General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Drag Race Holland

Drag Race Holland is a Dutch reality competition series in which ten drag queens compete weekly for the title of Holland's Next Drag Superstar, adapting the American format RuPaul's Drag Race for a Dutch audience. It premiered on September 18, 2020 on the Dutch streaming service Videoland and was the second non-English-language version of the Drag Race format, after Drag Race Thailand.¹^•²^•¹⁷ Instead of RuPaul Charles, the show is hosted by the stylist, television personality, and retired drag queen Fred van Leer.¹

Key fact	Detail
Original network	Videoland (RTL's Dutch SVOD platform); internationally on WOW Presents Plus²
Seasons aired	2 seasons, 8 episodes each, 16 episodes total; season 1 premiered September 18, 2020, season 2 on August 6, 2021¹
Host and judges	Host Fred van Leer; Nikkie Plessen (season 1), Marieke Samallo, Carlo Boszhard, and Raven van Dorst (season 2)¹
Winners	Envy Peru (season 1, 2020) and Vanessa van Cartier (season 2, 2021)¹
Language	Dutch, a non-English-language version of the format, offered with English, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles internationally²^•¹⁷
Production	Vincent TV Producties (seasons 1–2) and Herriemakers Productions; executive produced by World of Wonder's Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato and by RuPaul Charles¹^•³
Status	Season 3 announced on October 26, 2024 after a three-year hiatus, to air on a broadcaster other than Videoland⁴

Spoilers

Seasons and winners

Season 1 (2020). Ten queens competed, including Envy Peru, Janey Jacké, Ma'Ma Queen, Miss Abby OMG, ChelseaBoy, and Sederginne. Envy Peru won the first crown, lip-syncing against Janey Jacké to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" in the finale; Ma'Ma Queen was named Miss Congeniality.¹^•¹⁰ The season finale aired November 6, 2020.¹

Season 2 (2021). The second season premiered August 6, 2021 and concluded September 24, 2021, again with ten contestants across eight episodes. Vanessa van Cartier won, and Tabitha was named Miss Congeniality. Nikkie Plessen did not return as judge; Marieke Samallo, director of the Milkshake Festival, took her place alongside Carlo Boszhard and Raven van Dorst.¹^•¹¹

Season 3. After three years off the air, season 3 was announced on October 26, 2024. Producer Herriemakers confirmed the return, but RTL stated the new series would no longer air on Videoland, and no broadcaster had been named at the time of the announcement.⁴

Format

Each episode follows the structure of the parent format in three consecutive parts: the mini-challenge, the maxi-challenge, and the runway.⁵ After the judges determine which two queens performed the least well that week, the bottom two compete in a Lip-Sync-For-Your-Life battle, and one queen leaves the competition each week until three remain for the grand final.⁵ The winner receives the title Holland's Next Drag Superstar, along with a crown and scepter from Fierce! Drag Jewels and, in later seasons, a cash prize.⁶

The first season ran eight episodes of roughly 47 to 52 minutes, with episode titles including "Land Of The Queens," "Snatch Game," and "Maxima - The Rusical."⁷ The Snatch Game, the franchise's celebrity-impersonation comedy challenge, appeared in both seasons.⁷

Production and launch

Dutch broadcaster RTL ordered the local version from the American production company World of Wonder, which has produced the franchise since 2009, together with the Dutch producer Vincent TV. The deal was announced on July 27, 2020, with the format licensed to Vincent TV by Tinopolis-owned Passion Distribution.²^•³ Executive producer Vincent ter Voert of Vincent TV said the format had taken five and a half years to bring to the Dutch market, partly because broadcasters regarded Drag Race as relatively costly and, at the time, a niche proposition.²^•⁸

The series streams exclusively on Videoland in the Netherlands and on WOW Presents Plus, available in 160 territories, for international audiences.³ Fred van Leer was asked to host by RuPaul herself, according to the Dutch broadcast trade press.⁹

Reception and criticism

The show drew an enthusiastic response from international drag fans, and American drag queens including Raja and Raven reviewed the contestants' runway looks each week on their YouTube series Fashion Photo RuView.¹² On IMDb the series holds a 6.5/10 rating weighted from about 1,200 user votes.¹³

Criticism focused on the judging panel. Dutch commentary argued that the season 1 judges gave little constructive critique of the queens' fashion work and that too few panel members came from the LGBTQ community, singling out guest judges Amber Vineyard and Nikkie de Jager as the exceptions who offered informed feedback.¹⁴ A review of season 1 judged the series one of the rougher entries in the franchise, criticizing the judging panel and what it saw as manufactured drama.¹⁵ Academic work on the series has argued that the first season's challenges, such as a split masculine-feminine performance task, reflected traditional gender binaries and that judges penalized queens who presented non-binary interpretations.¹⁶

Eligibility

The show allows Belgian queens to compete provided they hold a valid Dutch passport, and Dutch-speaking Belgian contestants have appeared on the series.¹

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026