Queen of the Universe is a reality singing competition developed by World of Wonder (RuPaul's Drag Race) for Paramount+. RuPaul serves as an executive producer.
The series unites a cast of drag queens from around the world in a competition that is, essentially, Idol meets the Eurovision Song Contest. Unlike its aforementioned sister series, there is absolutely no lip syncing in Queen of the Universe — it's all live vocals here.
Hosted by Graham Norton, the judging panel of Queen of the Universe includes actress/singer Vanessa Williams, Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, Drag Race All Stars winner Trixie Mattel, multiplatinum recording artist and The X Factor winner Leona Lewis (season 1), and Spice Girl Mel B (season 2).
The first season aired in late 2021. Notable contestants include three-time Drag Race finalist Jujubee (USA), The Switch Drag Race winner Leona Winter (France), American Idol finalist Ada Vox (USA), reality star Rani Ko-He-Nur (India), Britain's Got Talent finalist La Voix (UK), and TikTok influencer Woowu (China).
The second season aired in early 2023, with a cast including Aura Eternal (Drag Race Italia), Love Masisi (Drag Race Holland), Miss Continental 2016 winner Jazell Royale, and Drag Queen of the Year winner Militia Scunt. Shortly after the season’s completion, the series was cancelled and removed from Paramount+.
Queen of the Universe contains examples of:
- Back for the Finale: All the eliminated queens returned in the last episode of Season 1 to perform a Christmas-themed musical number.
- Christmas Episode: The Season 1 finale was staged as this, despite the fact that the "Bad Girls" episode actually aired much closer to Christmas.
- Crippling Overspecialization: Season 1's Matante Alex is an incredibly gifted yodeler, but not much of a singer. The judges are enamored with her yodeling in her first episode, but by her second episode they realize that she can't really do much other than yodel and send her packing.
- Fun with Acronyms: The queens are judged on their WAP - that is, What they're wearing, All-Star attitude, and Performance.
- Girls with Moustaches: Season 1's Gingzilla sports a hefty beard both in and out of drag.
- Meaningful Name: Ada Vox, La Voix, and Regina Voce's drag names name all contain foreign-language words meaning "voice". Additionally, both Regina Voce and Grag Queen's names contain words meaning "queen".
- Older and Wiser: While every member of the judging panel has meaningful experience in the recording and entertaiment industries, Leona Lewis and Trixie Mattel have the added experience of having been on — and won — reality competition shows. Vanessa Williams also has the experience of winning the Miss America pageant, which isn't dissimilar to the format of Queen of the Universe. This also extends to host Graham Norton, who has served as commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest since 2008.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted in the first season by Leona Winter, a contestant who took her name from judge Leona Lewis.
- Talent Show: Queen of the Universe ultimately leans more toward this. While it has elements of Reality TV and is produced by the same company that makes various Drag Races, its format is closer to shows like American Idol and Eurovision Song Contest.
