episode 1 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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
Entrance Order
| 1. | Lola Blades |
| 2. | Bunny Holiday |
| 3. | Medulla Oblongata |
| 4. | Trinity Ice |
| 5. | Vulga Titz |
| 6. | Luna |
| 7. | Leidy Lei |
| 8. | Shavorn Abörealis |
| 9. | Hugo Grrrl |
Glamour-Puss Photoshoot
Episode 2: "Comedy Is Gold"
Episode 2 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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: "Costume Chaos"
Episode 3 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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: "Shit Skit"
Episode 4 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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
Shit Skit Groups
| Team Lola | Team Bunny | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contestant | Role | Contestant | Role | |
| Hugo Grrrl | TV Presenter | Bunny Holiday | Anita Wigl'it | |
| Lola Blades | Anita Wigl'it | Leidy Lei | Kita Mean | |
| Vulga Titz | Kita Mean | Medulla Oblongata | Kita's Drag Mom | |
| Narrator | ||||
Episode 5: "Dancing Days"
Episode 5 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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.
- Mini Challenge: Pop a randomly assigned balloon, whoever's balloon contains red glitter instead of black glitter, gets to assign the music genres (This was technically not a mini challenge.)
- Mini Challenge Winner: Lola Blades
- 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
Assigned Music Genres
| Contestant | Music Genre |
|---|---|
| Vulga Titz | Disco |
| Hugo Grrrl | Hip Hop |
| Leidy Lei | K-Pop |
| Bunny Holiday | Country |
| Lola Blades | Jazz |
Episode 6: "That's a Rap!"
Episode 6 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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: "Lip Before You Sink"
Episode 7 Thumbnail on TVNZ
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 Sink 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
Hosts Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it
- House of Drag is the first televised drag competition in an English language country outside of the United States, followed by Drag Race UK.
- This is also the 1st season of a drag competition 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 competition, 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
House of Drag Trailer
Gallery
|
Check out the lookbook gallery to see the queens' looks from each episode.
|
References
House of Drag Season 1
| |
| Hugo Grrrl | |
| 2nd: Lola Blades • 3rd: Leidy Lei | |
| 4th: Bunny Holiday • 5th: Vulga Titz • 6th: Medulla Oblongata • 7th: Trinity Ice • 8th: Luna • 9th: Shavorn Abörealis | |
