'...and DON'T *bleep* IT UP!' -- the RuPaul's Drag Race thread

Bigger and bigger:

https://deadline.com/2023/01/rupauls-drag-race-season-15-premiere-ratings-mtv-1235215408/

RuPaul’s Drag Race rang in its move to MTV with a ratings win. The Season 15 premiere was the highest-rated in six years with a 0.63 rating among the advertiser-targeted 18-49 demographic.

That’s up 20% in ratings from the Season 14 premiere, which managed a 0.53 in the demo. It ranked as the No. 1 cable entertainment telecast of the day.

Also I need to get back on track posting ancillary stuff because there was a lot! And a lot of it was great!

Pit Stop now hosted by Bianca del Rio (score) and initial guests were Ben and Jinkx (double score)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppS0og2KxSE

Whatcha Packin' as always

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veVVYuQcbuQ

Double Fashion Photo RuView! (Just the first, the second one might only still be on WOWPresents+ right now, but it's there.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00BCCZalhs

And what I was waiting for today, Willam and Alaska take it all apart:

https://megaphone.link/FODP9637244784

the twins’ facial resemblance to derrick barry is freaking me out

Hahaha hadn't thought of that but you know...maybe they were cloned in a vat.

miss thing who sang live was really spared an early guillotine, imo

Amazing FB comment about the twins: "out of makeup Sugar & Spice look exactly like Venture Bros"

they're also giving like... jedward? you could really build out a whole constellation of celebrity culture that they're in the lineage of

prob shouldn’t be surprising given how cultural nostalgia works but it’s funny how many of these younger queens do ditzy materialistic paris hilton type characters… of course they use the phrase Y2K. to me it’s all very kim petras which is a bit of a snooze conceptually and aesthetically given that she got there 5+ years ago. plus no one is ever gonna top willow pill’s entrance look from last season as far as these things go

Truth, that.

We're definitely well into the era of 'oh right, these queens are the same age as Lil Nas X...wait, YOUNGER.'

Good grief, so the combination of going back to just being an hour long with this many more queens meant this episode was like an insane speed run. (And next week is Snatch Game? How in the world are they going to make THAT work?)

yeah not loving shorter episodes.

one of the least graceful exits tonight?

expecting great things from loosey!

the runway editing was notably arrhythmic in this episode. made the whole thing feel like an afterthought. very weird

Haven't dived back in yet, but excited for them to be back on shorter episodes. 90 minutes is deadly.

in canada it’s on cable so without ads it’s 40 min now - at this rate pitstop might be longer than the actual episodes!

they should’ve kept the judges discussion part imo

Yeah it's weird not to have at least a "SILENCE!"

I’m fully on board with killing some darlings at this point … bloat is one of the things that’s diminished the show to my eyes

I do wonder how much of this is potential overcorrection in terms of getting rid of chaff!

(That said there is also this new WeHo friends series that's getting aggressively promoted and starts next week, and I assume it's a WoW production too, so I'm guessing that's a factor, especially since it'll run in between the episode and Untucked. Which is a good way for me to just watch the episode and then watch Untucked the next day.)

this season does seem reenergized at least

we still can’t get untucked in canada which is a travesty

What kind of savage land do you live in

have you seen drag race canada

Well, that's not so much savagery as a cargo cult

Anyway, ancillary stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfLZDe53DgI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZDrN7fP4q0

ok late to the party, fully caught up now. Enjoying the season so far, it’s been pretty fun!

My favorites are Sasha Colby (obv) and Anetra, but I also enjoy Malaysia Foxx because I love a big southern queen. I wasn’t sure abt Lux at first but now def growing on me (her glitter bodysuit in the talent show may have swayed me). The twins are interesting & clearly talented, curious to see how they play out.

Mistress is interesting too, she seems to have a lot of layers to her personality. Loving her runway looks so far.

