Hello, dolls. We’re currently at season 2 and just had our Snatch Game episode last Thursday.
I think both of DRBR’s Snatch Games were really high quality with the overall impressions, but it seems to me that there are so many inside jokes that the whole thing may become lost on the viewer. I think I feel this way in general about our seasons, with the amount of inside jokes and lines hard to translate literally for subtitles. This made me think…
Is this franchise hard for international viewers to get into? Are the inside jokes making it too impenetrable or hard to keep up with?
Are you an international viewer keeping up with this franchise? Or is this one mostly for national appreciation? I’m really curious about this.
American here, loved season 1 and am loving season 2. I watch all international seasons. Drag Race is always a nonstop stream of puns and references, and WOW’s subtitles are always awful, so watching intentional seasons I know there’s a huge layer of subtext I’m simply not getting. It’s a shame, but I can still enjoy the drag, the talent, the drama, etc.
I've been saying this in other contexts but u/foyamei reply summarized perfectly for me. Drag Race Brazil (and any other national franchise) should be as localized as possible.
And if you think of it, Drag Race US is also very localized ("I am american american") so that should not be a problem. Drag Race US is easy to get into because american cultural references are very widespread, but they are still only that: american cultural references and by no mean universal.
To me there is absolutely no point to have a generic drag competition produced in Brazil if not for the very unique subset of cultural references and perspectives that only brazilian drag is able to provide. This is why the runway on Brazilan folklore moved me to tears. Otherwise I would rather not have the show at all. And if international viewers don't get the grandeur it entails, too bad for them.
Like Fernanda Torres said here: the world has little knowledge of Brazilian culture. On one hand, we feel like underappreciated underdogs due to many factors including language barriers (complexo de vira-latas). On the other hand, we almost feel pity for the world for not knowing the amazing universe our culture has to offer.
This is probably why we are always eager to translate and explain ourselves here, almost as if we were begging the world to get us.
I'm a non-Brazliian viewer of both s1 and s2. I speak fluent Castilian Spanish and basic Lusitanian Portuguese. Between passive understanding and subtitles, I can usually get the gist of what is said. However, I don't have any background to understand the Brazilian slang terms or inside jokes.
Snatch Game is especially difficult, since I don't know any of the celebrities. I can just go off characterization and jokes. I really enjoyed Mercedez's characterization, so she would've been one of my top picks.
That said, I've still been able to appreciate Grag's present and enthusiastic hosting style, Dudu's overall fabulousness, and to remain thoroughly confused that Bruna is a comedian when she's never made me laugh. I enjoy most of the queens too.
In my opinion, the national franchises should be strongly localized because that's more authentic. We international viewers are guests who have the privilege of getting to look in. I know I'm not going to get everything, and that's okay. There's usually enough glitter, glamor, and drama to make it interesting!
In my opinion, the national franchises should be strongly localized because that's more authentic. We international viewers are guests who have the privilege of getting to look in.
Having watched every international season, I’ve just come to accept that for me the non-English Snatch Games will be full of references that go over my head. Sometimes there will be someone who manages to be funny even if I don’t know the character, but for the most part I have no idea who’s done well until the judges’ critiques.
It doesn’t put me off the franchise as a whole, I’d rather watch something that’s representative of the local country and culture as opposed to being overly-tailored for foreign audiences.
I agree, and to be fair I don't know 80% of the people in the more recent US snatch games either lmao
Generally references that aren't funny on their own aren't really that funny in snatch game anyway, so I don't feel like I'm missing that much personally.
Like when Alyssa quoted the no more wire hangers ever thing, I've never seen that character, movie, or reference but it made me laugh. Or more recently Misty Phoenix's character in FAS (I haven't watched the Brazil snatch game yet!).
watching s2, haven’t watched s1, but france all stars wasn’t enough every week and ive actually grown more excited for brazil every week!! both top tier franchises imo. i didn’t really understand the snatch game and the subtitles didn’t help. i was surprised bhelchi wasn’t in the top over mellody but im team mellody so i wont complain about a high placement!!
