''RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race'' is an American

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series that premiered April 24, 2020 on VH1. A spin-off 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 ...

'', the series features celebrities competing for charity, mentored by alumni of the ''Drag Race'' franchise. The first season consisted of self-contained episodes based on the format of the main series, with three celebrity contestants competing in popular ''Drag Race'' challenges. For its second season, the format was changed to a season-length competition focused on

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

performances, with a field of celebrities concealed via drag personas.

Format

Both seasons of the series have featured celebrity contestants competing for charity, becoming drag performers mentored by alumni from previous seasons of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' (billed as "Queen Supremes"). In its first season, each episode was a self-contained competition between three contestants, who competed in "fan favorite" ''Drag Race'' challenges. Similarly to the main series, each episode featured mini and maxi challenges, followed by a final

round to determine the winner. The second season switched to a season-length competition focusing exclusively on lip sync performances. The season began with a cast of nine contestants, identified only by drag personas. In each episode, the contestants give a solo lip sync performance for the judges and a studio audience. The bottom two contestants compete in a "Lip Sync for Your Life" round to determine who advances to the next episode, and who is eliminated and must reveal their true identity. The last remaining celebrity at the end of the season would win $100,000 for their chosen charity. The new format was described as having similarities to ''

The Masked Singer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. The series maintains the same judging panel as the main series, consisting of RuPaul,

Michelle Visage Michelle Lynn Case (nee Shupack), better known as Michelle Visage (born September 20, 1968), is an American singer, television host, actress, radio DJ and producer. She first gained recognition as a member of the musical group Seduction which ...

Carson Kressley Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He was also the motivational host of the TV show ''How to ...

, and

Ross Mathews Ross Mathews (born September 24, 1979) is an American television host and personality. He first rose to fame as an intern and a correspondent for ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''; he was known as "Ross the Intern" on air. Mathews has appeared ...

Broadcast

The series was initially announced in October 2019 under the working title ''RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race'', with the title changed prior to launch. The first season premiered on April 24, 2020 on VH1, as a four-part miniseries. In August 2021, VH1 renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on August 12, 2022.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official site
(in English) {{Portal bar, LGBT, Television, United States 2020 American television series debuts 2020s American LGBT-related television series 2020s American reality television series American LGBT-related reality television series American television spin-offs Celebrity reality television series Reality television spin-offs RuPaul's Drag Race Television series by World of Wonder (company) VH1 original programming