Drag Den

The contestants are instructed to participate in two challenges in the series. The first challenge, the Themewear Drag Test, where they are judged based on the series-chosen theme attire. After the first challenge, the contestants participate in the Main Drag Showdown. The judges will critique based on both challenges and chooses their winner. The winner of the episode will be entered a battle called the Dragdagulan. The winner must choose their opponent to either battle in a lip-sync, roasting each other, or hit their opponent with a wrecking ball. The winner of the Dragdagulan will gain an advantage for the next episode, and the opponent will not be eliminated and will continue in the competition.

The competition series is hosted and judged primarily by drag queen, Manila Luzon, also known as the "Drag Lord". Philippine model Nicole Cordoves and comedienne Sassa Gurl, made appearances as the competition's prominent judges.[6] The three judges are known as the "Drag Cartel" in the series. In every episode, a guest judge appears for the series, known as the "Drag Enforcer".[7]

Currently, there has been a total of eight contestants that competed in Drag Den.[8]

In July 2021, RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Manila Luzon exclusively told Entertainment Weekly about an upcoming project she is up to host and judge.[9] The series is not affiliated with the Drag Race franchise or its production company World of Wonder.[10] The production companies for Drag Den are Cornerstone Studios and Project 8 Projects. On 16 August 2021, Luzon partnered with TikTok and announced a casting call for the series.[11] The deadline for the casting call ended on 31 August 2021.[12]

Drag is still kind of underground here, so I'm excited to bring the Filipino audience and let them see underground and see the scene that's happening and to fall in love with these queens and to be inspired by their creativity, to be in awe of their beauty and their transformations, and so it's going to be like a pageant.

— Manila Luzon, introducing Drag Den to Mega Entertainment.[13]

On 17 November 2022, eight contestants were shown in the new trailer heading down the runway.[14][15] Additionally, it revealed the official premiere date (8 December 2022) and availability platform, Amazon Prime Video.[16] The series also welcomed its first openly trans woman contestant, Barbie-Q.[17] Manila Luzon was recently signed with Warner Music Philippines, where she announced and released her theme song for the series on 2 December 2022.[18][19]

The first season premiered on 8 December 2022. The contestants competed to become "Filipino's First Drag Supreme" and win ₱1,000,000. On the sixth episode, Shewarma, Naia, and Maria Cristina were named the top three finalists. The season ran for eight episodes and concluded on 26 January 2023. Shewarma and Maria Cristina are the runners-up, and Naia was crowned the first season's winner.[20]

Throughout social media, Amazon Prime Video joined the trend involving promotional material from the film, Barbie (2023). They posted an image of Manila Luzon's doll, with the tagline: "May pasabog na announcement ang doll na 'to very soon."[21] Fans speculated that the show is yet to announce a season two. On 14 April 2023, the streaming service announced the renewal of the reality competition series. Manila Luzon and Rod Singh announced a casting call for season two on social media. The casting call was open until 30 April 2023.[22]