After three seasons and the franchise’s first Drag Race France All Stars, Drag Race France is heading into what host Nicky Doll describes as an entirely new era.
Season 4, which airs on World of Wonder’s Drag Race-centric streamer WOW Presents Plus in the United States, introduces 10 new queens, a redesigned Werk Room and the franchise’s biggest competition twist yet: the Golden Baguette. But for Doll, the biggest shift isn’t just the new rules—it’s the feeling that the series is starting a fresh chapter after establishing itself over the last several years.
“We had the chance of doing three seasons and an All Stars. Now it’s the first season after All Stars, and it really feels like it’s a new chapter of the franchise that opens up,” Doll told BLKCinema.com in an exclusive interview. “And I think it’s really exciting.”
Nicky Doll says the Golden Baguette showcases ‘sorority and friendships’
One of Season 4’s biggest additions is the Golden Baguette.
Each eliminated queen will award the Golden Baguette to a fellow contestant before leaving the Werk Room. The following week, that queen can use the power to save one of the bottom three contestants, or herself, from elimination.
While the twist naturally raises the stakes, Doll said she was most interested in what it reveals about the queens’ relationships.
“Well, it’s definitely different from anything else because it is very French,” she said. “It’s the Golden Baguette, which is obviously something that we are all very proud of.”
“What I love about this twist is that yes, it can create some drama because obviously someone who’s not saved from the bottom two is at risk,” she continued. “But I think it also showcases sorority and friendships.”
Rather than focusing solely on strategy, Doll said the Golden Baguette allows viewers to see the support contestants have for one another throughout the competition.
“I think this is something that is really nice and enjoyable when you watch the show, to see how these contestants are going through the potentially most important challenge of their life because it really will change their career or their trajectory, but also work as teams as well,” she said. “And I think that is really beautiful to see the humanity behind it as well.”
Why Nicky Doll calls the Season 4 cast ‘really refreshing’
Doll also believes the Season 4 cast represents the breadth of French drag.
“I love this cast because it is definitely a very mixed cast,” she said.
She pointed to veteran queen Holly White, who has been doing drag for two decades, as an example of the experience entering the competition.
“She’s been doing drag for 20 years now. She’s 40 years old, but when you look at her and you look at girls that are from the new school, she has nothing less than. She’s just as polished,” Doll said. “She’s one of the most known makeup artists of France. And she’s definitely one of the legends from the community.”
Doll also highlighted Malawitte, the franchise’s first cisgender woman competitor.
“You have Malawitte, who is the first cisgender woman who actually does drag and who’s incredible,” she said. “She’s been doing outfits for other girls in the past.”
Another standout for Doll is Creatine Price, an American queen from New York competing in France—a journey that mirrors Doll’s own experience as the first French queen to compete on RuPaul’s Drag Race in the U.S.
“You have the first American queen competing in France, which funny enough, I was the first French queen competing in the U.S.,” Doll said. “It was kind of a reverse mirror.”
“It was really beautiful and endearing to see someone kind of going through the same things that I’ve been through because you’re competing in another language and things like that,” she continued. “But she’s so amazing.”
The live finale will return for ‘Drag Race France’ Season 4
After becoming a staple of the franchise in recent years, the live finale will once again return for Season 4.
“You can definitely expect a live finale for this season,” Doll said.
Doll said keeping the live audience involved remains important because drag is fundamentally a live art form.
“It was very important for us from the very beginning to include the audience with Drag Race because at the end of the day, drag is a live art,” she said. “It’s something that you go and see and support on stage.”
While contestants spend the season competing in front of cameras, the finale allows them to perform in front of an audience for one last time before a winner is crowned.
“I feel like there’s nothing more energetic than a live audience rooting for you,” Doll said. “I think that’s why we also wanted to give that to the girls when they are giving their final hurrah to get the crown.”
Nicky Doll already has queens she’d like to see on another ‘Drag Race France All Stars’
Although Season 4 is just getting underway, Doll already has a few queens in mind for a future Drag Race France All Stars.
Among them are Season 2 finalist Sara Forever and Season 2 contestant Cookie Kunty.
“I feel like there’s definitely some very powerful queens that have not returned yet,” Doll said.
She added that Cookie Kunty is “a really, really, really talented and seasoned queen.”
“I think that she definitely has a lot more to show,” Doll said. “So I would love to see Cookie come back on a new season.”
Featured image photo credit: World of Wonder
Leave a Reply