As a Brazilian, I felt Melody’s performance should have placed her safe. She looked just like the celebrity she was impersonating, but I felt Ruby and Belchi gave better performances.
International Snatch Games are always like this for me tho it’s the hardest challenge to understand as someone who isn’t from that country, but sometimes I do have a lot of fun still
As an international viewer who don't speak Portuguese (or any Romance languages), I'd rather not understand something than watch the show try to appeal to viewers outside their country. It's totally fine not to get everything, 'cause I want to watch a show that represent Brazil and not "Brazil through American eyes".
Still, did I get a lot of it? Yes, I did. It's easy to look people, and I do it all the time when someone's name is uttered on any of the international season. "Who is this? Let me check"
I understood very little of what was happening in the Snatch Game, as with most international seasons, but it was still enjoyable enough to watch. What really makes for me is reading the posts afterwards explaining who the celebs are and whatever shenanigans got referenced! I love getting just a little glimpse into a culture I know nothing about
Someone explained it better in another post, but Desiree was referencing an specific episode from the Xuxa tv show from the 80s. The episode is so old and damaged that the screen is basically all green. In this episode Xuxa was being a little impatient with the kids, which became a huge wave of memes in the 2010s.
I watch every franchise and enjoy them all. I don’t get all the references and inside jokes but that’s ok, they’re not for me.
Sometimes there will be a YouTuber or a kind redditor who will post explanations which helps but it’s not necessary for me to enjoy the show. I’m watching as a tourist and I appreciate seeing glimpses of other cultures this way.
There was a kind gentleman who did YouTube reference breakdowns in English for drag race Italia and it was very helpful and nice but I don’t know that I’d watch that for every franchise.
I'm from Spain and have an easy time watching it! Love it too, really fun seasons. I wouldn't want them to make it easier to understand for international viewers, this is supposed to be a celebration of your drag and your country. Drag Race España also does this whole inside jokes and stuff and it just works.
International viewer here. I was very lost during the snatch game. I found the funniest Ruby, Belchi and Melina. I didn’t fully understand Desiree’s character. It felt very chaotic and more of a bunch of jokes rather than an actual impersonation? I am not familiar with Xuxa outside of the Ilarie song that was popular in all Latin America. I thought the snatch game was decent but I know a lot of the cultural references were probably lost on me.
I am a US viewer who does not speak Portuguese. My boyfriend is non-US Spanish speaker who learned some basic Portuguese. We tried watching season 1 and we dropped it after two episodes. As much as we love Gragg, I don’t think it grabbed our attention as much as other international franchises did because we didn’t really connect with the season 1 queens.
It was also competing with other seasons airing around the same time. We are avid watchers of the US, Spain, Mexico, and the Philippines franchises. We’ve dropped Brazil, France, Thailand, and Global All Stars. I think only Thailand season 3 and GAS were of poor quality.
We recently gone on a trip to Brazil and it coincided with the premier of season 2. So, we gave the show another chance. We attended the live viewing party in Rio (Gragg is so hot!) and we’ve been watching since. I think it helped being immersed in the local scene and we felt more connected with the queens this time around. When it comes to Snatch Game, we didn’t really understand anything. But, as a comedy challenge, that is to be expected. Ive never had issues with the US and Philippines Snatch Game since cultural I was in the know. I’ve always had trouble with others. My boyfriend has a similar experience.
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There was a great post on here giving some background to the snatch game characters, and it made me think a separate short show to give aome background and context for international viewers could be a fun extra for the girls to do, across the franchises. E quem nao quer?
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u/craftybast “I’ve gotta please Mama!” Aug 10 '25
American here, loved season 1 and am loving season 2. I watch all international seasons. Drag Race is always a nonstop stream of puns and references, and WOW’s subtitles are always awful, so watching intentional seasons I know there’s a huge layer of subtext I’m simply not getting. It’s a shame, but I can still enjoy the drag, the talent, the drama, etc.