Why “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, All Winners” Is the Best All-Stars Season Yet!

The 7th edition of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” premiered this past Friday (May 20) with the first 2 episodes available to stream on Paramount+, and I am already convinced this is the best one yet!

For those unfamiliar, “All Stars” is a spin-off of the Emmy-winning reality competition series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” where a dozen or so of the most fabulous drag queens in the country compete to be crowned the Next Drag Superstar. “All Stars” brings fan-favorite queens back for one more shot to snatch that crown, but this season is different – “All Stars” Season 7 is the first edition to feature past “Drag Race” winners only, including winners of past “All Stars” seasons. And that’s not the only twist Mama Ru has in store this time around…

We’re only 2 episodes in but I am confident that this could be the fiercest season of “All Stars” yet – here’s why!

1. All Winners = Top-Tier Drag

There is a reason all of these queens are winners, and as such, we can expect to see some of the best runway looks ever to grace the “Drag Race” stage. There is not a weak link in the bunch here, as all of them have already proven that they are the best of the best. This hasn’t always been the case in past “All Stars” seasons, where RuPaul has brought back queens who were eliminated quite early on in their original seasons and seem to continue to struggle, which makes one wonder if they really fit the title of “All Star”. Occasionally that works out (see “All Stars” Season 6 winner Kylie Sonique Love, who was the 4th queen sent home in "Drag Race" Season 2), but that’s not a given. Now, though, all these queens start out on equal footing, and even 2 episodes in, it has been a feast for the senses watching these legendary queens wow us once more on the runway!

2. New Format

“All Stars” has gone through many format changes over the years, some better received than others. The first season paired up the queens to compete in teams, and both queens would be eliminated if they lost. More recently, Ru would select the top 2 queens of the week to “lip sync for their legacy” and whoever won would have the power to eliminate one of the bottom queens herself. This season, though, NO queens are to be eliminated; instead, queens compete to win badges every week and whoever has the most badges will compete in a lip sync smackdown in the finale. In addition, the top queens every week lip sync against each other for the power to block another queen from receiving a badge the following week (regardless if that queen wins the challenge). This has already proven to be a superior format for 2 reasons: (1) By not sending any queens home, every one of them has an equal opportunity to show off their best looks every week, and we as viewers get to enjoy them all! And (2) the blocking twist introduces a whole new way for the queens to strategize this season, especially since the queen they choose to block will remain in the game to possibly enact some vengeance later on!

3. It Really Is “RuPaul’s Best Friend Race”!

Again, because each of these queens are past winners, they all come into the competition with a mutual respect right off the bat – there are no shady comments about one queen or another’s merits for being selected for this season. (I mean, you can certainly argue whether or not a queen deserved to have won on her season at all, but we’re not doing that here!) These queens all look up to each other in one way or another, so, so far, the vibes have been all good. That could certainly change, though, as the competition heats up, but at the end of the day, these ladies are all still winners, PLUS they won’t be eliminated, so that takes a ton of pressure off; now they can just have fun and do what they do best, and if they come out on top, all the better!

4. Fan Faves Remind Us Why We Love Them

On a personal note, this season includes some of my all-time favorite queens going all the way back to Season 3. Raja and Jinkx Monsoon are the elder stateswomen of this season, having earned their crowns a decade ago. I had been rooting for them both from the start and was absolutely delighted when they won, and being able to see them slay the runway once more all these years later has been such a treat. More recent winners like Yvie Oddly, Shea Couleé, and winner of the first edition of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” The Vivienne were also my season frontrunners who made good. And as for Jaida Essence Hall, Monét X Change, and Trinity the Tuck, they are bona fide Meme Queens and I cannot wait to see what viral moments they come up with this season!

New episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, All Winners” stream on Paramount+ every Friday. Now sashay away, and may the best drag queen win!