There’s a new RuPaul’s Drag Race spin-off on TV, and this time, it is all about celebrities getting in drag and competing for a chance to win $10,000 for a charity of their choice. With the first episode of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race now out, we have now gotten the chance to better understand the format and draw some conclusions.
RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race seems to have figured out a format that is mostly entertaining and successful. However, that doesn’t mean that the show doesn’t have room for growth. Here’s what we loved (and didn’t love) about the Celebrity Drag Race series.
LOVED: The Cast Of Queen Supremes
RuPaul wasn’t playing any games when she picked the cast of previous RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants who would serve as Queen Supremes (mentors) on Secret Celebrity Drag Race. The cast is jam-packed with fierce and talented queens who are certainly beloved by fans of the franchise.
Over the course of 4 episodes, RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race will feature the following 10 Queen Supremes: Alyssa Edwards (season 5, All Stars 2), Asia O’Hara (season 10), Bob the Drag Queen (season 8), Kim Chi (season 8), Monet X Change (season 10, All Stars 4), Monique Heart (season 10, All Stars 4), Nina West (season 11), Trinity The Tuck (season 9, All Stars 4), Trixie Mattel (season 7, All Stars 3) and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (season 10 and 11).
DIDN’T LOVE: The Celebrities Weren’t All That Famous
The caliber of celebrity guest judges on RuPaul’s Drag Race keeps improving season after season. For that reason, many fans expected the Secret Celebrity Drag Race spin-off to feature very popular celebrities as competitors.
However, as season 10 winner Aquaria joked on Twitter, there was definitely a feeling in the first episode that the Queen Supremes were much more famous entertainers than the celebrities who were competing. Hopefully, as the first season (and perhaps future seasons) of Secret Celebrity Drag Race goes on, the fans will get to see more familiar faces.
LOVED: Seeing Straight Allies Embrace Queerness
On RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race, fans are able to watch people – most of whom have no connection to drag – having transformative experiences through embracing the queerness inside of you. In the first episode of Secret Celebrity Drag Race, it was clear that actor/comedian Jermaine Fowler had a visceral reaction after seeing himself in the mirror after some makeup had been applied to his face. In drag, Jermaine looked a lot like his mother, who had recently passed away.
Overall, it was certainly endearing to watch Jermaine and Jordan Connor (Riverdale), both of whom identify as straight men, embracing queerness with open arms.
DIDN’T LOVE: The Rationale For Winning Is Very Confusing
It is clear that RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race is more about having fun and less about winning. All of the charities chosen by the celebrities will still get $10,000 at the end of each episode, which means that the only thing at stake is winning the title of America’s Next Celebrity Drag Race Superstar.
With that said, it is pretty unclear how one wins Secret Celebrity Drag Race. In the first episode, we saw Jermaine Fowler clearly win the Snatch Game, then we saw Nico Tortorella have what could be argued as the strongest runway performance, then we saw Jordan Connor pull some stunts and win the final lip sync. While it was certainly cool to watch Jordan win, it is pretty unclear how the judges added up the points to reach that decision.
LOVED: The First Episode Featured Only Drag Race Winners
All ten Queen Supremes chosen for RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race are adored by the fans of the show. On that note, it was certainly the right call to have only queens who have previously won a season of Drag Race to serve as mentors in the first episode.
6 of the 10 Queen Supremes cast on the spin-off did not win Drag Race. However, in the first Secret Celebrity episode, we saw Bob the Drag Queen (season 8 winner), Trixie Mattel (All Stars 3 winner), and Monet X Change (All Stars 4 winner) serve as mentors, and it certainly made sense to have three Drag Race winners kicking off this new series.
DIDN’T LOVE: The Celebrities’ Performances Were All Mostly Weak
The problem with airing RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race back-to-back with season 12 of Drag Race is that it becomes pretty difficult for viewers to love the performances of celebrities who are not professional drag performers.
Ultimately, all three contestants on Secret Celebrity Drag Race had very weak performances on virtually every challenge that they were given, and they would’ve been sent home for those mistakes on a regular season. If there is a season 2, the series would probably benefit from not airing right after viewers just watched the best drag performers in the country slaying the competition.
LOVED: 3h30min Of Drag Race For Four Weeks
With RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race, fans will now get three and a half hours of new Drag Race content for four weeks. The fact that VH1 is giving Drag Race 3h30min – its entire primetime slot – every Friday is a testament to how successful this franchise has been for the network – from ratings to social media buzz to Emmy awards.
And for the Drag Race fans who are unable to leave their homes due to the health and security measures currently taking place in response to the coronavirus, it’s definitely great news that they have all of this drag content to watch on Friday nights.
DIDN’T LOVE: The Extra 30 Minutes Weren’t Necessary
While it is certainly worth celebrating how far the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise has come, as well as how wonderful it is to watch drag performers shining on cable TV for three and a half hours, one can argue that Secret Celebrity Drag Race could be a better show if it had one-hour episodes.
It took many years for Drag Race and All Stars to earn their 90-minute airtimes on VH1. With just three competitors for each episode, it doesn’t feel entirely necessary for Secret Celebrity Drag Race to take up just as much space on TV. The series could easily cut down 30 minutes and give viewers the exact same experience.
LOVED: It Resembles Drag U, But It Is So Much Better
RuPaul and his team have long tried to have a hit show about drag performers making over individuals who learn something about themselves through experiencing these transformations. In 2010, the franchise launched its first-ever spin-off, RuPaul’s Drag U, which featured Drag Race alumni giving women drag makeovers.
One of the best things about RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race is that it feels like the ‘better and improved’ Drag U. While there are certainly improvements to be made for a potential second season, Secret Celebrity has hit the ground running and may reach the mainstream audiences that were not drawn to Drag U.
DIDN’T LOVE: Certain Contestants Seemed To Have Never Watched Drag Race
During the series premiere of Secret Celebrity Drag Race, Jordan Connor, Jermaine Fowler, and Nico Tortorella all claimed to watch Drag Race all the time. However, as the episode went on, it started to feel like some of them were quite unfamiliar with the format.
Fans should certainly not fault anybody for not being too familiar with RuPaul’s Drag Race but jumping on the opportunity to be featured on an Emmy-winning TV show. With that said, it was awkward to watch some of the Secret Celebrity Drag Race contestants play the Snatch Game as if they had never heard of the challenge, or lip sync for their lives as if they’d never seen it done before.