For the first time in RuPaul’s Drag Race history, an All Stars season will air on Showtime. Starting on June 5th, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5 will air on a weekly basis on the premium network that is owned by the now-merged ViacomCBS. That particular network change, like most other changes, comes with many pros and cons.
According to industry insiders, the main reason for the move is to encourage corporate synergy within ViacomCBS, and to potentially bring younger viewers to a network known for having an aging audience. Read below to explore some of the advantages and disadvantages that come with having a season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars on Showtime.
GREAT: No Commercial Breaks
One of the most significant changes that come with the Drag Race All Stars move to Showtime is simple: the premium network doesn’t have commercial breaks.
Showtime is in the same category as networks such as HBO and Starz. If you’ve watched shows on those networks in the past, such as Game of Thrones, you know that they work like most streaming services. Subscribers pay for the ability to watch the content, meaning that the companies creating the content don’t rely on advertising to make money back.
If you watched RuPaul’s Drag Race UK on the WOW Presents Plus streaming service last year, you probably remember the great experience of watching the episodes without seeing any ads. Thus, this is undoubtedly an exciting advantage of having All Stars 5 on Showtime.
NOT GREAT: One More Subscription
There is one major drawback to moving All Stars 5 to a premium network: it’s one more channel / streaming service that you’ll have to pay for. Currently, Showtime is priced at $10.99 per month for U.S. customers. However, the channel does offer a 30-day free trial.
Given that All Stars seasons last an average of two months, fans may only be paying for one month of Showtime after taking advantage of the free month offer. With that said, asking young viewers to pay $10.99 to watch one show is still a significant drawback that may alienate even the most devoted Drag Race fans.
GREAT: Longer Episodes
We’ve been getting two hours of RuPaul’s Drag Race (1h30min episodes plus 30min of Untucked) since season 10, but it’s important to point out that the runtime does include several commercial breaks on VH1. On a premium network like Showtime, which doesn’t have any ads, there is a chance that we could actually get a 90-minute runtime of pure Drag Race.
It’s possible that we won’t hear about the All Stars 5 runtime until we get closer to the June 5 premiere. However, given that premium networks like Showtime have much more freedom to air longer episodes if they wish to do so, there’s certainly a chance that we might get more Drag Race there.
NOT GREAT: Fewer People May Watch It
Some of the biggest pleasures of watching RuPaul’s Drag Race include live-tweeting along, looking at all the memes on Reddit, and texting your friends about gag-worthy moments on the show. But if fewer people have access to Showtime, it might mean that fewer people will watch the show and engage with it as each episode airs.
If you watched the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK week after week on WOW Presents Plus, you’ll remember that social engagement with the series was certainly much more subdued. On Showtime, there’s a possibility that the fifth season of All Stars won’t match the social media buzz that the previous seasons of the show had.
GREAT: The Premium Network Budget And Prestige
Drag Race fans were gagged when RuPaul announced that both Monet X Change and Trinity The Tuck won All Stars 4, and that they’d each receive $100,000 for winning. Over the years, it’s become clear that the budget for the show has only grown. It’s a consequence of so many Emmy awards and so much social media hype.
Well, the franchise’s budget and prestige may improve even more on Showtime. After all, that’s literally what premium networks such as Showtime, HBO, and Starz are known for: producing quality content that feels rich and prestigious.
NOT GREAT: It’s A Different Channel From Standard Drag Race Seasons
Another big bummer of moving All Stars 5 to Showtime is that, for the first time in history, the show will air on a different network than a standard season of Drag Race – and all in the same year. Season 12 is already in full swing on VH1, but fans will need to turn to a completely different channel once season 5 of All Stars premieres in the summer.
After eight years on Logo, the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise moved to VH1 in 2017. That meant that both season 9 and All Stars 3 (and subsequent seasons) moved to the new network, and that the two shows were still a bundle. With the All Stars 5 move to Showtime, the two properties are being separated for the first time, which may confuse or even alienate casual viewers.
GREAT: It Shows That Viacom CBS Really Values RuPaul’s Drag Race
Viacom (VH1, Logo, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon) merged with CBS Corporation (Showtime, CBS, The CW, Pop TV) in 2019. Under the new name ViacomCBS, the media conglomerate now owns all of the networks that were previously operated by one or the other individual company. This is unlike the Disney merger with Fox, which didn’t integrate several properties (most notably Fox Sports, Fox News, and the Fox Broadcasting Company).
There’s no denying that Showtime is the most prestigious network under the ViacomCBS umbrella. As such, the All Stars 5 move clearly indicates how this media conglomerate values the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise. Overall, ViacomCBS is trusting this series to bring new viewers to its most prestigious channel, acknowledging that Drag Race has a very strong “pull.”
NOT GREAT: All Stars 5 Could Become A New “Lost Season”
Diehard fans joke that the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race was the “lost season.” That is because, for many years, new fans had trouble finding season 1 to watch. This issue was so prevalent that RuPaul even brought back BeBe Zahara Benet, who won the first season, to compete on All Stars 3. Many devoted fans of the series had never actually seen BeBe in action.
Given how many Drag Race viewers do not subscribe to Showtime and will struggle to add one more monthly expense to their budget, there’s a very real chance that All Stars 5 will become yet another “lost season” that fans will miss out on and possibly even actively ignore.
GREAT: This Move May Indicate That All Drag Race Seasons Will Be Streaming In The U.S. Soon
Media conglomerates like Disney, Warner, and NBCUniversal are starting to consolidate all their pieces of intellectual property under each of their “one-stop shop” streaming services. With services like Disney+, HBO Max, and Peacock, you’ll be able to watch everything that those companies release, from superhero tentpole movies to new original shows. ViacomCBS also has plans for a unified streaming service, and that might be good news for Drag Race fans.
If the all-encompassing ViacomCBS streaming service decides to include the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise in its catalog, this may be the first time we get every season on Logo, VH1, and Showtime under the same roof. Moving All Stars 5 to Showtime may indicate that ViacomCBS is already thinking in those turns, making the network change irrelevant.
NOT GREAT: The Bet Of Having All Stars On Showtime May Not Work
Showtime has never aired a reality show before. The target audience for Showtime shows is much older than the average Drag Race fan. Premium networks are expensive, and their catalog of shows simply can’t compare to the content-per-buck ratio on Netflix.
Given all of those arguments, there is a huge possibility that the strategy to move All Stars 5 to Showtime will not work. If indeed it doesn’t work, ViacomCBS will likely move a subsequent All Stars season right back to VH1 next year, and this bet will just be a huge annoyance to fans of Drag Race.