Drag queens Kita and Anita are a tornado of fun.
The duo, who host TVNZ’s binge-worthy new show House of Drag, bust onto the set of our interview in a whirl of sequins and swathes of iridescent eye shadow, armed with more than a few lewd one-liners.
They proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes riffing incredibly NSFW responses to our questions before Kita paused and dead-panned “wait, are we allowed to swear on this!?”
Like its hosts, House of Drag is loud, rambunctious and immediately likeable.
Both the hosts and the contestants are full of sharp wit, shade and side-eye and dish each out with obvious pleasure.
The series follows 9 wannabe drag stars as they compete in a series of outrageous challenges in the hopes of winning the $10,000 prize money and the bragging rights as New Zealand’s ultimate drag star.
In a sea of glossy reality shows, House of Drag is set apart by how endearingly real it is.
In episode 2 we witness contestant Leidy Lei suffer a crisis of confidence during a challenge. Fearing she may have blown her chances to win Leidy freezes, breaks down and cries “I’m F***ed!”
It’s a deeply relatable moment.
The understanding support Leidy receives from her fellow contestants when she rejoins the stage is what we wish would happen when we inevitably lash out at yet another family gathering.
Lauded for its diversity and world-history making representation (the show is the first to feature a drag king and has 2 trans-identifying contestants) House of Drag is like no other show New Zealand has seen before.
You can stream the first five episodes of House of Drag on TVNZ on Demand now. A new episode will be released every Thursday at midday.
