RuPaul's Drag Race is an American reality competition television series produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV. The show documents RuPaul in his search for "America's next drag superstar."[1] RuPaul plays the roles of host, mentor, and source of inspiration for this series, as contestants are given different challenges each week. RuPaul's Drag Race employs a panel of judges, including RuPaul, Michelle Visage and a host of other guest judges, who critique contestants' progress throughout the competition. The title of the show is a play on drag queen and drag racing, and the title sequence and song "Drag Race" both have a drag-racing theme.
RuPaul's Drag Race has spanned seven seasons and and inspired the spin-off shows RuPaul's Drag U and RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race. In 2015, both RuPaul's Drag Race was renewed for an eighth season and RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race was renewed for a second season. The show has become the highest-rated television programme on Logo TV,[2] and airs internationally, including in Australia and the UK. The show won Outstanding Reality Program at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards, has been nominated for 4 Critics' Choice Television Award including Best Reality Series – Competition and Best Reality Show Host for RuPaul, and was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Make-up for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) in 2015. On March 20, 2015, it was announced that LogoTV had given the series an early renewal for an eighth season.[3]
Series overview edit
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 9 | February 2, 2009 | March 23, 2009 | |
| 2 | 12 | February 2, 2010 | April 26, 2010 | |
| 3 | 16 | January 24, 2011 | May 2, 2011 | |
| 4 | 14 | January 20, 2012 | April 30, 2012 | |
| 5 | 13 | January 8, 2013 | May 6, 2013 | |
| 6 | 14 | February 24, 2014 | May 19, 2014 | |
| 7 | 14 | March 2, 2015 | June 1, 2015 | |
Episodes edit
Season 1 (2009) edit
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Drag On A Dime" | February 2, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The nine queens arrive in costume and size up the competition. They are then immediately thrust into a car wash photo shoot, portraying sex appeal while posing with two men, with Mike Ruiz as their photographer. Afterwards, everyone takes off their makeup for the first time and gets to know each other as their real-life selves, with most people being stunned by Nina's tattoos and questioning if Rebecca has had plastic surgery. The queens' first challenge involves making an outfit out of thrift store clothes and accessories from a 99 cent store. At the judging session, which includes Bob Mackie, Santino Rice, Mike Ruiz, Merle Ginsberg, and Ru herself as judges, the queens are judged on their outfits and photos. Following their runway presentations, Tammie, Jade, BeBe, and Shannel were all called safe. Ongina and Nina score well, with Nina being declared the winner, while Akashia and Victoria are put in the bottom two, with Rebecca being declared safe. For their final test, Akashia and Victoria have a lip-sync battle set to RuPaul's signature song, "Supermodel." In the end, though Akashia's attitude is negatively noted, Victoria's less-than-stylish outfit and questionable potential as an international star make her the first queen to be eliminated.
| |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Girl Groups" | February 9, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The eight remaining queens are given a mini-challenge in which RuPaul has them act out certain emotions and take pictures of themselves with a digital camera. He deems Akashia and Ongina the winners and makes them the group leaders in the next challenge, a girl group task. Ongina selects Shannel, Nina, and Rebecca for her group while Akashia selects BeBe and Jade and is stuck with Tammie, admitting she didn't want Tammie on her team because their personalities clash and because she thought she was too weird. The groups would each be responsible for their own hair, makeup, costumes, and choreography and must each perform to a Destiny's Child song.
Frank Gatson and Michelle Williams are the guest judges. As the challenge progresses, Akashia creates pressure when she steamrolls over her teammates' decisions while doing little work herself. Tammie, frustrated with Akashia and admitting to the fact that the competitiveness is getting to her, considers her place in the competition. On Ongina's team, the girls get frustrated with Shannel when Shannel tries to make decisions for them. The girls are also concerned with Ongina's tricky choreography. At judging panel, each group performs their number and the judges feel Ongina's group was the better of the two, naming Ongina the overall winner. With Akashia's group, the judges felt BeBe and Jade stood out while Akashia was a mess with a bad attitude and Tammie was just out of sorts. During their last chance lip-sync battle, set to Michelle Williams', "We Break The Dawn", Akashia gives a fierce performance while Tammie chooses not to lip-sync due to her not being prepared to lip-sync the song. In the end, Tammie is sent home when it seemed like she was giving up.
| |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Queens of All Media" | February 16, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The seven remaining queens are told their next task is to emulate Oprah Winfrey. Shannel is bowled over because she's a huge Oprah fan, Nina is worried because she has never seen Oprah's show, and Jade takes the challenge too literally at first by trying to look like Oprah. Each queen is allowed to pick a costume from a bin supplied for them, choose a costume they brought, or make their own on the spot, although Rebecca is the only one to take the latter choice. The challenge is in three parts, representing three stages of Oprah's career. The first task is a newscaster challenge where the queens must read mock news stories from a teleprompter. The next task is to sell products as Oprah does on her "My Favorite Things" specials. The third task is to interview Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott. Tori and Dean think most of the girls do a good job, though Shannel talked over them and Akashia neither stood to greet them nor said goodbye, instead walking off once the task was over. For their next judging session, Howard Bragman and Debra Wilson serve as the guest judges. The queens were allowed to wear their own pre-made costumes and were judged on that plus videos of their performances in the Oprah challenge. Most of the girls got good marks all around, with the judges citing Ongina and Nina's bubbly personalities and Rebecca's beauty as standouts. The judges declared BeBe the winner for her regal presence, confident hand in the Oprah challenge, and fierce runway presentation. The judges placed Shannel and Akashia in the bottom two, Shannel for not showing any vulnerability throughout the competition or listening to criticisms and Akashia for her poor performance in the Oprah challenge. For their lip-sync battle, the two had to sing Whitney Houston's, "The Greatest Love of All." In the middle of the performance, Shannel's wig falls off, but she earns points with the judges for continuing on with the song. In the end, Akashia cannot avoid elimination for a third time and she is sent home.
| |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Mac Viva-Glam Challenge" | February 23, 2009 | N/A | |
|
Upon entering the workroom after the previous elimination, the girls notice all the mirrors have been covered and became nervous. For the mini-challenge, Ru pairs everyone up and gives each person 30 minutes to do their partner's makeup. Ru likes the makeup job Shannel, Nina, and Jade did for their partners, naming Jade the winner. The next task involves the girls putting together a commercial for Mac's Viva Glam makeup, a cosmetics line which Ru once modeled. The winner of the challenge will become the new face of Viva Glam. The girls must use the commercial to explain who they are as queens, why they are beautiful, and inform people of Viva Glam's help for those living with HIV. Each girl gets ten minutes to film their spot, though Jade gets an extra five minutes for winning the challenge. Most shoots go smoothly, except for some flubbed lines and Shannel over-doing her lines. However, Rebecca, upon thinking of a friend who has HIV, becomes emotional and walks off the set with time left on the clock. She cries, but because Rebecca has had a wall up since the competition began, some of the girls question her sincerity. At the judging panel, Gordon Espinet and Jenny Shimizu serves as guest judge and the judges look at each girl's commercial. They give high remarks to BeBe and Nina, but Ru names Ongina the winner. Upon hearing the news, Ongina cries and collapses to the floor. She reveals that she has been living with HIV for the last two years, but was afraid to admit it on national television, and is moved by the opportunity to represent a company noted for its support of HIV-related charities and organizations. Ongina says "life is a Celebration, you have to live your life and keep going" and Ru calls her an inspiration. Despite her commercial being criticised, Shannel's runway presentation is lauded over and she is safe, leaving the bottom two as Rebecca and Jade, both for their lagging progress and star potential. They have a lip sync battle to, "Would I Lie To You?" by Eurythmics and Jade is eliminated. In her exit interview, Jade has some tough words on the subject of being eliminated over Rebecca, saying Rebecca is the fakest bitch she's ever known.
