Its back, back, back, back, back again! VH1 has officially confirmed the return of everyone’s (my) favourite reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. The extension of RuPaul’s Drag Race sees some of the biggest stars who have graced the runway over the seasons return for a second chance to become America’s Next Drag Superstar and earn a top prize of $100,000.
VH1 also gifted fans with other news, revealing that sister show Untucked will return to being televised, haing recently taken on a more online presence. The behind the scenes segments have been a source of high drama and hilarious gifs over the seasons, though was criticised for changing its format. Perhaps the move promises a full return to its former glory.
We should expect the upcoming Season 3 of All Stars to be the biggest yet, thanks to the larger budget made available by new network VH1. The show was popularised on Logo TV, but was restricted to how much it could do. Perhaps thanks to the move, however, Season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race was the most viewed yet, and provided a launchpad for drag to be visible in the mainstream.
Perhaps most importantly, VH1 revealed the expected return dates of the upcoming seasons; All Stars Season 3 will premiere early 2018 and Untucked will return alongside Season 10 in spring.
Speaking on its return, executive producer, host and all around legend RuPaul commented that “the world is calling out to see more of these beautiful queens and I am going to give them every bit of it they can handle”; “All Stars represents the best of the breasts, legs, and thighs. They are giving everything and you’re not going to want to miss it!”
Of course, news of the return isn’t entirely surprising. Redditors known as “Nancy Drews” have long added to speculation of the upcoming Season of All Stars. Creating their own cast list based off of show cancellations and gaps in tours, threads full of “T” have fuelled fans suffering with RuPaul withdrawal symptoms since Sasha Velour was crowned in the Season 9 finale.
Still, it’s looming presence is certainly something to get excited about, and excitement is all the show has been giving us thanks to its growing empire. Last month, RuPaul’s Drag Race earned seven Emmy Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Reality Competition Series, historically the first LGBT oriented show to be nominated in the category.
RuPaul last year won Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Ceremony. It was also recently announced that Hulu picked up J.J. Abrams‘ fictionalised series on the Drag Queen’s journey to stardom.
It seems the only way is up for RuPaul’s Drag Race, and I’m certainly excited for what’s more to come. We’ll have to wait until next year to get our jush, but if you’re desperate and don’t mind potential spoilers, you can get your daily dose of drag over on the RuPaul’s Drag Race subreddit. Be careful over there.
#Peace.Love.RuPaul’sDragRaceAllStars
