It’s rare for a TV show to lose its biggest star and then go on to create its best series yet, but that’s exactly what happened when RuPaul bid farewell to Drag Race Down Under in 2024.
Season four, which crowned Melbourne queen Lazy Susan Australia’s second winner, wrapped on Friday to rave reviews on social media.
When it launched in 2021, Down Under was the seventh iteration of the show and the third to feature RuPaul as host, with Michelle Visage – who has been judging the US show since 2011 – and Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson rounding out the panel.
Ny Breaking Australia sat down with fellow Oxford Street runners, stalwart Vybe, and Brisbane queen Mandy Moobs, to ask them what had changed.
“The great thing about this season is the sisterhood that was forming and that’s what we all chose to do,” said Vybe, 32, of Oxford Street.
‘There was the feeling that you do what you can for the sake of the show, not for the individual artist. When the show is 10, everyone looks 10, so I’m very proud that we achieved all that.”
Lazy Susan (second from left) has been crowned the next Drag Race Down Under winner, taking home $50,000 in prize money after an intimate viewing party on Sydney’s Oxford Street
Sydney drag queen Vybe (pictured) was crowned runner-up in the season four finale
Ru pulled out of hosting the fourth season due to scheduling conflicts surrounding promoting his memoir.
However, by putting his right hand Michelle Visage at the wheel, new life was breathed into the series.
“I don’t think it was because Ru wasn’t there [that the show succeeded]but part of that was because Michelle was,” Vybe said.
“She came with such a motherly and caring energy. I don’t feel like we had any of those dramatic scenes between each other or made-up fights that were pushed by the producers. Or too much wild drama attacking each other because the season didn’t think it was necessary.’
“Michelle is so fantastic, I can’t sing her praises high enough,” added runner-up Mandy Moobs.
The Brisbane seamstress, 33, said as host Michelle was “genuinely interested in each of us.”
‘She wanted to know who we were, what our background was and what our challenges were.
“She wanted us to succeed and the season to succeed, and it did.”
Ru Paul’s right-hand woman Michelle Visage took over as host for season four, which is being praised by fans and critics as the series’ best yet. Pictured
Ru Paul (left) accepts the award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 75th Emmy Awards in Los Angeles in January
Drag Race Down Under season four finalists in the ‘work’ room
Vybe has been performing on Sydney’s Oxford Street for 13 years and is a regular at venues including Universal, Stonewall and Arq.
“Being able to achieve my goal, the final, with this cast – there’s nothing I can complain about at all,” she said of second place. “We were all there to celebrate and encourage each other.”
“We did some goading and joking, but that’s Australian drag. We’re all there for each other and we enjoy being the butt of the joke and calling out someone else when they’re being an idiot.”
In lieu of Mother Ru, season four also featured a revolving door of homegrown celebrity guest judges, including Peach PRC, G Flip, Ladyhawke and drag performers like Kween Kong.
“Having a jury that understands, lives and breathes and are icons of the local scene is the biggest positive change I have seen this season,” Vybe continued.
“Having someone who is famous, or who could join in on the joke you’re telling, gave us all the room to breathe and the creativity to play with.”
“It’s camp this season. It was fun. It never felt like a competition. It just felt like a fun hangout with the girls,” Mandy added.
“We all got together as a group and decided, let’s make really good TV. There were no huge egos wanting to be in the spotlight.”
“We wanted everyone to have at least a moment to shine and that was reflected on the screen.”
Still hungover from the post-final festivities at Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, she says she is now fully booked until April.
All four seasons of Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under are now available to stream on Stan.