| |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Drag School of Charm" | March 2, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The day after elimination, most of the queens feel Jade should have stayed and Rebecca should have gone home. For the episode's mini-challenge, Ru brings in five female fighters to put the queens through an exercise and endurance challenge. The last queen standing wins the challenge and that queen is Rebecca. Ru then tells the queens that their main challenge will be for each of them to make over one of the fighters in their own image and teach them the secrets of drag. Rebecca, having won the mini-challenge, gets to select her partner and with whom the others work. Rebecca selects Tempele and then pairs everyone else up as follows: BeBe/Michelle, Nina/Mia, Ongina/Jarrett, Shannel/Sweepee. The challenge commences and the fighters admit to not being very feminine while the queens grow frustrated with transforming the fighters. Halfway through the day, Ru shows up to inform everyone that the queens must also coach the fighters on how to give a lip sync performance, which they must do to Beyoncé's, "Freakum Dress". On judging day, Lucy Lawless and Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin serve as guest judges. BeBe emphasizes culture with Michelle, Rebecca makes over Tempele in her own image, Nina puts her own 'Nina' spin on Mia, Ongina plays the masculine role to Jarrett's feminine touch, and Shannel goes for high glam with Sweepee. The judges love Shannel and Rebecca's output and name Rebecca the winner. Conversely, the judges are on the fence with Nina and aren't so thrilled with BeBe and Ongina's interpretations of the challenge. BeBe and Ongina are in the bottom two and have a lip sync battle set to Britney Spears', "Stronger." After a fierce performance, Ru feels the decision is too tough to call and leaves the set for a minute to collect her thoughts. Upon her return, Ru says BeBe performed with a power that the judges hadn't seen before and did something she didn't think was possible: she "outshined" Ongina. Ru lets BeBe stay and eliminates Ongina, but not before saying she thought Ongina had the potential to win it all.
| |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Absolut Drag Ball" | March 9, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The queens meet Ru on the runway for a vogue battle mini-challenge. Ru deems Rebecca and Nina as the strongest posers and has them participate in a further pose-off, which Nina wins. For their main challenge, the queens are informed that they will have a drag ball. Each queen must come up with three looks: Swimsuit, Executive Realness, and Evening Wear. Marco Marco provides fabric for the queens to work with. Ru also informs the girls that Absolut is sponsoring the event and thus, they must each portray one of four pre-selected flavors: citron, mandarin, mango, and raspberry. As the winner of the mini-challenge, Nina selects her flavor and pairs everyone else up.
Nina, Rebecca, and Shannel get right to work while BeBe, unsure of what to do, takes a while to start. Shannel is unsure of how to make swimsuits, Nina doesn't think her green fabric fits the "Executive" category, and BeBe asks for construction advice. When Ru checks in with the queens, Shannel wonders how much more of herself she can give when the judges aren't responding favorably to her output. Rebecca keeps a lot of information to herself and, to the camera, Shannel comments on Rebecca's gameplaying and lack of drag knowledge. Nina reveals that her inspiration is her late mother, whom she says was her best friend. Midway through the day, Ru lets the queens take a break by throwing a cocktail party with special guest Charo. The queens have a blast, but aren't so thrilled when Ru adds the extra twist of telling the queens they must literally use their assigned fruits as part of their runway presentations. On the runway, Jeffrey Moran, image consultant of Absolut, and María Conchita Alonso serve as guest judges. In the first category, Executive Realness, BeBe goes first and Ru asks why she should win. BeBe speaks of having dignity in drag and being taken seriously. When Nina goes up, she says she has dedicated herself to female impersonation for 15 years and wants to inspire others. Shannel talks of having pride in one's self and Rebecca says she has the drive and determination to win. The judges are further pleased by each queen's swimsuit and Evening Wear presentations. The judges love BeBe's evolving looks, make-up, and restrained style. Nina's demureness and femininity are highly regarded. Shannel is once again knocked for not connecting emotionally while Rebecca's costume construction is negatively noted. When asked who should go, Rebecca says she should stay, but when pressed, she once again names Shannel (having done so once before when the question was asked back in episode 2). Nina picks Rebecca due to lack of experience, BeBe picks Rebecca because BeBe thinks Rebecca is on a lower level than the rest of the queens, and Shannel falls on her own sword and quits because she's been judged harshly from the beginning. She slams the judges extensively for not noticing her personality and for all the negative critiques, but Ru tries to convince her to stay. In deliberations, the judges are torn with Shannel, wanting to take her display of emotion less seriously, but still questioning it. The judges love BeBe's presence and outfits, think Rebecca is the weakest queen, and like Nina's work. When the queens are called back, BeBe is announced as the winner and part of the final three. Nina is also told she is part of the final three, leaving Rebecca and Shannel as the bottom two. In line with Shannel's earlier request to quit, Rebecca and Shannel have a odd battle to, "Shackles", by Mary Mary. It seems as if Shannel has had it with the judges, the show, and that is evident in her very unusually boring lip-sync performance. Afterwards, as requested, Shannel is eliminated though Ru tries to assure her that her contributions have not gone unnoticed. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "Extra Special Edition" | March 16, 2009 | N/A | |
|
In this episode, RuPaul takes a look back through the first season. Clips include unaired audition videos from the queens who made it and some who didn't, backstage antics, and an inside look at the final three. Among the queens who didn't make it, Raven, Pandora Boxx, Sahara Davenport, Nicole Paige Brooks, Detox, and Alaska (going by her full name Alaska Thunderfuck) are featured. Merle Ginsberg and Santino Rice were also on hand to deliver their Top 10 picks for the most memorable fashions of the season. Santino and Merle's Picks for Top Ten Fashion Moments (judging panel fashions only except noted otherwise)
| |||||
| 8 | 8 | "Grand Finale" | March 22, 2009 | N/A | |
|
Merle and Santino come in to inform the final three that their last challenge will be to appear in RuPaul's latest video for her song, "Cover Girl (Put The Bass In Your Walk)." They will do a group dance, record a verse with rapper Cazwell, and film a solo for Ru's video. To get them prepared, choreographer Ryan Heffington takes the final three through the planned dance routine. None of the queens adapt easily, but Rebecca in particular struggles with the dancing required. Afterward, each queen gets an impromptu sit-down with Ru. Ru tells Nina that she likes her sweetness and Nina shares the struggles she's had with her mom's death. Then, BeBe meets with Ru and Ru wonders what she'll do after the show. BeBe speaks of reaching out to the community and talks of the AIDS crisis in her homeland of Cameroon. Rebecca talks about the cattiness she's faced with the other girls and Ru wonders if she herself had anything to do with that. The girls record their verses with Cazwell and Nina and BeBe do a good job while Rebecca struggles again, but eventually gets it. The scene switches to Ru filming her video, with episode one photographer Mike Ruiz as director, and the three girls run through their group dance number. Mike loves BeBe's energy, thinks Nina is a great performer, and compliments Rebecca's beauty. Each girl then gets a solo and Nina goes first. BeBe goes second and when it gets to Rebecca's turn, she's late back to set. Unhappy with her look and taking extra time away to fix it, Rebecca struggles for a third time. For the final runway show, there are no guest judges and the girls pull out all the stops. The judges look at clips of each girls' performances in the video shoot, starting with BeBe. Santino loves her eye contact, Merle liked her lyrics, and Ru says BeBe is a moving piece of art. With Nina, Santino felt her lyrics and delivery were dated, and Ru says she likes her personality on and off set. Ru also points out that Nina is the only one who never had to lip sync for her life. Rebecca is asked about her tardiness and what she discussed with Ru earlier. As for her performance, Santino thought the choreography was weak and Merle wanted more individuality. In deliberations, the judges think BeBe is graceful and womanly. Nina is a grand performer, but her outfits seem similar to each other and her grasp of the English language can hinder her. Rebecca's beauty is praised, but the judges feel she's at a lower level than the other two. On the runway, the judges eliminate Rebecca and the decision comes down to Nina and BeBe. The two have a final lip sync battle to Ru's, "Cover Girl." Afterwards, Ru announces BeBe as the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season One.
