RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars is an American reality competition edition of the original RuPaul's Drag Race series, made as all-star and spin off, which is produced by World of Wonder, for Logo TV and later VH1. The show premiered on October 22, 2012 on Logo TV, before relocating to VH1. However, it was announced on February 20, 2020 on the show's official Twitter account that the fifth season would premiere on June 5, 2020 on Showtime. Following the cast announcement on May 8, 2020, producers announced that the show would remain airing on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments".
The show documents RuPaul inviting past queens that proven themselves to have had the most successful careers once leaving the original show. Like the original show, RuPaul plays the role of host, mentor, and head judge for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. RuPaul's Drag Race employs a panel of judges, currently including RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Ross Matthews and a host of other guest judges, who critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. The winner of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars wins $100,000, A one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and the queen's compete for a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame; with Chad Michaels, Alaska Thunderfuck, Trixie Mattel, Monét X Change, Trinity the Tuck and Shea Couleé being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The first season of All Stars featured a companion show, which aired directly after the show,, and only returned for the fifth season.
The format of the seasons vary, for the first season, the queens had to compete in teams of two; pairing up with another fellow All Star. Between the second and fourth seasons, the top two queens of the week would Lip sync for their legacy and the winner of the lip sync would chose to eliminate one of the bottom queens. However, for the fifth season of the show, all the queens had the chance to vote. If the top all star of week won the lip sync, they got to choose who would leave the show. If the top queen did not, then the majority vote would be given to the other queens in the competition and if the lip sync assassin won the lip sync, they would eliminate the majority vote of which the queens have chosen.
Format
For the most part, the format of the All Star Drag-Race resembles that of the main series - with each episode consisting of a mini-challenge, the main challenge, and a lip-sync. However, the format for the competition is altered in that the power over eliminations rests with the contestants themselves, rather than solely by the judges.Format Variation
The main difference in format to the main series are as follow:- Season 1: The first All-Stars season was a pairs competition. Queens competed in teams of two, determined by the contestants themselves. Both members of the losing team would be eliminated each week. The bottom two teams chose one member to "lip synch for their lives". The non-lip synching teammates had the option during the first minute of the performance to declare a "she-mergency", hit a panic button and "tag in" to complete the performance.
- Season 2–4: The second season was an individual format much like the main series and introduced the format of having the contestants eliminating each other. This season also introduced the lip-sync for the legacy, where the top two contestants in each main challenge would compete in the lip-sync. The victor is awarded a cash prize of $10,000 and the power to eliminate any of the worst performing queens from the main challenge.
- Season 5: The fifth season made a minor adjustment to the format from seasons 2–4. Only the main challenge winner can lip sync for her legacy against a Lip Sync Assassin, while the bottom 2/3 contestants are the only ones eligible for elimination. If the competing All-Star wins the lip sync, she will get the power to eliminate a fellow queen and a jackpot cash prize. If the Assassin wins, the eliminated queen will be determined by a vote by the rest of the contestants. The $10,000 lip sync prize jackpot rolls over to further episodes until an All-Star queen wins a lip-sync.
Judging
''Untucked''
Just like RuPaul's Drag Race, episodes of the first season of All Stars were followed by an Untucked episode each week, giving the viewers a glimpse into the backstage drama and discussions between the returning contestants. For the second, third, and fourth seasons, the contestants deliberated among themselves in the work room on who each of the top 2 would eliminate if they won the Lip Sync for Your Legacy. This served as a mini-Untucked as there were no separately filmed Untucked companion episodes for those seasons.On June 5, 2020, it was announced that the aftershow series would return for the fifth season.
Series overview
| Season | Premiere Date | Finale Date | Winner | Runner-up | Winner's Prizes |
| 1 | Chad Michaels | Raven |
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| 2 | Alaska | Katya |
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| 3 | Kennedy Davenport | ||||
| 4 | N/A |
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| 5 | Shea Couleé | Jujubee |
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Season 1 (2012)
RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars is the first All-Star season of RuPaul's Drag Race and premiered on the Logo network on October 22, 2012. Cast members were announced on August 6, 2012. The queens that were invited back to compete were: Alexis Mateo, Chad Michaels, Jujubee, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Mimi Imfurst, Nina Flowers, Pandora Boxx, Raven, Shannel, Tammie Brown and Yara Sofia.The season featured these twelve returning contestants from seasons one to four, for a chance to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame". It is the only season of All Stars to have the contestants compete in teams of two. This series consists of six episodes, each aired in a 60-minute time-slot. Contestants were judged on their "charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent" and, since they competed in teams of two, also "synergy". The winner received a supply of MAC cosmetics, a "one of a kind trip" and $100,000.
