It’s been on an upward trend for a number of years, but moving to VH1 and a dramatic increase in the number of Emmy nominations (and wins) has brought “RuPaul’s Drag Race” more notoriety, acclaim and respect than at any other time during its 10-year existence. In fact, the show will be saluted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival with a panel on Friday, Jan. 26, a rare honor for any form of content at the festival. The night before the panel the third season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” will premiere and with almost a week to go the veil of secrecy over the new season is starting to lift.
This morning VH1 issued a release with the list of the celebrity judges this season and the biggest name wasn’t an actor, pop star or fashion icon (although a number of those made the cut). None other than former Speaker of the House and current House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was on the list. Pelosi, who represents a very gay-friendly congressional district in San Francisco, is the most prominent political figure to appear on the show so far.
READ MORE: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” producers on the Season 9 Finale [Podcast]
Other guest judges announced included first-timers such as Vanessa Hudgens, Tituss Burgess, Kristin Chenoweth, Constance Zimmer, former Spice Girl Emma Bunton, Marc Jacobs, Shay Mitchell, Garcelle Beauvais and Nicole Byer. For the first time a significant number of former judges are also returning including Chris Colfer (also a judge on season 4), Vanessa Williams (a judge on season 3), Adam Lambert (a judge on season 6), Todrick Hall (regular season judge) and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (guest judge on season 9).
According to a release from VH1, “‘All Stars’ rules are in effect this season as each week the top two queens will ‘lip-sync for their legacy’ for the power to send one of their peers home.” Additionally, “competition will be fierce as the queens shift their strategies and work extra hard to not only impress RuPaul and the judges, but to also impress each other.” Moreover, something tells us you should expect a major twist or two along the way.
Nine of the 10 queens competing for the chance to enter the “Drag Race Hall of Fame” include: Aja (season nine; from Brooklyn, NY), BenDeLaCreme (season six; from Seattle, WA), Chi Chi DeVayne (season eight; from Shreveport, LA), Kennedy Davenport (season seven; from Dallas, TX), Milk (season six; from New York, NY), Morgan McMichaels (season two; from Los Angeles, CA), Shangela (seasons two & three; from Los Angeles, CA), Thorgy Thor (season eight; from Brooklyn, NY), and Trixie Mattel (season seven; from Los Angeles, CA and also the star of “The Trixie & Katya” show on Viceland). It appears the 10th and final queen will be revealed during the first episode.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” will premiere Thursday, Jan. 25 at 8 PM ET/PT.
For a brand new sneak peek of the season check out the video below.