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), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...

'' premiered January 6, 2023. The reality competition series moved to

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

for broadcast, instead of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

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 Michelle Visage (born Michelle Lynn Shupack, September 20, 1968) is an American television personality, singer, broadcaster, producer, and actress. She gained recognition as a member of the dance-pop group Seduction (group), Seduction, who char ...

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 ...

, and

Ross Mathews Ross Mathews (born September 24, 1979) is an American television host and personality. He 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 on '' ...

returned, and

Ts Madison Madison Hinton, known professionally as Ts Madison, is an American entertainer and actress. With the reality show ''The Ts Madison Experience'', she became the first Black transgender woman to star in and act as executive producer of her own rea ...

, who had previously appeared as a recurring guest judge, joined the judges panel. The season was won by

Sasha Colby Sasha Kekauoha (born July 26, 1984), best known by the stage name Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and beauty pageant competitor. In 2012, she won the Miss Continental competition. In 2023, she was crowned the winner of season 15 of '' ...

, the third trans person to win the main series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and first winner of the main series to be openly trans throughout their entire season, with

Anetra Anetra is the stage name of Isaiah Padua, an American drag queen, Anetra 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 cha ...

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, mos ...

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 polar ...

. 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+ Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access in the United States and 10 All Access in Australia) is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, stream ...

in the United States and

WOW Presents Plus WOW Presents Plus (also called World of Wonder Presents Plus or WOWPresents+) is a subscription-based streaming service owned by production company, World of Wonder. The subscription service was founded in November 2017, by Randy Barbato and ...

worldwide.

Contestants

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

Future ''Drag Race'' appearances

* In 2025 Irene "The Alien" Dubois and Mistress Isabelle Brooks competed on ''All Stars'' season 10.

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

, singer and actress *

Maren Morris Maren Larae Morris (born April 10, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Rooted in the country genre, her music blends in elements of pop and R&B. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, an American Music Award, five Country Music Associatio ...

, singer-songwriter *

Amandla Stenberg Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She began her career as a child and received recognition for playing List of The Hunger Games characters#Rue, Rue in the action film ''The Hunger Games (film), The Hunger Games'' ( ...

, actress *

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson ( ; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actress. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. ...

, singer, rapper, and actress * Megan Stalter, comedian *

Harvey Guillén Javier "Harvey" Guillén (; born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the human Familiar spirit, familiar Guillermo de la Cruz in the television series ''What We Do in the Shadows (TV series), What We Do in the Shadows''. Ear ...

, actor *

Julia Garner Julia Garner (born February 1, 1994) is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series ''Ozark'' (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, actress *

Ali Wong Alexandra Dawn Wong (born April 19, 1982) is an American comedian and actress. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials ''Baby Cobra'' (2016), ''Hard Knock Wife'' (2018), ''Don Wong'' (2022), and ''Single Lady'' (2024). The last of t ...

, stand-up comedian and actress *

Orville Peck Daniel Pitout (born January 6, 1988), known professionally as Orville Peck, is a South African country musician based in the United States and Canada — and widely known for often wearing a mask and not showing his face publicly. He released ...

, South African country musician based in Canada *

Hayley Kiyoko Hayley Kiyoko Alcroft (born April 3, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, and author. As a child model and actress, she appeared in a variety of films, including '' Lemonade Mouth'' (2011), '' Jem and the Holograms'' (2015), '' Insidi ...

, 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, contestant on

season 6 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 polar ...

;Episode 6 * Freddy Scott, composer and actor * Leland, producer * Old Gays, social media personalities and activists ;Episode 7 *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo (, ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. Known for his Danny Trejo filmography, large body of work as a character actor, films in which he has appeared in have grossed over $3.7 billion worldwide. A native of Los Angeles, Tr ...

, actor ;Episode 10 *

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-born actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist who rose to international prominence in the 1960s on American television, as well ...

, singer, actress, musician and comedian *

Frankie Grande Frank James Michael Grande Marchione (born January 24, 1983)Murphy, T. Michelle"10 Facts you won't learn about Frankie Grande on ''Big Brother 16''" Metro.us, September 22, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014 is an American actor, singer, dancer ...

, Internet personality * Love Connie, drag performer ;Episode 12 * Miguel Zarate, choreographer ;Episode 13 * Norvina, president of Anastasia Beverly Hills ;Episode 14 * Miguel Zarate, choreographer ;Episode 15 *

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...

, actor *

Susan Bysiewicz Susan Bysiewicz ( ; born September 29, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 109th lieutenant governor of Connecticut since 2019. She previously served as the 72nd secretary of the state of Connecticut from 1999 to 2 ...

lieutenant governor of Connecticut The lieutenant governor of Connecticut is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. State of Connecticut. The lieutenant governor acts as President of the State Senate, presiding over the Senate and casting votes in the ...

* Aquaria, winner of

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 10 *

Coco Montrese Coco Montrese (born July 2, 1974) is the stage name of Lenwood Martin Cooper, an American drag queen, entertainer, and reality television personality. Montrese came into the spotlight after being crowned Miss Gay America 2010 when Alyssa Edwards ...

, contestant on

season 5 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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

and ''All Stars''

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...

DeJa Skye DeJa Skye is the stage name of Willie Redman, an American drag performer who competed on the fourteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and the tenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars''. Career DeJa Skye began working as a drag queen ...

, contestant on season 14 *

Derrick Barry Derrick Prentice Barry (born July 18, 1983) is an American drag performer, Britney Spears impersonator and reality television personality. He is best known for competing on the third season of ''America's Got Talent'' (2008), and later the eig ...

, contestant on

season 8 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 polar ...

and ''All Stars''

Maddy Morphosis Maddy Morphosis is a Drag queen, drag performer most known for competing on RuPaul's Drag Race (season 14), season 14 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Maddy Morphosis is the show's first heterosexual male contestant. Since 2023, Maddy Morphosis has host ...

, contestant on season 14 and Golden Boot Award winner ;Episode 16 *

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1940) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. He was the costume designer f ...

, fashion designer * Leland, producer * Orville Peck, South African country musician *

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

, 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 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

Jinkx Monsoon Hera Lilith Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), best known by the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag queen, actress, singer and comedienne, originally from the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps best-known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race ...

, winner of

and ''All Stars'' season 7 * Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté, contestant on and Miss Congeniality of season 14 * Willow Pill, winner of season 14

Episodes

Ratings

References

{{EmmyAward RealityCompetition 2023 American television seasons 2023 LGBTQ-related television 15