The fifteenth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' premiered January 6, 2023. The reality competition series moved to

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 ...

for broadcast, instead of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

in the United States. This season features the largest cast in the show's history, with sixteen queens competing for an amount of $200,000, the largest cash prize in the show's history. It is also the first season to feature biological twins, Sugar and Spice. Series judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Ross Mathews returned, and Ts Madison, who had previously appeared as a recurring guest judge, joined the judges panel. The season was won by Sasha Colby, the third trans person to win the main series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race,'' with

Anetra Anetra is the stage name of Isaiah Padua, an American drag queen who was runner-up on the 15th season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Career Anetra was cast for and competed in the fifteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. She won three challeng ...

as the runner-up. Malaysia Babydoll Foxx was named Miss Congeniality.

Production

In November 2021, RuPaul announced a casting call for season fifteen of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' on social media. The casting call was open until January 7, 2022, the day season fourteen premiered. In August 2022,

officially announced the show's renewal, as well for its companion series, '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked''. This season also included the milestone for its 200th episode of the series. In December 2022, it was announced that season 15 would begin with a special two-part premiere on January 6, 2023, on

instead of VH1. Later that month, season 14 winner Willow Pill 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.

Post-production

Following the two-part season premiere, subsequent episodes were sixty minutes long, including commercials. This was a reversion to the previous format for seasons one through nine before the show expanded to ninety minutes in

season 10 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. Further, instead of airing ''Untucked'' immediately after each main episode, MTV aired the new reality program '' The Real Friends of WeHo'' between the main episode and ''Untucked''. The shortened format and programming lineup change elicited backlash from the show's fan base. On February 9, it was announced that beginning with the March 10 episode, episodes for the remainder of the season would be returning to the ninety-minute format. On August 9, ninety minute edits of the entire season (including the previously truncated episodes 3–10) were released on Paramount+ in the United States and WOW Presents Plus worldwide.

Contestants

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

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

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 *

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 * Amandla Stenberg, actress * Janelle Monáe, singer, rapper, and actress * Megan Stalter, comedian *

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 ...

, actor * Julia Garner, actress * Ali Wong, stand-up comedian and actress *

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 ...

, South African country musician based in Canada * Hayley Kiyoko, singer, dancer, and actress

Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage. Episode 1 * Albert Sanchez, photographer *

Vivacious See also *, a British destroyer of the Royal Navy in commission from 1917 to the mid-1930s and from 1939 to 1945 *Vivacious (drag queen) Vivacious is the stage name of Osmond Scott Jr., a Jamaican-American drag queen who is best known for appea ...

, contestant on

season six A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

Episode 6 * Freddy Scott, composer and actor * Leland, producer *

Old Gays The Old Gays are a group of five gay social media personalities and LGBT rights activists. The group consists of Robert Reeves, Michael "Mick" Peterson, Bill Lyons, Jessay Martin and Joc Anderson. At the time of their formation, their age range ...

, social media personalities and activists Episode 7 * Danny Trejo, actor Episode 10 * Charo, singer, actress, musician and comedian * Frankie Grande, Internet personality *

Love Connie Love Connie is the stage name of John Cantwell, an American drag queen, actor and former member of the improv group The Nellie Olesons. Early life Cantwell was born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana. Career Cantwell appeared in the fi ...

, drag performer Episode 12 * Miguel Zarate, choreographer Episode 13 * Norvina, president of

Anastasia Beverly Hills Anastasia Beverly Hills, also known as ABH, is an American cosmetics company best known for its eyebrow products. The company was founded by Romanian-born Anastasia Soare in 1997 in Beverly Hills, California. Soare's daughter Claudia Soare, al ...

Episode 14 * Miguel Zarate, choreographer Episode 15 * Kevin Bacon, actor * Susan Bysiewicz, lieutenant governor of Connecticut * Aquaria, winner of season ten *

Asia O'Hara Antwan Mason Lee (born July 7, 1982), better known by the stage name Asia O'Hara, is an American drag queen, reality television personality, and costume designer. She is most well known for competing on the tenth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race' ...

, contestant on season ten * Coco Montrese, contestant on

season five A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

and ''All Stars'' season two * DeJa Skye, contestant on season fourteen * Derrick Barry, contestant on season eight and ''All Stars''

* Maddy Morphosis, contestant on season fourteen and Golden Boot Award winner Episode 16 * Bob Mackie, fashion designer * Leland, producer * Orville Peck, South African country musician * Vanessa Williams, singer, actress, and former

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

* Jinkx Monsoon, winner of

and ''All Stars'' season seven * Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, contestant on and Miss Congeniality of season fourteen * Willow Pill, winner of season fourteen

Episodes

Ratings

References

{{EmmyAward RealityCompetition 2023 American television seasons 2023 in LGBT history 15