| |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Re-United!" | March 23, 2009 | N/A | |
|
The nine queens gather once again to chat about the season behind them and their current lives. Starting with Victoria, Tammie, Akashia, and Jade, Ru asks Victoria if she enjoyed her short stay and if she felt she could've done well in the later challenges, Tammie discusses her quirkiness, Akashia's anger and tearful exit are touched on, and Jade voices her frustration with Rebecca and her joy in meeting the other girls. Ru then brings out Ongina, Shannel, and Rebecca. Ongina talks about her progression as a drag artist and her controversial outing as an HIV positive person in Episode Four. Shannel's overconfidence and her elimination are discussed. The girls talk about Rebecca's fakeness and attitude, causing arguments to ensue. Finally, Season One runner-up Nina Flowers and Season One Winner BeBe Zahara Benet are brought out. Nina talks about finishing second and says the Oprah challenge was the toughest for her. Nina also says the audience reception for her has been favorable. BeBe talks about winning and the audience reaction in Cameroon. Ru asks BeBe if she was surprised that Rebecca made it to the final three and when asked for hands, most queens feel she shouldn't have. Nina is surprised that Jade was eliminated over Rebecca and Jade takes the chance for closure by extending an olive branch to Rebecca. Ru then gives the girls some viewer questions. Akashia is asked about upgrading her hooker style, Rebecca is asked about the friend she mentioned in the Mac Viva-Glam challenge, and Shannel is asked if her wig falling off in the episode three lip sync battle was staged. Shannel admits that it was intentional and Ru is surprised. Ongina is asked about going from winning a challenge to lip syncing for her life, Nina is asked about what lead her to choose an androgynous drag style, and all of the girls are asked about hiding razor bumps and stubble. Merle and Santino are then brought out to discuss their experiences on the show. Merle talks about everyone's ideas of femininity and Santino discusses the fashion and his judging style. The girls are then allowed to get into the judges' heads. Shannel spearheads a campaign against the judges saying I left the show because you guys made me feel like crap every week. The two argue and Ru is infuriated at Shannel for trying to damage the judges image and for taking the critiques as a personal attack. In series history, this was the only reunion show where a screaming match between judges and contestants ensued. Ru gets physically and verbally upset at Shannel and the girls for slamming the judges and takes the girls to task for taking the negativity too personally. She yells at them and tells them they need not rely on others to hold their hands. Further, Ru and Tammie Brown have a memorable, heated exchange about critiques that formed the basis for the RuPaul song Responsitranity. | |||||
Season 2 (2010) edit
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Gone with the Window" | February 1, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The 12 queens arrive and start to size up their competition. Early on in the episode, they discover that some of the queens met one another prior to being cast: Sahara and Shangela, Raven and Morgan, and Nicole and Sonique. After meeting RuPaul for the first time, the queens are pushed into a photo shoot with photographer Mike Ruiz for a Gone with the Wind inspired photo shoot involving the girls straddling a cannon and a high speed fan blowing in their faces. The first challenge consists of 12 window treatments with different style curtains, courtesy of Smith+Noble. Each queen has to choose one and make an outfit made entirely of the curtains. Raven is allowed to select her curtains first as a reward for having the best photo, but the other queens must race one another to grab one of the available window treatments and home furnishings provided by Out of the Closet. Morgan and Tatianna end up fighting over one of the window treatments, both claiming they grabbed it first. Morgan eventually gives in; Tatianna keeping the curtains. Back in the work room, Shangela has saved a spot for Pandora to work next to her so she can ask for help with her own dress. Mystique has difficulty not having a plus sized dress forms and says that the material from the curtains were not plus size friendly. In the runway challenge, RuPaul, Merle Ginsberg, and Santino Rice return as regular judges. Mike Ruiz stays on as a guest judge and Kathy Griffin appears as a special guest judge. At the conclusion of the runway show, the judges praise Tyra, Morgan and Pandora's performance; selecting Morgan as the winner of the challenge for having their preferred costume design. Although the judges greatly criticise Mystique's outfit, she is declared safe by RuPaul due to her strong runway presentation, leaving Shangela and Sahara in the bottom two; Shangela for a lack of experience and the poor construction of her outfit, and Sahara for not look "draggy" enough (according to Kathy Griffin). Asked to "lip sync for their life," Shangela and Sahara perform RuPaul's "Cover Girl". Shangela is the first to rip off her dress but Sahara delivers an acrobatic performance, outstaging Shangela. RuPaul makes the decision to ask Shangela to sashay away.
| |||||
| 12 | 2 | "Starrbootylicious" | February 8, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The girls are given a mini-challenge where they're split into teams of two (with Mystique working alone, as there's an odd number of girls) and asked to give a RuPaul doll a "bad girl" makeover. RuPaul selects Sahara and Pandora as the winners, and they're made group leaders for the next challenge. For the main challenge, the contestants will be split into two teams and create a burlesque performance for a Hollywood nightclub to "Tranny Chaser" by RuPaul. Sahara selects Jessica, Jujubee, Tyra, and Mystique for her team, while Pandora picks Morgan, Sonique, Tatianna, Raven, and is left with Nicole (the last queen to be picked). Raven explains that no one wanted to pick Nicole because it's a sexy challenge and she's not sexy. Tyra says that she would have preferred working on Pandora's team, and as a result doesn't cooperate with her teammates by refusing to participate in a demonstration from two burlesque entertainers, failing to participate in her groups rehearsal, and falling asleep in the work room. When it comes time for the challenge, RuPaul reveals a twist inspired by her film Starrbooty: not only will the teams take turns performing on stage at the Hollywood club Dragonfly, but they'll also take turns selling cherry pie gift certificates from Café Audrey to people on the street. The team that makes the most money in tips at the club and in gift certificates outside will be the winner. Judging their performances in the club are the show's regular judges along with guest judge Kim Coles and extra special guest judge, burlesque performer, Dita Von Teese. While Pandora's team has a mixed performance, Sahara's team does well both inside and out despite the earlier conflict. At the judging panel, after the runway show, Sahara's team is declared as having earned the most money during the challenge. Sahara is also announced as being the challenge winner for leading her team. While all of the girls on Pandora's team take varying amounts of criticism, (with the exception of Morgan, who has immunity.) Pandora's performance and leadership are praised, but her runway oufit is deemed a flop. Sonique is also praised for her dance performance, but her attitude selling pies was admonished. Raven and Nicole are noted for bringing in the least amount of money out of all eleven girls, yet Kim Coles remarks that Raven's humor is what makes her interesting. Despite Tatianna being picked out by three of her teammates as the weakest member of the team, Raven and Nicole are selected to land in the bottom two for having earned the least amount of money for the challenge. After lip synching for their lives, Raven is saved from elimination and Ru sends Nicole home with words of encouragement, as RuPaul herself had a career in Atlanta in the 1980s.
| |||||
| 13 | 3 | "Country Queens" | February 15, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The girls enter the workroom to discover a long table, where most of the girls speculate that they will have to eat something. They're asked to play a game that RuPaul calls "Chicken, or What?", in which they participate in a blind taste test of three foods. They have to guess if what they ate was chicken or some other fried food ("what?"). The three queens with the most points are Pandora, Mystique and Morgan. As a tie breaker, the three contestants raced to see who could eat a basket of fried chicken, rabbit, alligator and deep fried cow brains the fastest. Mystique and Morgan are declared the winners. They become captains and have to form their teams for the main challenge. The main challenge tasked the two groups with creating a commercial for Disco Extra Greasy Shortening. Mystique's team creating a commercial for fish fillets, and Morgan's team creating a commercial for fried chicken. After the leaders have cast what parts their teammates would play, and after everyone has memorized most of their lines, RuPaul reveals a twist: the queens need to swap scripts, forcing them to change their entire performance immediately.
During the commercial taping, guest judge Kathy Najimy serves as co-director and coaches the girls through the commercial. Mystique's team films first, and Kathy is severe in critiquing everyone; particularly, Jessica's accent and Mystique being unable to take direction well. When Morgan's team is set to film, Kathy criticizes Raven for not being funny in the part of the chicken. At the judging panel, the girls are asked to walk in their best country outfits. They are joined by extra special guest judge Tanya Tucker. After watching the commercials, RuPaul tells them that they will be critiqued individually rather than as a team, so neither team is safe. Tyra, Raven, Jessica, Pandora, and Mystique are called out as the best and worst of the week. Jessica receives high praise for both her runway attire and her performance in the commercial. Pandora's performance is also praised, but her runway look once again fails to impress. Tyra is named the winner for doing a terrific job on the commercial and for having three different outfits on the runway. Raven and Mystique are in the bottom two; Raven for her bad performance, and Mystique for her lack of taking direction and her non-country look. Raven again stands triumphant after lip synching for her life, and Mystique is sent home.
| |||||
| 14 | 4 | "The Snatch Game" | February 22, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The contestants are given a mini challenge called "The Queen is Right," where the girls are shown drag essential items and asked to bid on how much they believe the item is worth. The contestant who comes closest to the actual price wins. Raven wins the challenge, and she is rewarded by being allowed a one time call home. The queens are then asked to impersonate celebrities as part of a Match Game homage, called "Snatch Game."Alec Mapa and Phoebe Price are contestants on the show, and each girl impersonates a different celebrity, with the objective to be as funny as possible within their own character.
