I love RuPaul’s Drag Race. Actually, that’s a pretty strong understatement: I am completely and utterly obsessed with RuPaul’s Drag Race. I’ve watched every season more times than most would deem acceptable, including the All Star seasons and the international franchises too. My poor husband can’t go more than a few minutes without hearing cackling drag queens. It’s not just the show I can’t get enough of, either, as I spend much of my free time by watching recaps, attending viewing parties, and listening to drag podcasts.
It’s a show that’s had an immeasurable effect on my existence. As a queer person, Drag Race has taught me to embrace and adore every different facet of my being—and walk into the room purse first. (I don’t have any purses, but for me, a purse is a state of mind).
This year, RuPaul’s Drag Race found a new home for its fifteenth (!) season, airing on MTV. It started strong, with a premiere that introduced 16 new queens, the most of any season to date. But things have gone haywire in the weeks since then. MTV cut the typically 60-minute episodes down to 40. It seemed that the network wanted to save some time to make Friday nights a destination for viewers—introducing the ghastly Real Friends of WeHo as Drag Race’s accompaniment. What MTV seems to have forgotten is that the real destination is Drag Race and nothing else!
But I digress. The real issue is that, despite the queens being frequently amazing, Drag Race is getting stagnant, and these rushed-through episodes have made that clearer than ever. I’ve watched the last few seasons more out of obligation than any real enjoyment, and that feels especially true of Season 15. This is not a slight on the queens, who continue to delight, but it’s clear to me that the show itself is grinding to a halt.
I do not—repeat, do not—want this to happen. The show recently aired its 200th episode, and I want hundreds more. I want to be watching Drag Race Season 99 on my deathbed. To ensure that happens, here’s what Drag Race needs to do to get back on track and be better than ever, starting … now.
Bring back the mini-challenges!
One of the most glaring omissions in Season 15 is the lack of mini-challenges. For the uninitiated, these challenges have no bearing whatsoever on the competition (sorry, Loosey LaDuca; your two mini-challenge wins mean nothing). Instead, they provide opportunities for the queens to do thoroughly ridiculous, frequently embarrassing things.
That may not sound all that appetizing on their own, but the mini-challenges are so important. Not only do they let the queens promote their personalities, but they also provide a gateway for viewers to get to know them better. Challenges are almost always comedic, and what better way to get someone to like you than by showing them how funny you are?
And so many of them have been great. “The Fake Housewives of Drag Race” in Season 7, “Makeup in the Dark” from Season 5, and the dunking challenge from Season 3 live in my mind rent-free. Without mini-challenges, there’d be no reading challenge, no puppets, and, most importantly, no Lil Poundcake.
Even when the challenges whiff—the baby challenge from Season 13 still haunts me—they allow the queens to let loose and have fun. Because drag is fun! It’s no coincidence that the three best episodes of the season thus far are the ones that kept these challenges in.
Make way for improv: Scripted acting challenges, sashay away
Forget the ball—there is no challenge more dreaded than the scripted acting challenge. Why? Because they’re unspeakably awful. They hardly ever make sense, they’re never funny, and getting through them is exhausting. There have been exceptions, particularly “Gay’s Anatomy” in Season 12 and “Daytona Winds” of Season 14. But most have seemed tailor-made to give whatever queen they want to chop two whole lines before complaining that they “got lost.”
The solution is to amp up the improv. Let these ladies write for themselves. We saw great examples of this in the hysterical “Super Tease” challenge last year, and “Diva Worship” from Season 11 brought out one of the funniest, cringiest, and most dramatic episodes in recent memory. Letting the queens go off-the-cuff lets their personalities shine through and helps us love them even more. And what would we, as a society, do if we didn’t have Sasha Velour and Shea Couleé feeding each other broccoli in Season 9’s “Good Morning Bitches?”
Give the queens a budget
A lot of silly, nonsensical things have been said on Drag Race, but perhaps the most absurd thing anyone’s ever uttered was by judge Michelle Visage in Season 8. She told Chi Chi DeVayne (rest in power) “you don’t need money girl,” when Chi Chi said that she didn’t have the resources to look like everyone else.
In many ways, drag is a state of mind, but pretending the drag on RuPaul’s Drag Race doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to craft is laughable. As the years have gone on, the looks have become more and more important to the show—and more and more expensive. It’s not just the gowns either; the cost of the wigs, nails, shoes, and makeup all add up to exorbitant amounts.