Yeah generally that's about where I'm at with people to focus on, plus Jax still. Not sure yet who the season 'narrator' will be, there's usually someone who starts taking on the obvious role with time.

we still can’t get untucked in canada which is a travesty

Untucked is on OutTV after the episode.

I know it could be read differently but i really liked in untucked that Mistress gave solid advice to queens like Marcia & Sugar

i like that as a seasoned queen she’s not trying to be threatened by the newbies or crush their aspirations yknow

xp for some reason i thought they only had older seasons and crave had the exclusive rights to new seasons - thank you, just subscribed!

That was a very rushed episode, and also I think it's fine when it's Trixie and Katya or other established queens, but some of the newer acts might want to be careful about taking the piss out of straight white women who show up to meet and greets and drag brunches.

That was a very rushed episode, and also I think it's fine when it's Trixie and Katya or other established queens, but some of the newer acts might want to be careful about taking the piss out of straight white women who show up to meet and greets and drag brunches.

Thanks for posting twice, stupid internet.

i don’t think anyone’s feelings could get hurt over the piss being taken so poorly lol
i mean, that whole thing was just “wuh?”

Oh yeah, it was a deeeesaster.

ok almost all of that Snatch Game was wtf

but the untucked was really good?

it’s no secret this show suffered from bloat in recent seasons but the 1 hour edits this season are pretty off putting … it has the effect of making the episodes feel like a series of marks to be hit. the inspirational personal story segment felt especially shoehorned in this episode. the runways have been truncated all season. no mini challenges. it’s like watching the show on 1.5 speed. doing 2 diff snatch games in one episode would be a lot in a previous season but in this format it left a lot to be desired. the consultations with ru are often the best parts of snatch game episodes, just completely removed in this one. can’t imagine an extra 15 mins would kill MTV

yeah it feels very FINE HERE’S YER SLOP

of course here i am still watching anyway

the best things about this episode was
1) untucked and
2 pitstop w Bianca & Adore <3

yeah not loving shorter episodes at all, which is weird because the old format could feel like a drag at times

but they’re cutting the parts that made this show special. anticipation of the snatch game, ru sabotaging, queens changing their minds at the last minute

the actual snatch game edit was weird too. we hardly saw sasha at all?

we somehow skipped all stars 2 and watching it now and it’s funny how pitstop used to be like 10 min long

as for the bottom two i said to husband, this is their chance to have the twins lipsync and sure enough. the untucked was essential context this time and really went a long way to show the twins in a more sympathetic way.

loved the pit crew being involved though. we need a pit crew makeover challenge!

yeah that was fun having the pit crew involved

Yeah Untucked & Pit Stop were definitely necessary this time around. Whoof.

But also agreed on Pit Crew involvement, that was overdue and well done!

But anyway throwing in those extras

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP9wX5Wz-fk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz9sv0frhR0

Also earlier this week, a forever champion continuing greatness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBV6hD44hbs

Oh and I was lax -- RuView from last time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZPXArFM-bA

And Willam and Alaska in turn:

https://megaphone.link/FODP4257049036

I just rewatched the Pit Stop with Adore again because it really is so good. There are very few people who can say "NO!" and somehow still have me laughing about it five minutes later.

And she brings out the best in Bianca imo … I like them both so much when they’re together

Sugar's name necklace is very similar to the necklace that Shah Rukh Khan wears in the 1998 classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, except his says "COOL" because he's cool. When my obsessions collide.
https://images.news18.com/ibnlive/uploads/2018/10/kuch-kuch-hota-hai2.jpg

OMG <3

I dunno, I'm having the opposite reaction to this season. I've been exhausted by the longer format and a return to 40-minute length has been a lot more effective in keeping my attention (granted I've noticed that my capacity for patience has really gotten shallow for everything lately). Is it formulaic about hitting marks? Sure, but I also think that the twins talking about Untucked were just as pro forma and more to the point turning trauma into reality tv currency in order to fit it into the usual narratives (I fully admit that this might just be my bourgie distaste for airing familial drama in public).