Spy: Aussie and Kiwi Drag Race gets started

Kiwi Queen Elektra Shock has a rough start on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under.

It was a rough start for one Kiwi queen when the transtasman battle started last night on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under on TVNZ 2.

Elektra Shock was in the bottom two and having to lip sync for her life against an Aussie queen at the end of the first episode.

"It's been a rough start for the Kiwi side but there's still time to recover, so keep supporting your amazing Kiwis. It's so amazing to receive so much love and support," Shock tells Spy.

Shock, Kita Mean and Anita Wigl'it are fighting for Kiwi supremacy over their Aussie rivals and all three are bracing for a global fan base.

Kiwi Queens that made RuPaul's Drag race Downunder Kita Mean

The show will drop episodes weekly while it is also streamed globally.

The RuPaul Drag Race franchise is a multi-award winning global ratings phenomenon. The fact that RuPaul Charles himself and Michelle Visage are on the Australasian show, when they are not on many of the other localised versions around the world, has prompted the BBC to air the show in the UK.

"I'm beyond excited to be representing NZ on an international platform," says Wigl'it. "For a small country, New Zealand always punches above its weight. We might have nails on - but it's not going to stop us from fighting hard."

Kiwi Queens that made RuPaul's Drag race Downunder Anita Wigl'it.

Mean said she was determined to represent NZ with "our unique brand of Kiwi kindness".

"Now is our time to show the world just how much fun drag queens from Australasia are."

The Kiwi queens are proud they got to film the show in Auckland and were thrilled when director Taika Waititi beamed in by Zoom from the set of his latest Thor movie in Australia.

Perhaps Waititi has got the reality-show bug from his reported romance with singer Rita Ora, who is a judge on The Voice Australia.