After the gameshow, the girls walk the runway in their own personal styles. Tyra, Raven, Jessica and Sahara are all declared safe, leaving the other girls as the best and worst of the week. Both Tatianna and Pandora received high marks for their celebrity impersonations, while Morgan, Sonique and Jujubee are all criticised. Despite receiving negative critiques on her outfit, Tatianna is declared the winner of the challenge. Morgan and Sonique fell into the bottom two for having the weakest celebrity impersonations, and had to lip synch for their lives. Both girls' performances impressed RuPaul, Morgan for having the tightest lip synch performance seen on the show so far and Sonique for working the entire stage with her gymnastics. In the end, RuPaul allowed Morgan to stay, as Morgan said, "it's a lipsynch competition not a gymnastic competition." Sonique is sent home. Guest judges include Lisa Rinna and Niecy Nash.
| |||||
| 15 | 5 | "Here Comes the Bride" | March 8, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The contestants are given a mini challenge to decorate a white box using provided supplies and an item borrowed from another queen, which Raven wins. RuPaul then announces the main challenge of the week. The girls are going to create their very own wedding dress by altering weddings dresses provided to them. As an additional twist to the challenge, the queens will be shooting wedding portraits using not only their girl drag, but their best guy drag as well by posing as both bride and groom for the portraits. Raven gets first pick of her wedding dress to alter, and then gets to pick the order the rest of the girls pick their dresses out in as well. After each contestant poses both as bride and groom for their photos, they then walk the runway in their wedding dress creations. Raven, Jujubee, and Tyra receive high praise for their dresses, while Tatianna, Morgan, and Sahara receive harsher critiques. RuPaul asks the girls to tell them anything that the judges may not be seeing on the runway, and Tatianna, JuJu, and Pandora call out Tyra for her insensitivity and lack of respect for her fellow contestants, leading to a huge argument regarding Tyra's character. Despite the accusations, Tyra is declared the winner of the challenge. With Tatianna having immunity from the last challenge, RuPaul places Sahara and Morgan in the bottom two to lip synch for their lives. Sahara wins the lip synch with her balletic performance, causing Ru to "raise the roof" and leaving Morgan spinning and confused. Hence, Morgan is eliminated. Guest judges include Mathu Andersen and Martha Wash.
| |||||
| 16 | 6 | "Rocker Chicks" | February 15, 2010 | N/A | |
|
The girls arrive to RuPaul giving them a mini challenge in which they must style a wig, giving it a glam rock makeover. Pandora is declared winner. RuPaul reveals the remaining contestants a very special and unique challenge. They must create a rocker chick outfit and perform live vocals to a rock and roll cover to RuPaul's Ladyboy. Jujubee and Jessica are excited by the challenge, seeing it as their chance to shine, as Jessica had previously sung with a band in Puerto Rico, and Jujubee has a great singing voice. Tatianna is less than enthused due to a fear of public singing. The girls get one-on-one 10 minute rehearsal time with Terri Nunn from Berlin (band) to help them prepare for their performance. As part of winning the challenge, Pandora gets 15 minutes of rehearsal time. On elimination day, instead of the usual runway, the girls each take their turn performing their rock song for the judges and a small crowd. Jessica, Pandora, and Raven perform very well. Tatianna, despite her initial fears, surprises everyone and gives a solid performance as well. Sahara comes out screeching and stumbles over several the lyrics. Tyra comes out in the style of Beyoncé and performs like her, singing and breathing deeply. Unfortunately, much to everyone's shock, Jujubee chokes at the last second from a lack of confidence in the lyrics and ends up botching most of the song. The judges praise Jessica, Pandora and Raven, and critique Jujubee for her nervousness, Sahara for being too girly and chic (who gets defensive towards Merle Ginsberg who wanted to see more), Tatianna for depending on her body and Tyra for not being rock enough and concerned with her look more than with the music. Jessica is declared the winner, but RuPaul informs the girls that she has removed the girl's immunity award, and no queen is safe from elimination in the next round. Jujubee and Sahara fall to the bottom. During their lip synch of Black Velvet, Sahara starts dancing ballet with kicks and pirouettes. Jujubee gives a sultry performance which includes falling to the floor and crying aloud, capturing the essence of the song, thus managing to lip synch her way back into the competition, and Sahara is eliminated. Guest judges include Henry Rollins and Terri Nunn.
| |||||
| 17 | 7 | "Once Upon a Queen" | March 22, 2010 | N/A | |
|
SThe remaining girls are given a mini challenge where they "read" (insult) the other contestants. The girls have no trouble cutting each other over anything from physical flaws to personalities, with Tatianna being the exception by forfeiting halfway through. Jujubee wins the mini challenge, and RuPaul then gives the girls their main challenge for the week. Each contestant is to create an autobiography book cover and title that represents their own personal stories about how doing drag has impacted their lives.
As an additional challenge, the girls field questions via a satellite interview, where they must not only present their autobiography, but also promote a new Absolut alcoholic beverage. Raven and Jujubee had excellent interviews, while Jessica oversold the drink and Tatianna forgot to promote her drink before time ran out. For the main runway, the girls were asked to dress up in outfits to wear to the world premiere of their book launching party. For having the best book cover and interview, Raven won the challenge, although Jujubee was also highly praised. Tyra also, in general, received positive feedback, although her book cover was criticised. Pandora forgot to include the brand name of the drink in her interview and her outfit was criticized harshly by Santino, but she was ultimately declared safe. It was Jessica and Tatianna who fell into the bottom two due to the poorest book covers, shaky interviews, and less than favorable runway attire. Jackie Collins disliked Tatianna's book name and cover, and the judges commented that her outfit looked like "jailbait". Nobody enjoyed Jessica's book cover and her interview was deemed "trainwreck territory". During the lip synch Jessica danced wildly while Tatianna kept a smooth slow demeanor. After lip synching for their lives RuPaul shocked everyone, including Tatianna, by allowing Tatianna to stay and eliminating Jessica from the competition. Guest judges include Gigi Levangie and Jackie Collins.
| |||||
| 18 | 8 | "Golden Gals" | March 29, 2010 | N/A | |
|
This week's challenges focused entirely on age. For the mini challenge, the girls had to match all 12 of this season's contestants to their baby pictures, including their own. The main challenge consisted of the girls taking older gay men and transforming them into their drag mothers for the runway. The contestants were also expected to perform a lip synch with their mothers to RuPaul's song "Main Event." Tatianna got to pick who each girl would be teamed up with as her reward for winning the mini challenge. Each girl had different problems they had to overcome while working with their drag mothers, from Raven's partner being overly hairy to Tatianna's partner having a bad leg. After their performances, the girls were judged based on their transformation of their partner into drag queens as well as their lip synch performance.
Raven won the challenge due to her having the most dramatic makeover out of everyone. Raven made no effort to hide her smugness about winning over Tatianna to the cameras. Pandora was once again criticized on her outfits and not being bold enough for the judges' taste, claiming that her own drag mother upstaged her in humor. It was her and Jujubee, for her shaky lip synch performance with her drag mother, that fell into the bottom two. After being consistently safe through the challenges up until now, Pandora was eliminated and Jujubee joined the ranks of the final four girls in the competition. Entertainment Weekly called Pandora's elimination, "the most controversial elimination of the season." Guest judges include Debbie Reynolds, Cloris Leachman and NYX Cosmetics founder Toni Ko.
| |||||
| 19 | 9 | "The Diva Awards" | April 12, 2010 | N/A | |
|
This week's challenges focussed on creating polished looks for different events. For their mini-challenge, the queens had to style and accessorize identical dresses without cutting or gluing them. Whilst Jujubee is praised for being fully made up and padded and Tyra for making her own clutch bag and looking very elegant, Raven is criticised for her boots, and the other girls think that Tatianna overaccessorised. Ru eventually names Tyra the winner, and she is placed in charge of choreographing an opening number for The Diva Awards, where the queens must put together three looks for three different Diva Award ceremonies:
During their preparations, JuJu and Raven team up to make sure they both get into the final, Tyra begins to make a gown completely out of fur, much to the other girls bemusement and annoyance due to the amount of fur coming off the fabric, and Tatianna takes a while to start working due to her inexperience in making gowns. In giving his critiques, Ru questions Tyra's fur gown, tells Raven that she needs to bring everything she's learned about drag to this challenge, worries that Jujubee's eleganza look is too understated and criticizes Tatianna for making excuses despite being so far on in the competition. This week's guest judges include Tatum O'Neal and Marissa Jaret Winokur. During their opening number, Jujubee misses some of the steps but is praised for keeping poised. Both Raven and Tyra receive high marks for their looks and 'award show speeches', whilst Jujubee's eleganza look is criticized for looking too much like a costume and out of Tatianna's outfits, the only one the judges liked was her executive realness look. Ru names Tyra the winner, whilst Jujubee and Tatianna lip-sync to "Something He Can Feel" by Aretha Franklin. Jujubee gives a poised performance, whilst Tatianna decides to sing the backing vocals, leading her to be sent home, giving Jujubee a place in the final three along with Tyra and Raven.
