"This season is more about the art of drag." Rhys Nicholson on Stan's RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under.

Comedian extraordinaire Rhys Nicholson said the latest season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under on Stan is giving fun, celebration of queer excellence, and DRAAAGGG honey.

With season three premiering just last week, we've already gotten to know this year's cast, and there are some seriously fierce queens competing to be the next Drag Race superstar.

With Nicholson on the main judging panel alongside icons Michelle Visage and RuPaul, Nicholson tells Mamamia that this season is really focusing on the talent on offer in our fabulous region of the world.

"In the first few seasons, we had a couple of queens that came through who already had a bit of notoriety. With casting this year, they haven't focused as hard on getting queens with a social media presence and stuff," Nicholson notes.

"I feel like this season is more about the art of drag."

Watch the trailer for this season of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under. Post continues below.

We can still expect plenty of drama and fun - it is Drag Race of course.

But as Nicholson notes, lately the global drag scene has been dealing with a lot of challenges and attacks. So now more than ever, we need to be lifting up the incredible talent of drag queens.

"As one of the producers said on set, our community is being attacked from the outside right now," they said. "Why would we want to produce something where we're then attacking each other? With stuff like the drag bans and the drag story time situations, it feels like the culture is under attack at the moment. So we want the focus to be a message of inspiration."

Now for absolute die-hard fans of the show, I had to ask about Snatch Game. 

For those who are still Drag Race virgins, Snatch Game is where all the queens impersonate someone, who is often famous, and then they do a game show panel format with RuPaul. Ru asks a random question from a deck of cards, and the queens have to give an off-the-cuff funny answer that's in keeping with the star they are impersonating. 

Nicholson confirmed to Mamamia there will be a Snatch Game this season. Yay.

And according to Nicholson, this season's performances were "great". Big yay.

"I know we have a bit of a testy history with that game Down Under. But sometimes the built-in mechanisms of the show, like what we've seen in the US, sometimes don't apply to other shows [in other countries]," Nicholson explains.

"I think that's what makes Australasian drag quite magical is that we're not big on impersonations. It's not about 'hey look at my great Beyonce [impersonation]'. Rather it's 'here's an original character and persona I've created'."

Nicholson stills remembers the first time they watched Drag Race - and it was someone from the franchise who convinced them it was well worth a watch.

"I met Jinkx Monsoon [one of the American stars of Drag Race, who won her season and Drag Race All Stars] at the Adelaide Fringe where we both had shows. This would have been around 2014. We had a drink together and Jinkx told me about Drag Race. I started watching it straight away and was obsessed," says Nicholson.

Little did Nicholson know they would soon become a staple judge on the very show they adored so much.

Michelle Visage, RuPaul and Rhys Nicholson being absolute legends. Image: Stan.

As for what Nicholson looks for in the queens while on the judging panel...

Well obviously, there's charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent. But for Nicholson, they see their role on the show as not critiquing the specifics of a queen's look or runway, but focusing more on the performance they're bringing.

"My favourite type of queen is like club drag - a bit more show girly and from that Priscilla era. I'm more about the authenticity of the performance. And this season I was lucky enough to be more involved in that side of things," they say.

"I think my role on the show is to make RuPaul laugh, make the audience laugh and also be a conduit for the viewer."

For Nicholson, some of the most iconic memories on set have been the smaller interactions with RuPaul and Michelle Visage, sharing a laugh over a silly gag.

"I try not to take it for granted that I'm doing a bit with RuPaul. We often share notes with each other when we're judging, like notes about what the queens are wearing or what we're going to say. And I love writing little jokes to Ru throughout filming and getting that iconic laugh," they said.

It's being able to joke around with Ru and getting little texts and voice notes from Visage that feel like the biggest pinch-me moments for Nicholson. Or when they all went to go see the Backstreet Boys perform.

"Michelle is one of the sharpest and quickest people I've ever met. There are no writers on set, so when we do our little puns and all that kind of stuff, it's ad-lib."

Ultimately, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is only going up and up.

We've seen it hit the mainstream too, particularly when it came to season two's Kween Kong being nominated for a Logie this year.

Nicholson says that was not only a massive milestone for the show and Kween Kong, but also for the wider landscape of Australian media. 

So - if Nicholson had to use a few words to describe the latest season?

"Out now and on Stan," they laugh. "But on a serious note - 'uniquely Australasian'. It's pure joy and absolute talent."

RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is available to watch now, only on Stan.

Feature Image: Supplied/Stan.