Though most of us would love to see coronavirus sashay away now, not even RuPaul and his army of queens are immune to the disruption the virus has caused across the world.
You better stop relying on that antibody, as Michelle Visage would probably say, because the finale for the current series streaming on Netflix for UK fans has already been filmed following the new normal social distancing rules.
Valentina could argue she was ahead of her time, keeping the face mask on during her lip sync, but to avoid that happening again, how will the finale work?
How will the Drag Race finale be filmed?
In a press release (ru-lease?) on Friday May 15, VH1 revealed that both the reunion episode to air on May 22 and the Season 12 finale to air on May 29 have been shot virtually.
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The episodes will be broadcast on Friday in the US, and are available to stream the day after for UK audiences.
In previous seasons, the finale was filmed in front of a live audience, and since Season 9 has involved the final four queens facing off in a series of lip-sync battles.
Due to the coronavirus restrictions, the release stated that this year the finale was filmed using ‘innovative technology that highlights the creatively of the queens.’
*Spoiler Alert – Don’t click on the upcoming link if you haven’t seen the latest episode*
The episode will still include a lip-sync battle between the final three who have been decided after last night’s Viva Drag Vegas episode.
Season 11 winner Yvie Oddly will appear to help crown the winner and season 11 Miss Congeniality Nina West will make an appearance to help award this season’s Miss Congeniality, who will earn $10,000 provided by Pantene — which, according to the press release, will also have ‘a special surprise for the other 11 queens.’
The reunion episode, which comes before the finale, will reunite all of the queens from the season with the exception of Sherry Pie, who was disqualified from the finale and has been mostly edited out of the show after allegations emerged after filming that he catfished young men, pretending to be a casting director who wanted to see them in explicit or suggestive positions.
This reunion episode is being called a ‘virtual slumber party’ in which the season’s queens will answer questions from fans and discuss the season’s highs and lows, as well as what life has been like as a drag performer during coronavirus.
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