| |||||
| 20 | 10 | "The Main Event Clip Show" | April 19, 2010 | N/A | |
|
Highlights and outtakes from the second season's first nine episodes. The episode opens up with RuPaul standing alone in a balloon-filled room, singing her song "Main Event" while a montage of clips from the season are shown. Then RuPaul shows never-before-seen pre-show audition clips of all the eliminated girls so far which included Shangela cleaning a car, Nicole Paige Brooks with her son, Mystique explaining her "two-piece and a biscuit", Sonique's outfits and wardrobe, Morgan McMichaels using a back alley as a runway, Sahara Davenport dancing on stage, Jessica speaking about what drag means to her, Pandora's hilarious antics, and Tatianna's sheer femininity. Then season 1 contestants Ongina, Shannel, and season 1 winner BeBe Zahara Benet join RuPaul as she counts down the top ten most unforgettable fits and fashions from the season. Ru's picks for the Top Ten Fits and Fashions on the Runway were:
After, RuPaul reveals some never-before-seen, behind the scenes moments including the queens impersonating each other, the contestants' family relationships and the unseen moments on the main stage. Then RuPaul gave us a fast-forward flashback recap of the entire season, followed by an up close and personal look at the final 3 (Tyra, Jujubee & Raven). | |||||
| 21 | 11 | "Music Video Finale" | April 26, 2010 | N/A | |
|
Merle and Santino arrive to tell the last three queens about their final challenge - dressing in their best 80s outfits and shooting the music video for RuPaul's next single: "Jealous of My Boogie." They will work with guests who include reality star Robert Verdi,who will help the girls with fashion, make-up artist Mathu Anderson, who will direct the video and choreographer Ryan Heffington, who will coach them in a small fight sequence a la Dynasty.[4] Each queen meets with RuPaul, who is dressed in drag, as their male selves, and speak. Tyra tells RuPaul that he wishes to win for the sake of his son. Jujubee reflects on his father's death, and Raven speaks about how his parents divorcing and his mother's heartbreak affected him. During the shoot, each girl is given a certain script, where they confront RuPaul and get slapped. Raven forgets lines and Jujubee is very exaggerated. Mathu suggests that Tyra act hurt when RuPaul shuts her down. Mathu's accent makes him sound like he is saying hood and Tyra asks how "hood". RuPaul is delighted that it could work and they proceed. At the elimination, RuPaul says Jujubee has star power and is clearly the most intelligent of the girls, but Merle disagreed and believed Tyra to be. Jujubee is eliminated first, due to her outfit and her perceived lack of drag iconography in fashion and beauty compared to the other two girls. Raven and Tyra are left, both being praised highly by the judges, who comment on Raven's 'superstar' quality and Tyra's glamour and tenacity. The two queens must lip synch to "Jealous of My Boogie". In the confessional, Raven says that she will continue to perform as she always has, and remains on the stage giving a solid performance. Tyra spins, throws off part of her outfit, goes to the judges table and sings to them, and finally ends with a split. RuPaul announces that Tyra Sanchez is the winner of the Season Two contest, with Raven as runner-up. Raven congratulates her and the girls hug, but Tyra collapses on the floor struggling to breathe from being so shocked. In the confessional she laughs that she 'forgot to breathe.' After the show, as witnessed in the last episode of RuPaul's Drag Race Untucked, Raven refuses to speak to Tyra and writes a negative comment on the mirror insinuating that Tyra will never be a star. Tyra laughs and says that she already is a star as she won the contest.
| |||||
| 22 | 12 | "Reunion" | April 26, 2010 | N/A | |
|
Season 2 cast reunite to talk about their journey and The Miss Congeniality Award Winner is announced. Shangela reflects on what happened after (She won the 2010 California Entertainer of the Year award after taping had wrapped). Nicole Paige Brooks reveals that she was disappointed in Raven for talking bad about her when Nicole believed they were friends. Mystique claims she left the race because she felt her mother's safety was in danger, while she worked in Mexico. Sonique breaks down and then emotionally reveals that she has been unhappy with her life as a queen and so has begun taking hormones to transition from male to female. Morgan reveals that she and Mystique have made up, after their fight from the first episode of Untucked. The second half of contestants come out and Sahara Davenport discusses her family's positive reaction to her drag lifestyle and talks about the fan mail she received. Jessica Wild laughs about her language problems and mentions the fan mail she has received including inspiring a mother to be more accepting of her son. Tatianna and Raven argue extensively over Raven's comments that Tatianna relied on her looks in the competition. Tatianna is hurt and Raven remains angry, but she apologizes and they later hug it out at Ru's insistence. Ru asks Pandora Boxx about her admission of attempting suicide in the past, and Pandora takes comfort in the huge fan response. Jujubee discusses being a 'gaysian' and her family's pride in her. Several of the girls become emotional as Pandora tearfully tells of her father watching the show and calling her to say that he was proud of her just a few weeks before his death. The queens reflect on Tyra's victory and her change to a kinder, quieter demeanor. Tyra reveals she has used some of the prize money to straighten her teeth. RuPaul announces the Miss Congeniality Award, with Pandora Boxx winning in a landslide. The queens all dance together for the last time.
| |||||
Season 3 (2011) edit
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Casting Extravaganza" | January 24, 2011 | N/A | |
|
The first episode shows behind the scenes of the casting process for the 2011 edition of "RuPaul's Drag Race." Featured are entrants that were not cast in the series. All the contestants are profiled. Manila's audition tape includes an endorsement from her boyfriend, season 2's Sahara Davenport. Raja reveals she has done make up for some pretty big names in Hollywood and her audition tape includes an endorsement from Adam Lambert. India Ferrah shows us through video and old photos his early drag career which started at 14. Mimi and Stacy were premiered as the Big Girls of the Season. Phoenix talks about her start in drag. Venus D-lite and Delta Work are profiled, and it is revealed that they were chosen as a result of auditioning in front of RuPaul and Santino Rice at an open casting call in Hollywood, California. This special also features several queens who appear on future seasons: Madame LaQueer and Chad Michaels, who would go on to appear on Season 4, Alaska, Detox, and Penny Tration who would go on to appear on Season 5, Joslyn Fox who would appear on Season 6 and Katya Zamolodchikova, Sasha Belle, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Jasmine Masters and Tempest DuJour who would all appear on Season 7. | |||||
| 24 | 2 | "The Queen Who Mopped Xmas" | January 24, 2011 | 4.49[5] | |
|
Season 3 begins with the introductions of 12 new queens vying to be "the next drag superstar". After the surprise revelation that the first eliminated second-season competitor Shangela has returned to be the thirteenth competitor in season three, the dolls receive their first challenge: a Christmas-card photo shoot on a trampoline (with Mike Ruiz taking the pictures). Then it's off to a thrift store to stock up for their holiday-themed runway outfits. Ruiz, Vanessa Williams and Bruce Vilanch are the guest judges, joining regular judges Santino Rice and Michelle Visage (making her debut). India, Alexis, Phoenix, Mariah, Yara, Delta, and Stacy are declared safe. Mimi is criticized for her outfit's execution, but praised for the concept and is declared safe. Manila receives great praise for her outfit and is declared safe. Carmen is criticized for her photo and polarizing outfit but receives praise for her body especially by Vanessa Williams and is also safe. Raja is declared the winner of the week. Venus and Shangela land in the bottom for their forgetful outfits and poor execution (this marks the second time Shangela has landed in the bottom two on week one). During the lipsync, Venus becomes unnecessarily rough. She throws her wig at the girls in the back and pushes Shangela numerous times. Shangela also removes her hairpiece and during the battle they are close to being half naked. RuPaul scolds the girls for the awkward performance before announcing that Shangela is safe and sending Venus home.