The theme song playing during the runway every episode is "Sexy Drag Queen" and the song played during the credits is "Responsitrannity", the latter of which is originally from RuPaul's album Glamazon.
Each episode, the judges provide their critiques on the contestants' performances in the main challenge and on the runway before RuPaul announces which team is the winner and which teams had the weakest performances. The teams deemed as being the bottom two must "lip sync for their lives" and choose a queen to represent their team in the lip sync in a final attempt to impress RuPaul. After the lip sync, RuPaul decides who stays and who leaves. RuPaul describes the qualities the contestants must have to be crowned the winner of the show as "Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent... These are people who have taken adversity and turned it into something that is beautiful and something powerful." The phrase "charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent" is used repeatedly on the show, the acronym of which is CUNT. On the season, "synergy" was added to provide an explanation behind the contestants being sorted into teams.
The winner of the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was Chad Michaels, while Raven placed as the runner-up, again.
Season 2 (2016)
A second season of All Stars was announced in 2015 and started shooting immediately after season 8. The show was to begin airing on August 25, 2016. Along with the season premiere's announcement, the cast of All Stars 2 were revealed. The cast consisted of 10 returning contestants, Adore Delano, Alaska, Alyssa Edwards, Coco Montrese, Detox, Ginger Minj, Katya, Phi Phi O'Hara, Roxxxy Andrews, and Tatianna.A new twist was revealed for this season changing the format of the show. In previous seasons, the two lowest performing queens had to "Lip Sync for their Life" to avoid elimination. This season has the two best performing queens of the challenge "Lip Sync for their Legacy", with the winner of the lip sync earning $10,000 and choosing which one of the bottom queens to eliminate. However, on their exit, RuPaul advised the first four eliminated queens that they will have the opportunity to come back for their "revenge", with the winner gaining entry back into the competition.
This season featured a lip-sync to the Rihanna song 'Shut Up and Drive' by Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna that has frequently been rated the number one best Drag Race lip-sync performance.
The winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was Alaska, while Detox and Katya placed as the runners-up.
Season 3 (2018)
On August 21, 2017, VH1 announced it would air a third season of the series in early 2018.On October 13, 2017, VH1 announced that a one-hour special, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Exclusive Queen RuVeal, would air on October 20, 2017, announcing the season's returning contestants. The nine out of the ten contestants that competed on the third season of All Stars consisted of Aja, BenDeLaCreme, Chi Chi DeVayne, Kennedy Davenport, Milk, Morgan McMichaels, Shangela, Thorgy Thor, and Trixie Mattel. Season one winner BeBe Zahara Benet was announced as the surprise tenth contestant.On December 14, 2017, it was announced that the third season would premiere on January 25, 2018.
A new twist on how the top queens of the season were chosen was revealed in the season's final episode. The previously eliminated queens returned in the finale and voted for the top two out of the remaining top four finalists; from there on, the two queens with the most votes advanced while the others were eliminated.
The winner of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was Trixie Mattel, while Kennedy Davenport placed as the runner-up.
Season 4 (2018–19)
In August 2018, during an episode of his podcast, , RuPaul confirmed he was currently filming the fourth season of All Stars. On August 22, 2018, VH1 officially announced a fourth season of All Stars, with the cast still yet to be revealed. On November 9, season 3 winner Trixie Mattel hosted a live stream with season 2 finalists Katya and Detox to announce the cast. The ten contestants competing on the fourth season of All Stars were Farrah Moan, Gia Gunn, Jasmine Masters, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, Naomi Smalls, Trinity the Tuck, and Valentina. Gia Gunn is the first transgender contestant to compete on a season of All Stars, while Latrice Royale and Manila Luzon were the first contestants to return after competing in a previous season of All Stars. The fourth season premiered on December 14, 2018, on VH1.The winners of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars were Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck, marking the first time in the show's history
where two winners were crowned.
Season 5 (2020)
On August 19, 2019, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a fifth season. It was announced on February 20, 2020, on the show's official Twitter account, that the season would premiere on June 5, 2020, on Showtime. The cast was revealed on May 8, 2020. Following the cast announcement, producers announced that the show will air on VH1 instead of Showtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "various scheduling and programming adjustments." The ten contestants that competed this season consisted of Alexis Mateo, Blair St. Clair, Derrick Barry, India Ferrah, Jujubee, Mariah Paris Balenciaga, Mayhem Miller, Miz Cracker, Ongina, and Shea Couleé.The winner of the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was Shea Couleé, leaving Jujubee and Miz Cracker as the runner-ups.