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Queens of the North, Come Through! Crave Announces New Original Series DRAG RACE CANADA # # # Crave, OUTtv, and World of Wonder Partner to Expand Reach of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE in Canada

Image for the Queens of the North, Come Through! Crave Announces New Original Series DRAG RACE CANADA # # # Crave, OUTtv, and World of Wonder Partner to Expand Reach of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE in Canada press release
CraveCanada’s Drag Race
– Future new seasons of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE to premiere exclusively in Canada, on both Crave and OUTtv, day-and-date with the U.S. broadcasts –
– RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK will also be exclusively available on Crave and OUTtv, coming later this year –
– Produced by Blue Ant Studios in association with Crave, casting for #DragRaceCanada begins this summer, with details to be announced in the coming weeks –

“RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE is more than a TV show. It’s a movement.” – The Washington Post

“Drag is now a full-fledged spectator sport…and drag queens now have a shot at pop stardom” – Vulture

TORONTO (June 27, 2019) – O Canada! As Pride Month winds down, and Canada Day approaches, Canadians have another reason to celebrate this weekend as Crave and OUTtv announced today an unprecedented partnership that extends the reach of international television phenomenon, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE in Canada. This partnership includes the new Crave Original Series, DRAG RACE CANADA, the first-ever Canadian adaptation of the show. “I am proud to announce that the Drag Race family is expanding as Crave is about to begin production on DRAG RACE CANADA,” said RuPaul. “The panel and judges will be from the Great White North, representing Canada’s very best. This new franchise has my whole-hearted blessing. Good luck…and don’t puck it up!” Crave and OUTtv are set to become the leading Canadian broadcast and streaming homes of:
  • Future seasons of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, airing day and date with the U.S. broadcast
  • The all-new series RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK, available day and date with BBC Three
  • The all-new Crave Original Series, DRAG RACE CANADA
All past seasons of RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE and RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS will be available on Crave and OUTtv. Produced by World of Wonder, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE has become a world-wide movement since its premiere in 2009. After 11 Seasons and more than 100 competitors, the series has garnered nine-Emmy Awards; critical praise; a legion of fans including mega-celebrities from Katy Perry to Anne Hathaway to Henry Rollins; and a world-renowned drag and pop culture convention, RuPaul’s DragCon, in Los Angeles and New York City . Now, DRAG RACE is sashaying to the North and producers are on the look-out for the country’s most sick’ning artists to slay the competition, and be crowned Canada’s first Drag Superstar. Produced by Blue Ant Studios, DRAG RACE CANADA combines elements of the classic fan-favourite, with a healthy serving of Canadian maple shade, and likely, some Canadian bacon. Casting begins this summer on the 10-episode, one-hour original series, with production to begin this fall in Ontario. The DRAG RACE CANADA host and judges will be announced at a later date. “As Canada’s only homegrown major streaming service, Crave strives to represent all Canadians and we are thrilled to shine a spotlight on the Canadian drag community and their contribution to LGBTQ2+ culture,” said Justin Stockman, Vice-President, Premium SVOD and OTT, Bell Media. “This is an important franchise that has brought drag from niche to mainstream, and we can’t wait to extend the DRAG RACE runway all the way into Canada. Through our partnership with Brad Danks at OUTtv and World of Wonder, along with a passionate and growing Canadian fan base, the time is right to lip-sync for our lives, and crown Canada’s first drag superstar.” “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE has brought charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to OUTtv for almost 10 years,” said Brad Danks, CEO OUTtv Network.  “We are thrilled to partner with Crave and World of Wonder to give Canadian drag artists the chance to compete for the crown on DRAG RACE CANADA and bring future seasons, including RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE UK, to OUTtv and Crave.” “Canadian drag is world class and we could not be more excited to bring these artists and their stories to Crave,” said Sam Sniderman, EVP Global Productions, Blue Ant Studios. “We are thrilled to be working with WOW on this legendary and game-changing global format.” “We are excited to be working with Crave and OUTtv to grow the drag experience for Canadian audiences, and shine the spotlight on Canadian queens,” said Executive Producers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, World of Wonder. In association with Crave, DRAG RACE CANADA is produced by Blue Ant Studios. World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Tom Campbell serve as Executive Producers. RuPaul serves as Executive Producer. Executive producers for Blue Ant Studios include Betty Orr, Michael Kot and Laura Michalchyshyn with Mike Bickerton acting as Showrunner. Robin Johnston is Director, Original Production, Factual, Bell Media. Production Executive for Bell Media is Danielle Pearson. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Original Programming, Bell Media. Justin Stockman is Vice-President, SVOD and OTT, Bell Media. Tracey Pearce is President, Distribution and Pay, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Bell Media.

Social Media

  • @CraveCanada
  • @Crave_PR

About RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE

As RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE fans already know, it takes more than pageantry and “resting on pretty” to be crowned as “America’s Next Drag Superstar.” Each week competitors go wig-to-wig to showcase their best skills where they may be required to perform, model in a photo shoot, and prepare a themed runway look before facing the judges. At the end of each episode, the contestants selected as the bottom two must “lip sync for their life,” with one contestant each week eliminated and asked to “Sashay Away.”