The premiere episode drew 449,000 total viewers, 33% higher than Season 2's premiere. | |||||
| 25 | 3 | "Queens in Space" | January 31, 2011 | 5.60[6] | |
|
After the contestants learn that the theme for the week is sci-fi, RuPaul arrives in the workroom to issue the mini-challenge. The girls are asked to pair up with the person they feel they have the strongest psychic connection to (Raja & Delta, Mariah & Phoenix, Carmen & Manila, Alexis & Stacy, Shangela & India and Mimi & Yara) and are then separated by a screen. One team member must "use ESP" to guess the other person's fashion accessories; what color boa, what kind of jewelry, what color cat, etc. The winning pair is Mariah and Phoenix, with their reward being competing team captains for the main challenge. For the main challenge this week, the girls split into two teams to shoot a trailer for the Drag Queens in Outer Space movie saga; the original film, From Earth to Uranus (Team Phoenix) and the sequel Return to Uranus (Team Mariah). Each team had to shoot a different scene, but with the same characters. The characters assigned were as follows:
Guest judges include Lily Tomlin and Caprica alumna Alessandra Torresani. Mariah's team won, with Alexis and Shangela sharing the title of the challenge winner and Mimi also receiving praise. As a result of two winners that week, no immunity was given. On the losing team, Manila and Raja both receive positive critiques and are declared safe, along with India. Carmen is criticised for the poor execution of her outfit, but is also safe, leaving Phoenix and Delta in the bottom two; Phoenix for her weak performance in the trailer, and Delta for her runway outfit, which the judges felt held little to no resemblance of anything futuristic or space-like. During the lipsync to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" Delta's personality radiated through while Phoenix fell back on trying to impersonate Gaga. Delta was declared safe and Phoenix sashayed away.
| |||||
| 26 | 4 | "Totally Leotarded" | February 7, 2011 | 4.78[7] | |
|
For their mini-challenge, the queens were asked to create a fashion style using duct tape. In groups of two (and one group of three) the contestants had to glamorize their black leotards using duct tape of various colors. The teams assembled were Carmen & Manila; Yara & Raja; Alexis & Mariah; Delta, Mimi & Stacy; and Shangela & India. Carmen and Manila form the best look, complete with duct tape iPods, and win the challenge. The reward given was competing as team captains for the main challenge. The girls are informed that the main challenge will be two inspirational work-out videos. Carmen and Manila are team captains (due to winning the duct tape leotard challenge). Carmen chooses Delta, India, Yara, and Mariah, while Manila chooses Raja, Stacy, Mimi, Shangela, and Alexis. Guest judges include fitness guru Susan Powter, celebrity make-up artist Billy B (filling in for an absent Santino Rice), and singer La Toya Jackson. After the runway presentation, Delta, Raja, Manila, Carmen, and Shangela are declared safe. Alexis wins the challenge and is given immunity for this win, with Stacy and Yara also receiving positive feedback. Mariah is criticised for relying too much on beauty, but is declared safe. India and Mimi land at the bottom; India for her boring work-out segment and over-done look on the runway, and Mimi for putting in too much slapstick comedy, causing it to come off sloppy. During the lipsync, Mimi picks up India from in front of the judges table and carries her up to the stage against her will. RuPaul scolds Mimi, stating "Drag is not a contact sport!" before eliminating her and declaring India safe.
| |||||
| 27 | 5 | "QNN News" | February 14, 2011 | 5.37[8] | |
|
For the mini-challenges, the girls were given the task of creating a scandalous red carpet photo. Being a news-related episode, the winning photos were shown on WOW Report (Carmen's revealing crotch shot) and NewNowNext (Stacy's wardrobe malfunction). The winners became the team leaders as news anchors for "The Morning After News" on fictionalized QNN. To mentor the girls, anchor Debbie Matenopoulos provided tips on personality and delivery. Kristin Cavallari was on hand to be interviewed by the girls as well. Guest judges include Chloë Sevigny, Debbie Matenopoulos and celebrity make-up artist Billy B. (filling in for regular judge Santino Rice, who was notably absent for a second consecutive week.)
| |||||
| 28 | 6 | "The Snatch Game" | February 14, 2011 | 5.03[9] | |
|
For this week's mini challenge, the girls were asked to play "S**t RuPaul Says" to win the opportunity to call a family member. Delta won the challenge but gave the prize to Shangela who wanted to speak to her grandmother. The group was then asked to impersonate celebrities on "Snatch Game". Initially, Stacy Layne Matthews intended to impersonate Anna Nicole Smith but after receiving criticism from RuPaul, she chose to do Mo'Nique instead. The panel was judged by model Amber Rose and comedienne Aisha Tyler.
For the runway portion, the girls were asked to wear their favorite drag look. Raja, Alexis and Stacy made the Top 3 while Delta, Mariah and Yara finished in the bottom. This caused much controversy backstage because most of the queens disagreed with the judges' decisions. Backstage, tension heated up between Shangela and Raja. Shangela criticized Raja's impression of Tyra Banks, and Shangela complained that she and Raja used to be friends until the competition. Raja complained that in the past, Shangela had returned borrowed items damaged and had used her, and many of the others agreed that Shangela continues to get other queens to help her in the competition because her own skills are poor. Mariah became defensive during the critique, stating Carrera's version of Lopez was a bitchy version of herself and Luzon's Imelda Marcos was an "offensive Filipino". Stacy won the challenge, impressing the judges and restoring their faith in her. Delta and Mariah "lip-synched for their lives" to remain in the competition. Mariah missed many of the lyrics causing her to sashay away, leaving Delta to remain in the competition. Off the set, the elimination created controversy in the media. For her farewell message, Mariah was shown writing "Condragulations Raja", causing gossip sites to believe Raja was the winner of the competition. During the related Untucked episode, it was shown the message further stated "Mug4Dayz". The message was related to her comments towards Raja, referring to her as a "washed-up runway model" and implying more personal criticism. In the following episode, the latter part of the message was displayed on the mirror.
| |||||
| 29 | 7 | "Face, Face, Face of Cakes" | February 28, 2011 | 4.86[10] | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, the contestants are asked to do a tasteful nude photo shoot with photographer Deborah Anderson. Carmen won the challenge and was given the task to assign each contestant a cake. The main challenge called for a couture fashion ensemble modeled after the assigned cake. Furthermore, each cake had to be decorated to reflect the contestant's personality.
| |||||
| 30 | 8 | "Ru Ha Ha" | March 7, 2011 | 4.83[12] | |
|
In this week's mini-challenge, the cast were asked to "read" each other (popularized by the film Paris is Burning). Shangela wins the challenge, with her prize being to choose the order of the contestants for the main challenge. RuPaul announces that for the main challenge, the queens have to develop a stand-up comedy routine to perform in front of a live audience. In order to help them put an act together, they each get a one-on-one workshop with legendary comedienne Rita Rudner. Shangela later gives the girls the line-up for the show; starting with Raja, followed by Carmen, Alexis, Shangela, Manila, Yara and Delta. During the session with Rita, most of the contestants receive valuable advice from Rita on how to improve their stand-up routine, with the exception of Carmen, who had a hard time finding a basis for her routine and didn't receive any tips. On the main stage, the contestants debut their comedy routines for the judges and the audience. Raja's set was based upon and inspired by the film Carrie. Carmen wore a soft sculpture fat suit and talked about secretly wanting to be a big girl, while Alexis came out as an energetic stripper version of herself, donning extremely large fake breasts. Shangela followed with her "post modern pimp-ho" character, and Manila's act focused mainly on a running gag of Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood allusions to homosexuality. Yara's character was a sassy midget from Spain, while Delta's routine portrayed herself as a self-deprecating fat girl. The judges unanimously loved Raja, Yara, Shangela and Carmen's routines. Alexis was called out for rushing through the routine and relying too much on her visual gag. Manila's look was lauded, but her act was called unoriginal, while Delta was criticized for being too nervous. After deliberating, Raja and Alexis are declared safe, while Manila is up for elimination. Shangela is deemed the best and wins the challenge. Yara and Carmen are also safe, which places Delta in the bottom two against Manila. Both queens were asked to lip sync to Donna Summer's disco hit "MacArthur Park". Manila won the lipsync and Delta left the competition. Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly called the lip-synch battle the "most cohesive lipsynch-for-your-life session [ever] in Drag Race history"[11]
| |||||
| 31 | 9 | "Life, Liberty & the Pursuit of Style" | March 14, 2011 | N/A | |
|
In the mini-challenge the contestants are asked to bedazzle black bras into something spectacular, and Manila wins. The contestants are then told they will be making 30-second promos themed around their love of America that will be shown to U.S. military members serving overseas. Each contestant will get ten minutes to film, with Manila getting an extra five minutes for winning the mini-challenge. RuPaul tells the contestants to make it personal, but entertaining. Each contestant comes up with their own strategy. Carmen wants to speak seriously but entertain with her visual performance, Raja is unsure but wants to be humorous, Manila chooses to focus on the diversity of food in the U.S., and Shangela plans to be as funny as possible. Yara's father is part of the Army Reserves, but she does not want to focus on that in her performance, and Alexis is initially reluctant to discuss her former boyfriend because they broke up when he was sent overseas. RuPaul encourages her to use that experience, which she does to great effect in her video. During their preparations, Yara was also chagrined that after helping Shangela in previous challenges, Shangela was unwilling to help Yara when she asked during this challenge. In their runway presentation, the contestants are told to dress in their most patriotic drag. Alexis wins the competition for her enthusiastic performance, and the judges note that her dress is fashioned from the U.S. Marine Corps dress uniform jacket her boyfriend left behind for her. Manila's money-themed dress was a hit on the runway, but her video failed to meet the judges' expectations. However, she is deemed safe. The judges felt Raja's video performance was lackluster, but pronounced her safe as well. The judges praised Shangela's video performance as energetic and entertaining, but noted her runway dress was poorly tailored and did not reflect a very patriotic feel. She was also deemed safe. The judges criticized Carmen for her wooden and dull video performance. Although they loved her look on the runway, her facial expression and body language made them feel like she was bored so she was up for elimination. Yara's performance was high energy, but the judges questioned whether her "crazy Latina" persona would carry her through to the title, and she was also put up for elimination. Both contestants had to lip sync for their lives, but, after telling Carmen to stay, RuPaul also told Yara she could stay as well, becoming the first non-elimination challenge in the series.
