RuPaul’s Drag Race
After 13 seasons and a lot of spinoffs , RuPaul ’s Drag Raceis still going unattackable and , in many way , is right than ever . It ’s severe to conceive the show , which lead off on a recess cable connection with a noticeably small budget , has do so far and change by reversal into such a huge crossover success . RuPaul ’s Drag Racehas definitely descend a long wayfrom when it first start .
While there have also been six All Stars seasons and a number of international versions , the 13 steady seasons are the gist of the dealership , and one has its particular strengths and weakness . And while everyone has their favorite season and queens , there are some that are generally hear as better than others .
Updated Sept. 7 , 2021 by Paul Ciampanelli : Since this article was earlier published in 2019 , RuPaul ’s Drag Race has aired two more exciting unconstipated seasons . time of year 12 and 13 now take their place in this ranking . Sickening , no ?
Season 1
It ’s heavy to order too much blame on time of year 1 for being the worst time of year , because it was the first and kicked everything off . Clearly , the show did n’t have a very big budget back then , and it did n’t look destined for the success it enjoys today .
It ’s poor yield lineament and that ill-famed blurry filter make it noticeably humbled quality than anything else in the enfranchisement , but it will still always hold a special place in fans ' spunk because it start the wholeDrag Racephenomenon .
Season 13
time of year 13 ofRuPaul ’s Drag Raceis most notable for being long . With 16 episodes , it ’s the longest season of any version ofDrag Raceto date . And itfeltlong . When there were no queens eliminate from the contender until the fourth sequence , fans suspected they were in for a slog , and they were right . The queens in season 13 were by and turgid not interesting enough to support the time of year ’s interminable duration — Gottmik , who was a breath of fresh air , is a major exclusion — and the eventual achiever was unexciting .
Season 7
This was a season that is still talk about as being one of the worst . Many people were dysphoric with Violet Chachki winning the crown . mass were also pretty disappointed in the concluding three . It ’s kind of a ignominy this whole season was such as stack , because some beloved queens made their first appearances on this season , including Trixie Mattel and Katya . Sadly , neither of these two made it to the final three , but luckily theseRuPaul ’s Drag Racequeenwere able to move onto better things .
Season 11
Season 11 boast a few unattackable queens . Seeing Miss Vanjie come back from season 9 made the season playfulness , and queens such as Yvie funnily and Silky Nutmeg Ganache made for many dramatic moments as well as some exciting runway . But all in all , it was dreadfully middle - of - the - route season , and the finale felt like an second thought . This season had its moments , although many of the judges ' decisiveness were foreign , and none of the pouf seemed like obvious breakout stars fate to became fan favorites .
Season 2
Season 2 was unquestionably more put - together than time of year 1 . The serial started to fancy out what it was and put things in move to become more successful . However , it ’s still early on in the show ’s story , so things overall were still rough around the edges .
However , there were some iconic minute and tabby from this time of year admit Raven and Tatianna and their lip - sync attainment . Viewers also first met buff favourite Shangela in this season . Even though she left after the first instalment , she would come back for more in late seasons and allow her Deutsche Mark onDrag Raceherstory .
Season 8
Season 8 was n’t bad , and it was an melioration over season 7 , but it in spades was n’t one of the best of the dealership . Overall , it was intermediate and largely forgettable . Bob the Drag Queen is an first-class achiever , and he is by all odds a consistent drollery nance , but her win seemed preordain because her gift was so large compared the rest period of the competition . Overall , many of the queen on this time of year were n’t as memorable as those from other season . So while small from this season place upright out as particularly bad , it ’s also not particularly memorable .
Season 10
This season was overall a potent one . The queens on this time of year were in general strong contender . Plus , there were so many iconic moments from this season such as Miss Vanjie leaving . With queens like Monet X Change , Monique Heart , and Eureka , this season is an easy one to remember . While fan were disappointed the achiever was n’t someone more diverse , there ’s no denying that Aquaria was an amazing queer throughout the show who was very talented .
Season 12
Season 12 had the odds stacked against it from the jump when contestant Sherry Pie was disqualified before airing for her behavior outside the show . The time of year was already wrapped , so Sherry Pie was present , but blue-pencil around . The awkwardness of that could have tanked the whole season , but it did n’t . And the citation for that goes to the other bowelless queens such as Heidi N Closet , Gigi Good , Jaida Essence Hall , and Crystal Methyd . Even the finale , which was shoot over Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions , could easy have failed , but the talented cast wrench it into a unique and truly fun end to a weird and wonderful season .
Season 9
time of year 9 was tamp with some great ( and tremendous ) queen . Fans will never forget the instant where Valentina did n’t take her mask off during the lip sync . There were a wad of striking import in this season . When Sasha Velour win with her amazing lip sync at the end , it was a triumphant here and now . While having a four - way lip sync is n’t the good manner to determine the victor , Sasha ’s carrying out was so great it ’s toilsome to be too mad at the way the finale was structured .
Season 3
While season 2 is when the show really start to figure out how to be successful , season 3 is when the show really came together . The show finally figured out how to make their challenges more interesting .
Plus , this is the first time of year that Michelle Visage became a veritable judge which made for a better judgement instrument panel . Raja succeed this season , but the time of year also introduced us to some other great queens such as Manila Luzon who was the offset - up .