About Crave

Delivering more Emmy® Award-winning programming than any other service, Crave is Canada’s prestige entertainment offering, with HBO, SHOWTIME®, Starz, Hollywood-hit movies, a superior collection of kid’s movies and programs, and thousands of hours of acclaimed television series, specials, factual programming, and originals that can’t be found anywhere else. Crave is the exclusive home of HBO in Canada, delivering HBO’s current slate of signature dramatic and comedic programs, documentaries, films, and live specials, as well as titles from HBO’s extensive off-air library. Crave is also home to current SHOWTIME series and specials, and past SHOWTIME hits. Crave Original hit series include LETTERKENNY; candid interview series MUCH STUDIOS PRESENTS: MIKE ON MUCH IN CONVERSATION WITH…; upcoming darkly funny “true crime” comedy NEW EDEN; apocalyptic new original comedic documentary series WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE; Crave Original stand-up series, and animated series LITTLEKENNY. Crave is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet at Crave.ca, via iOS and Android, and other platforms. It’s also available through participating television providers across six 24-hour High Definition linear and on demand channels. Crave is from Bell Media, Canada’s leading content company, providing Canada’s most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming on network, specialty, pay and digital platforms. Visit our website at Crave.ca.

About OUTtv

OUTtv is Canada’s national LGBTQ+ television network that offers a compelling mix of drama, comedy, talk and award-winning movies. Their original programming includes The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, The Whole Package, Sex & Violence, Never Apart TV, Don’t Quit Your Gay Job, Knock Knock Ghost, Doctor Barry and original documentary strand Outspoken. OUTtv is the Canadian initial license holder for the Canadian broadcasts of RuPaul’s Drag Race, House of Drag, Naked Attraction and Undressed. OUTtvGo is OUTtv’s streaming platform where subscribers can stream their favorite series and movies and discover new content exclusive to the service. OUTtvGo is available for iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Roku and on web browsers.  OUTtv is also available in Canada as an Amazon Prime Video Channel.  To learn more about OUTtv visit outtv.ca.

About Blue Ant Media

Blue Ant Media is an international producer, distributor, channel operator, and gaming video content company. We operate seven production houses around the world, creating content for broadcasters and streaming platforms, ranging from documentaries to animated series to dramas. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a substantial catalogue of content, including one of the world’s largest 4K natural history offerings. Blue Ant Media operates linear and SVOD channels on multiple continents under 14 brands including Love Nature, Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada), ZooMoo, Arcade Cloud and more. Omnia Media, our gaming company, has the largest gamer talent network in the world. It creates and distributes gaming video content across digital and OTT platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and more. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with nine international offices in Los Angeles, Singapore, Auckland, Dunedin, London, Washington, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei.

ABOUT WORLD OF WONDER:

Around the world, Drag Race Canada will stream on World of Wonder’s premium service WOW Presents Plus, the international home of Drag Race US, UK, Thailand, Chile – and now Canada. For more than two decades, award-winning production company World of Wonder has introduced audiences to new worlds, talent and ideas that have shaped culture. Programming highlights include: Emmy® Award winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1/Logo), “Million Dollar Listing” LA & NY (Bravo), “Dancing Queen” (Netflix), “Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce” (Fuse), and “Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric” (National Geographic); award-winning films and documentaries including “Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures,” “Menendez: Blood Brothers,” “Inside Deep Throat,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” “I Am Britney Jean,” “In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye,” “Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking,” “Monica in Black and White,” Emmy-winning “The Last Beekeeper,” and Emmy-winning “Out of Iraq.” Seven of WOW’s films have premiered at the Sundance Film festival including “Becoming Chaz” and “Party Monster.” World of Wonder has also created a substantial digital footprint with its YouTube channel WOWPresents (1M+ subs), SVOD digital platform WOW Presents Plus, along with an award-winning blog, The WOW Report. World of Wonder’s bi-annual RuPaul’s DragCon is the world’s largest drag culture convention, welcoming 100,000 attendees across LA and NYC in 2018. Co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey authored The World According to Wonder, celebrating decades of production, which can be found online at http://worldofwonder.net/. Randy and Fenton were honored with the IDA Pioneer Award in December 2014, celebrating exceptional achievement, leadership, and vision in the nonfiction and documentary community, named to Variety’s Reality Leaders List in 2017, and chosen for the OUT100 list in 2018 for their trailblazing work in the LGBTQ+ community. World of Wonder was also selected for Realscreen’s 2018 Global 100 list, which recognizes the top international non-fiction and unscripted production companies working in the industry today. World of Wonder creates out of a historic building/gallery space in the heart of Hollywood.

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Contact

Nicolle Stranges

Manager, Publicity - Specialty channels and Streaming

Bianca Sutton

Crave

Pride Toronto with Crave

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