| |||||
| 32 | 10 | "RuPaul-a-Palooza" | March 21, 2011 | N/A | |
|
This week's mini-challenge is a game of "Ru-sical chairs". It is exactly like musical chairs except when the music stops, the chair-less queen must sing the next line in the song (All the songs being from RuPaul's album Champion). If she gets it, she gets to eliminate one of her competitors; if she doesn’t, she’s out. When it comes down to 2 queens (Manila and Raja) and one chair, Manila is the last queen standing. Ru announces that the main challenge this week has the queens performing a song for “RuPaul-a-Palooza”, and brings out Absolut Vodka spokesman Jeffrey Moran. Each queen is going to record their own version of Ru’s new song, "Superstar", in one of six distinct musical styles, and since Manila won the mini-challenge, she gets to pick first and determine the order of the rest of the selections. The queens choose as follows:
| |||||
| 33 | 11 | "RuPaul's Hair Extravaganza" | March 28, 2011 | N/A | |
|
For this week's mini challenge, the remaining contestants were asked to create a fashion-forward, beach themed headpiece, with Raja being declared the winner. After this, RuPaul reveals the main challenge: Participate in a hair-themed fashion show with three distinct looks: 1) A classic look from another era 2) A modern red carpet look 3) A fantasy hair outfit, which must be made entirely out of wigs. During the episode, all of the contestants agreed that this was the hardest challenge so far. In the workroom, the contestants complained that Yara's rowdy behavior was distracting, but they all agreed that she would do well in the challenge because hair is her specialty as a drag performer. On the runway, Raja, Yara, and Manila receive mostly positive critiques (although Santino disliked Manila's red carpet look), while Alexis and Shangela's outfits are considered subpar. Michelle said that Alexis's 1940's inspired look had no resemblance to the actual '40's, and her red carpet look seemed like she "was wearing the red carpet." However, her hair outfit receives mostly positive reviews. Shangela's flamenco-inspired look was deemed ill-fitting by Fantasia, and Michelle pointed out that the look was more a look from another region than another era. Meanwhile, her modern red-carpet look was deemed neither modern or worthy of a red carpet. Yara wins the challenge for her three daring and inspired looks, while Raja and Manila are declared safe, leaving Alexis and Shangela in the bottom two. During the lip sync, Shangela attempts to recreate the energy of her past lip syncs, but she is outshone by Alexis, who's soulful rendition of the song is described by Manila as "timeless and beautiful." Shangela sashays away, and the remaining queens believe that they have made it to the top four, but RuPaul reveals that one of the queens eliminated during this season will be brought back in the next episode.
| |||||
| 34 | 12 | "Jocks in Frocks" | April 4, 2011 | N/A | |
|
As the episode begins, RuPaul reveals that Carmen Carrera is returning to the competition after being unanimously voted back by the other judges. The queens move on to the mini-challenge in which they play RuPaul's version of the dunk tank, the Badonkadonk Dunking Machine. Alexis Mateo wins the challenge after managing to dunk Yara Sofia fourteen times. RuPaul next announces the main challenge: The queens must make over five masculine, heterosexual jocks as their drag sisters. Alexis Mateo gets to choose which queen gets which jock for winning the mini-challenge. As a twist, RuPaul reveals the queens must also dress their jocks as cheerleaders and perform cheers about safe sex. The jocks soon discover the challenges of drag as the queens teach them to walk, paint, and tuck their way to the top. Carmen decides to show off her jock's body as an expression of her own drag persona, Raja tries to bring out the fierceness in her quiet jock by using a classic movie look, Alexis is hit on by her jock as she transforms him in her own image, Yara works on getting her jock to match her spicy, sexy runway style and Manila is frustrated by her jock's antics but is helped by his eagerness to learn. The queens and their new drag sisters first perform their safe-sex cheers for the judges (including guest judges Margaret Cho, Sharon Osbourne and Mike Ruiz (filling in for absent Santino Rice)) and conclude with their runway performances. Alexis Mateo and her drag sister are critiqued for their cheer being too busy but are praised for their mirror-image appearance. Manila is declared the winner of the challenge after she and her sister Fuchsia Luzon dazzle the judges with their Chinese doll look and hilarious cheer routine. Raja is critiqued for her drag sister Enigma's poor runway walk and for losing the judges during their cheer. Yara Sofia and her sister are praised for their runway look despite not having as dynamic performance as the other queens. The judges fawn over Carmen's personal look but critique her choice in wardrobe for her drag sister's muscular build. Alexis and Yara are declared safe while Raja and Carmen must lip-sync Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." After a particularly sexy performance (with the heterosexual jocks cheering them on backstage, as seen in Untucked) Raja is asked to stay and Carmen is once again sent home.
| |||||
| 35 | 13 | "Make Dat Money" | April 11, 2011 | N/A | |
|
The final four begin this episode with a mini-challenge of creating a marketable drag product from their own wardrobe and then deliver a sales pitch on RuVC. (A parody of the real life QVC.) Raja chooses her gaff (also known as a Cache-sexe), Manila her MANila hairspray, Yara Sofia selects her "Pop-It-On" hairpiece and Alexis Mateo picks her hip and butt pads. Yara wins the mini-challenge, as Ru announces the main challenge — to create three looks for three distinct categories: Swimsuit Body Beautiful, Cocktail Attire After 5 and Evening Gown Eleganza, which must be made out of 1 million Ru Dollars. The girls must also perform a choreographed lip-sync to "Just Wanna Dance" by guest judge La Toya Jackson. During the prep, Alexis begins to doubt why she is still in the competition and leaves the workroom briefly, but returns later. The choreography rehearsal for the number is rough for Manila and Raja, who feel Yara's choreography is too difficult for them. On the main stage, the number goes off without a hitch in front of LaToya, Mike Ruiz (filling in for absent Santino Rice) and Gigi Levangie Grazer. During the judges critiques, each girl has a problem with at least one look. Yara's "Evening Gown Eleganza" look is critiqued for having a bit too much, and her cocktail dress presentation lacked punch. Alexis Mateo's swimwear and cocktail dress were noted for being too simple, but the judges loved her gown. Manila's three looks are critiqued positively (with her only detractor being from LaToya, who thought her hair was too big) and Raja's cocktail outfit was too plain for the panel. Before dismissing the girls, Ru asks each of them why they deserve to be America's Next Drag Superstar. Yara levels with the judges and tells them she is broke and needs the money to move to America. Alexis makes her case for her imperfections but her desire to continue. Manila wants to carry her message of love to everyone if she wins. Raja makes the case for the LGBT youth and wanting to share her story, and leave her legacy. Manila is declared the winner of the challenge, Raja is safe. Alexis and Yara fall into the bottom two, having to lip-sync to Patti LaBelle's "I Think About You." During the lip-sync, the pressures of the competition get to Yara (who in the "Untucked" felt unfairly negatively critiqued, as compared to Raja) who completely gives up, shredding her Eleganza look, and breaking down, crying on stage. Alexis is told to chante, crying at the thought of sending her drag sister home, while Yara sashays away, leaving LaToya, Michelle and Mike Ruiz in tears.
