The fifteenth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' is scheduled to premiere January 6, 2023, on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. This season features the largest cast in the show's history, with sixteen queens competing, as well as the largest cash prize, with the winner earning $200,000. It is also the first season to feature biological relatives, twins Sugar and Spice. Series judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Ross Mathews returned, and

Ts Madison Ts Madison Hinton (born October 22, 1977), also known as Maddie, is an American reality television personality, actress, and LGBT activist. With the reality show ''The Ts Madison Experience'', she became the first black trans woman to star in and ...

, who had previously appeared as a recurring guest judge, joined the main judges panel.

Production

In November 2021, RuPaul announced a casting call for the fifteenth season of ''Drag Race'' on social media. The casting call was open until January 7, 2022, the day season 14 premiered. In August 2022, VH1 officially announced the show's renewal, as well as that of its companion series, '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked''. This season will include the milestone 200th episode of the series. In December 2022, it was announced that season 15 will begin with a special two-part premiere on January 6, 2023, on

instead of VH1. Later that month, season 14 winner

Willow Pill Willow Patterson (born January 22, 1995), known by the stage name Willow Pill, is an American drag performer. She is best known as the winner of season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2022. Early life Patterson was raised in Denver, Colorado a ...

revealed the season's cast, with a record-breaking sixteen queens competing. The

drag racing Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

themed promotional images accompanying the cast announcement drew comparisons to the promotion for the show's debut season.

Contestants

''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.'' Notes:

Contestant progress

Guest judges

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

, singer and actress *

Ali Wong Alexandra Dawn Ali Wong (born April 19, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials ''Baby Cobra'' (2016), ''Hard Knock Wife'' (2018), and ''Don Wong'' (2022). She starred in the film ' ...

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Amandla Stenberg Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She was included in ''Time''s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016, and has received several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, and n ...

, actress *

Harvey Guillén Javier "Harvey" Guillén (; born ) is an American actor who is best known for his role as the human familiar Guillermo de la Cruz in the 2019 television series ''What We Do in the Shadows''. Career Guillén has appeared in recurring roles on a ...

, actor *

Hayley Kiyoko Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer, dancer and actress. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films including ''Scooby-Doo (film series), Scooby-Doo!'' film series (2009–2010), ''Lemonade Mouth ...

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Julia Garner Julia Garner (born February 1, 1994) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series '' Ozark'' (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime E ...

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Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

, singer, rapper, and actress *

Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. While rooted in the Country music, country genre, her music also blends elements of Pop music, pop, R&B music, R&B, and Hip-Hop music, hip-hop. Born and raised in Arlingt ...

, singer-songwriter *

Megan Stalter Megan Stalter (born September 15, 1990)Zinoman, Jason''The New York Times'' 29 Mar. 2020. is an American comedian and actress. In her videos, Stalter specializes in desperate, deluded characters who are prone to theatricality, frequent mispronunci ...

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Orville Peck Orville Peck is a South African country musician based in Canada. He wears a fringed mask and has never shown his face publicly. He released his debut album ''Pony'' in 2019, followed by the EP '' Show Pony'' the next year. His second studio a ...

, country musician

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race 2023 American television seasons 2023 in LGBT history RuPaul's Drag Race seasons Upcoming television seasons