Canada's Drag Race

Casting occurred in mid-2019 with production starting in fall 2019.[12] The inaugural season consisted of ten one-hour episodes.[1] In June 2020 it was announced that the series would be carried by BBC Three in the United Kingdom.[13] Early coverage of the production announcement indicated that the series would also air on OutTV;[2] although that channel did not simulcast the series in first run, it was later announced on December 3 that there would be a marathon of the series on December 5, along with all episodes being available for streaming as of December 3, on OutTV's subscription service, OutTV Go.[14]

In the United States the series premiered on WOW Presents Plus, the streaming service of RuPaul's Drag Race production company World of Wonder, concurrently with its Canadian debut. It was subsequently added to the schedule of Logo TV, premiering on that service on July 27, 2020.[15]

In August 2021, it was announced that the Season 1 queens would be featured in a Canada's Drag Race Anniversary Extravaganza reunion special, airing on Crave September 6, 2021 in advance of the second season launch. The special included the premiere of a new music video from Priyanka's Taste Test EP, as well as an introduction to the second season judging panel.[16]

In January 2021, it was announced that the show was renewed for a second season. At the same time, it was announced that comedian and producer Trevor Boris will join production as showrunner in the second season.[17]

In March 2021, it was announced that Bowyer-Chapman will not return as a judge in the second season, due to a scheduling conflict with another project he is working on.[18] In June 2021, it was announced that McKenzie will not return as a judge in the second season, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The second season judging panel included fashion stylist Brad Goreski, actress Amanda Brugel, and broadcaster and Season 1 "Squirrel Friend" Traci Melchor.[7]

For the third season, the judges panel was re-worked again, consisting of only Hytes, Goreski, and Melchor.[5]

A fourth season was announced in November 2022, [20] with casting opened November 1 and closed November 22, with Hytes, Goreski, and Melchor expected to return to the judging panel.[21][22] The cast was officially announced on October 18, 2023 and the season will premiere on November 16, 2023.[23]

Separately from the production of the series, all of the queens from the season participated in Pride events for both Pride Toronto and Fierté Montreal, presented as online streaming specials due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The Toronto event, Drag Ball presented by Crave, was streamed on June 27,[29] and the Montreal event, Drag Superstars, was streamed on August 14.[30] The Toronto special was directly produced by Crave; the Montreal event was produced by a separate company, but received some production assistance and sponsorship from Crave and the Canada's Drag Race production team.

During the series run, producers and competing queens spoke out against online bullying, after Bowyer-Chapman and some of the competing queens were subjected to campaigns of harassment on social media.[31] Bowyer-Chapman's critics focused on purportedly unfair comments in his role as a judge, while several queens were attacked for simply having done better in challenges or lipsyncs than other more popular queens with bigger fanbases.[32]

In the second season, the show's use of KAPRI's cover of Alexis Jordan's 2010 single "Happiness" as a lip sync number faced some discussion among fans as KAPRI's recording was unlocatable on any music store or streaming platform.[33] The situation led to unconfirmed speculation that the show had in fact directly commissioned a new cover of the song after using Jordan's original recording during production but then running into a copyright clearance issue.[34]

Following the conclusion of the season, the cast announced a cross-Canada tour, to be performed at drive-in venues due to the ongoing social distancing restrictions remaining in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.[35] Brooke Lynn Hytes hosted, with Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo and Rita Baga were scheduled to appear at every date on the tour, while other cast members would perform at selected dates based on availability;[36] ultimately, however, both Priyanka and Brooke Lynn Hytes had to miss a couple of later dates after being forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure.[37]

Priyanka, Scarlett Bobo, Rita Baga and Jimbo also participated in an online panel as part of the 2020 Just for Laughs festival.[38]

The second season queens are also slated to undertake their own group tour in 2022.[39]

On June 9, 2022 Crave officially announced the spin-off series Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World that would premiere in late 2022.[40] The series follows RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World as the second "International All Stars" edition of the franchise, bringing competitors from various international editions of the franchise.[40] Hytes, Goreski, and Melchor were also announced to be judging the series.[40] The cast was announced on October 17, 2022 and features four queens who originally competed on the first and second seasons of Canada's Drag Race. It also included competitors who were previously featured in RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, RuPaul's Drag Race UK, and RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under.[41] The first season of the series premiered on November 18, 2022 and concluded on December 23, 2022.[41][42] A second season was announced on June 6, 2023.[43]

Another spin-off of the series titled Slaycation was announced in September 2023 at the Content Canada conference.[44] The series will feature six contestants from across the Drag Race franchise while they vacation in a Canadian winter cabin, participate in activities, and organize a drag performance for the local community. The series will be produced by World of Wonder, Crave, and Blue Ant Media and will air in English and French on Crave in Canada and WOW Presents Plus globally.[45]