Gays, we’ve won again! 

Just a week after Queen Precious Paula Nicole was crowned champion of its debut season, World of Wonder announced in a recent tweet that Drag Race Philippines and Drag Race Philippines: Untucked have officially been renewed for a second season.

And honestly? Dasurv.

In its maiden season, #DragRacePH proved to be quite the vehicle for Pinoy drag queens to showcase their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. And if its viewership proved anything, it is that our very own are more than primed to take on the world stage. From gag-worthy looks and challenge performances to incredible lip-syncs and meme-able moments, our Season 1 queens really did pop off — at alam mo ‘yan Marina!

So if you’re as excited as we are, here’s our wishlist for the second season of Drag Race Philippines.

8. More regional queens!

Save for Australia’s Gigi Era and our reigning Miss Congeniality, Lady Morgana, the Season 1 cast was based in Metro Manila. The drag scene in the capital is rich for sure, but it’s also a tight-knit community; Everyone most likely knows everybody already. And while it’s probably due to this that the cast has incredible rapport, watching more strangers confined in the same space will bring something different to the table. 

First of all, that setup is rich with potential for reality TV drama. Secondly, that way, we’ll get to know the queens as they are getting to know each other. But most importantly, getting more regional queens means we’ll get to discover talents from other parts of the country that many wouldn’t have known otherwise, thus hopefully bringing in more support to their respective local drag scenes. 

7. An acting challenge for the books.

Acting challenges are a staple in Drag Race. And while we kinda did have that in Episode 5’s pageant improv challenge, the episode ultimately fell short. Now imagine, instead, a parody of the most iconic confrontation scenes from Philippine Cinema and teleseryes. That from Bituing Walang Ningning or Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin, for example. Imagine Viñas Deluxe channeling Maricel Soriano in Filipinas or Minty Fresh and Marina Summers as Cristine Reyes and Anne Curtis in No Other Woman. If that viral video of kids recreating the Amor Powers and Madame Claudia confrontation from Pangako Sa ‘Yo proves anything, it is that us Filipinos always love drama. And with the right main challenge, I’m sure the queens of Season 2 will provide.

6. A stand-up comedy challenge. Or a roast.

There have been many memorable moments from stand-up and roast challenges from earlier iterations of Drag Race. Bianca del Rio obliterating everyone in her set, Farrah Moan and Utica bombing theirs, Manila Luzon winning hers within seconds. Stand-up and insult comedy is such a huge part of local queer culture–heck, it gave us Vice Ganda! And while it’s a shame we didn’t get to see a stand-up comedy challenge or a roast in a season with queens as funny as Eva, Viñas, Precious, and (my snatch game winner) Marina, let’s just hope that we get one in the next.

5. A reunion episode.

A lot of iconic moments from Drag Race are from the reunion: Tammie Brown snapping at RuPaul, Valentina’s Miss Congeniality award being rebranded as Miss Fan Favorite, Tatianna and Raven’s face off, Daya Betty and Jasmine Kennedie’s final fight, etc. It’s a chance for the queens to tie the season’s loose ends. We would’ve wanted to be provided more context on Turing and Viñas’ beef, for example, and learn how they patched things up. We could’ve seen, maybe, how Xilhouette handled the undue hate she received during her run. And we would’ve learned from the queens themselves how their lives have changed since the show aired. 

4. A finale with a live audience.

The Season 1 finale provided a lot of good moments. I still see Marina’s “body like wow” moment every day online. But performing for a live audience will boost the future queens’ performances to another level and fans would definitely show up to give them love. Besides, if shows like Idol and The Voice do it, I don’t see why Drag Race queens and fans shouldn’t be afforded the same experience.

3. A revamped judging panel.

To be fair, the judging of the first season gave us a good amount of great moments. (Those shoes???) But it’d be a lie to say they didn’t do a lot of questionable things. Why didn’t anybody appreciate Viñas Deluxe’s campy pink robe look? Why was Turing in the bottom when she served Sharon Cuneta in Super Ferry realness? Why did the runway presentation hold much more weight than the main challenge performance? Was that really necessary, Rajo? Do Western audiences also understand KaladKaren’s May Puhunan references? And was Boy Abunda trying to beat Xilhouette’s word count in his attempt at delivering quotable quotes? Akala ko ba “mabilisan lamang”, Tito Boy? This isn’t Star Circle Quest.

Oh, and we need Jon Santos’ wit and wisdom in all the episodes, please and thank you! 

2. A bigger werk room.

Let’s hope Season 2 allots budget for a bigger set because seeing how the queens struggle to create their looks and perform their mini-challenges was a struggle for the viewers, not to mention for the camera people obviously scrambling to move around to capture what’s happening. The queens can’t even form a single line when they’re being told their maxi challenges! 

1. A step up in production.

And finally, I think Twitter has said this enough but there’s so much work to be done to better the show’s production. Better camera work! More consistent lighting! Don’t use an all pink background on a pink runway! The writers did a lot of great work this season, but Mawma Pao also shines brighter when she’s using her own words. And please, please, please, fix things in post. Xil wouldn’t have gotten a lot of people so annoyed if her TED Talks were shortened. The otherwise great snatch game got boring because it went on and on. 

And lastly, you know how queens are willing to be critiqued for what is their bread and butter every time they step on that runway? The people in the production must be willing to accept criticism every time they put out an episode, too. Drag Race fans are passionate and our local queens are crazy talented. They deserve a show at par with their royalty.

What do you think Drag Race Philippines needs when it comes back?