Blu Hydrangea, winner of the international All Stars season UK vs. The World, revealed on TikTok that she spent £22,500 on the season—about $27,000. A Vice feature explored the incredibly high cost of the show, with some contestants spending well over $30,000 to have their runway looks made. When some get sent home early on, they’ve only shown a single look of the dozens they’ve likely already made. Not everyone can be as iconic as Ra’Jah O’Hara, who spent only $600 on her All Stars season and still looked sickeningly good.
Not only is it exorbitantly expensive to compete, but it also creates an uneven playing field. Most queens must take out huge loans, in the hopes that the show will lead to more lucrative opportunities—something that gets harder each season, when another dozen-plus queens enter the fray.
To even things out, give the queens a budget! Let’s not pretend that the powers-that-be at World of Wonder aren’t sitting on a gold mine. Considering the grand prize is still a relatively low $200,000, a budget of (at least) $10,000 per queen to help get their looks made would result in more creativity, more gag-worthy eleganza, and more fairness in the competition.
Make Untucked great again
RuPaul famously said, “If you’re not watching Untucked, you’re only getting half the story.” Untucked is an extra show that airs right after the main show, giving the queens a chance to let loose with some drinks. It’s led to some of reality television’s greatest moments of all time. Which gay hasn’t recited Shangela’s beyond-legendary “sugar daddy” speech in its entirety? (Note to producers: Make this speech a lip sync. We’re ready).
Unfortunately, Season 15’s Untucked is the dullest yet. If I wanted to watch a bunch of queens be congenial, I still wouldn’t tune into this. We come to Untucked for epic moments in queer history: fights like Alyssa vs. Jade, Sharon vs. Phi Phi, and Mystique vs. Morgan.
Admittedly, fixing Untucked is one of the more difficult tasks, because queens in contemporary seasons try to filter themselves as much as possible. Drag Race has an unbelievably toxic fandom that the contestants must worry about: Just this year, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Salina Estittes, and Malaysia Babydoll Foxx have receive a barrage of hatred, been locked out of their Instagrams, and were hacked for doing unspeakable things like being funny, genuine, and fantastic television while being queens of color.
Help the queens out a bit, producers. I am begging you to bring back the drama. Bring back the unlimited booze. Older Untucked seasons would split the queens up in different rooms, like the gold bar and interior illusions lounge, which allowed the ladies to talk about each other more freely, leading to the queen everyone was talking about walking into the room. It never got old—let’s do that again.
For the love of everything good, stop treating Untucked like a prayer circle, and let the queens be shady.
Roll the dice and change the panel
The judging on Drag Race has always been a bit questionable—Rebecca Glasscock did not beat Jade in that lip sync in season 1—but this is largely a symptom of reality TV that, no matter how much I plead, will not change. (But just once, can we have a season based on pure talent and not storylines? No? At least I tried.) There is, however, an opportunity to shake up the judging panel to freshen things up, which we desperately need.
RuPaul is RuPaul, and she will always be there, until she’s replaced by a hologram of herself. Her right-hand man is Michelle Visage, who looks so incredibly stunning every week that I would rather BenDeLaCreme myself than get rid of her.
That leaves us with Carson Kressley and Ross Matthews. I think Carson brings a lot to the show, frequently wears great fashions, and offers genuinely helpful critiques, even if his references are comically dated. But Carson does seem to be in fewer episodes as the years go on, as if he’s phasing himself out.
Then there’s Ross. Look, I like Ross Matthews. He’s adorable, and I like his shiny jumpsuits. But it feels like he checked out of the show years ago. He’s been on a downhill climb since he called Shea Couleé “crafty” on All Stars. He also goes on these outrageous tangents that lead nowhere, offering queens no real opportunities to grow and get better, which is what the critiques are all about.
Here's how to fix it: replace Ross and Carson with TS Madison and Nicole Byer. They’ve judged a number of times, and they’re heartfelt, funny, and helpful. I’d also suggest a former competitors/superfans like Alaska and Bob the Drag Queen, but I don’t think Ru would ever risk being upstaged on her own show.
C’mon, Drag Race: Let’s get some diversity!
Credit where it’s due: RuPaul’s Drag Race has amped up the diversity over the years, and it’s all the better for it. Casts are now ethnically diverse, and multiple openly trans contestants have stormed the stage, including this year's sensational Sasha Colby, who is absolutely going to win.
But for Drag Race to stay relevant in the coming years, it has to take things up a notch. Drag is so much more than people creating female illusions. It’s time for drag kings. Kings are typically cis women who transform into men. There’s never been one on Drag Race, but the excellent alternative competition series Dragula brought on Landon Cider, who ended up winning the whole thing.
Drag truly is for everyone. Let’s bring bearded queens, bio-queens, and everyone else into the mix. We’re ready for it.