| |||||
| 36 | 14 | "RuPaul Rewind" | April 18, 2011 | N/A | |
|
A look back at the highlights, low-lights and previously unseen footage from the first 13 episodes. Chaz Bono made a cameo appearance during the episode's opening scene as a cameraman. Season two winner Tyra Sanchez as well as runner-up Raven and Jujubee returned to the provide their opinions on the season's highlights. | |||||
| 37 | 15 | "Grand Finale" | April 25, 2011 | N/A | |
|
The final three return to the workroom where Michelle Visage greets them and delivers the final challenge — costarring in the music video for Ru's song "Champion." During rehearsals, each of the girls also has a 'lunch' of tic-tacs with RuPaul and reflects on what got them to the finale. Raja and Manila have some issues with the choreography, but both manage to pull it together for the shoot directed by Mathu Andersen. The music video shoot proves difficult as Raja continues to forget parts of her choreography, Manila has issues with intimacy with members of the pit crew and Alexis has no profile during a silhouetted portion due to her constant movement. The final main stage presentation has the queens in their favorite looks. After walking the runway for Ru, Michelle and Santino Rice, and being critiqued on their performance in the "Champion" video, RuPaul asks each of the finalists to give positive and negative critiques of themselves and the other two finalists. Alexis compliments Raja for her runway walk, but feels she is hard to read. For Manila, Alexis says she wanted to punch her, before she got to know her. And for herself, Alexis wishes she could be less hard on herself, even though she is a fighter. Manila's critiques start with Alexis, saying she is a fantastic performer but her drag doesn't excite. Raja is fashion but too editorial, and Manila says she, herself, can be stubborn at times, although she feels is a versatile performer. Last up is Raja who feels that while Alexis is talented, she doesn't think outside the box. To her, Manila is entertaining, but she needs to grow. And for herself, Raja feels she can recognize she is beautiful. (No con is discussed during the episode). After deliberating, Alexis is eliminated from the race, leaving Manila and Raja to lip-sync for the crown to RuPaul's "Champion." Ru makes her decision, declaring Raja the winner. Manila is out, and breaks down backstage, having been so close to the prize and having it snatched from her. However, she does make a playful joke about getting the crown if Raja dies of old age, which is in keeping with her and Raja's close friendship throughout the competition. Raja is crowned and walks the runway as America's Next Drag Superstar as Ru, Michelle and Santino cheer her on.
| |||||
| 38 | 16 | "Reunited!" | May 2, 2011 | N/A | |
|
The queens of RuPaul's Drag Race reunite for the first time since the shooting of the series. In this reunion special, all thirteen contestants return to give their take on what happened during the show. Plus, the girls confront the judges and each other. RuPaul introduces Santino Rice and Billy B to reveal that Yara Sofia is the winner of the title of Miss Congeniality.
| |||||
Ratings edit
Season 1 (2009) edit
| No. | Title | Original Air date | Viewership (millions) (Live+SD) |
Rating/share (18–49) (Live+SD)1 |
Rank per week on Cable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Drag On A Dime" | February 2, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2 | "Girl Groups" | February 9, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 3 | "Queens of All Media" | February 16, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 4 | "Mac Viva-Glam Challenge" | February 23, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 5 | "Drag School of Charm" | March 2, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 6 | "Absolut Drag Ball" | March 9, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 7 | "Extra Special Edition" | March 16, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 8 | "Grand Finale" | March 23, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 9 | "Re-United!" | March 23, 2009 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Season 2 (2010) edit
| No. | Title | Original Air date | Viewership (millions) (Live+SD) |
Rating/share (18–49) (Live+SD)1 |
Rank per week on Cable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "[[#ep15|Gone with the Window]" | February 1, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2 | "Starrbootylicious" | February 8, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 3 | "Country Queens" | February 15, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 4 | "The Snatch Game" | February 22, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 5 | "Here Comes the Bride" | March 8, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 6 | "Rocker Chicks" | March 15, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 7 | "Once Upon a Queen" | March 22, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 8 | "Golden Gals" | March 29, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 9 | "The Diva Awards" | April 12, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 10 | "The Main Event Clip Show" | April 19, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 11 | "Music Video Finale" | April 26, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 12 | "Reunion" | April 26, 2010 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Season 3 (2011) edit
| No. | Title | Original Air date | Viewership (millions) (Live+SD) |
Rating/share (18–49) (Live+SD)1 |
Rank per week on Cable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Casting Extravaganza" | January 24, 2011 | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| 2 | "The Queen who Mopped Xmas" | January 24, 2011 | 4.49[5] | 0.4[5] | TBA |
| 3 | "Queens in Space" | January 31, 2011 | 5.60[6] | 0.3[6] | TBA |
| 4 | "Totally Leotarded" | February 7, 2011 | 4.78[7] | 0.2[7] | TBA |
| 5 | "QNN News" | February 14, 2011 | 5.37[8] | 0.3[8] | TBA |
| 6 | "The Snatch Game" | January 14, 2011 | 5.03[9] | 0.2[9] | TBA |
| 7 | "Face, Face, Face of Cakes" | January 22, 2011 | 4.86[10] | 0.2[10] | TBA |
| 8 | "Ru Ha Ha" | February 28, 2011 | 4.83[12] | 0.2[12] | TBA |
Season 7 (2015) edit
| No. | Title | Original Air date | Viewership (millions) (Live+SD) |
Rating/share (18–49) (Live+SD)1 |
Rank per week on Cable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Born Naked" | March 2, 2015 | 3.48[14] | 0.2[14] | TBA |
Notes edit
1Based upon point/share system for Nielsen ratings. The first number represents the percentage of households within the population viewing the program (known as points). The second number (known as shares) is how many households were expected to view the program, within the population. For example, Episode 8 has a point/share of "0.3/1". This means .3% of households viewed the program from the expected 1%, showing .7% of the show's audience were watching a different program.
References edit
- ^ Hughes, Scarlett (May 16, 2008). ""RuPaul's Drag Race"!". Right TV. Right TV. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ http://www.etonline.com/tv/160480_for_rupauls_drag_race_mainstream_is_jumping_the_shark/
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Renewed for Season 8 at Logo". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ LOGO On-line. "Logo TV Schedule April 26, 2010". LOGO On-line. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Logo's Third Season Premieres of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race" Rev Up Ratings on Monday Night" (Press release). Tv By the Numbers. January 26, 2011. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Bill (February 2, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Game' Leads Night + 'Teen Mom 2,' 'Tosh.0,' 'Southland,' 'White Collar,' 'Lights Out' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Seidman, Robert (February 9, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Game' Down, But Still Leads Night + 'Teen Mom 2,' 'Tosh.0,' 'Southland,' 'White Collar,' 'Lights Out' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Bill (February 16, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' Leads; 'The Game' Slips + 'Tosh.0,' 'Southland,' 'Lights Out' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Seidman, Robery (February 24, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' & 'Tosh.0' Lead Night; 'White Collar' Up; Miami 'Housewives' Not So Hot + 'Lights Out' & Much More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Bill (March 2, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Teen Mom 2' Leads; 'Tosh.0,' 'Southland,' 'White Collar' Fall; 'Lights Out' Rises & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ Stransky, Tanner (March 8, 2011). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': All hail Shangela Laquifa Wadley, queen of comedy!". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c Seidman, Robert (March 9, 2011). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'White Collar' and 'Southland' Finales Rise + 'Lights Out,' 'Teen Mom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^ "Ep. 16, Episode 16, Season 3: Reunited!". Logo TV.
- ^ a b Bibel, Sara (March 20, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Renewed for Season 8 by Logo". TVLine. PMC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
External links edit
- Official website (U.S.)
- Official website (Canada)
- Official Facebook page
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| Singles | |
| Television | |
| Filmography | |
| Books | |
| Podcasts | |
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||