RuPaul’s Drag Race:
There’s a New Diva at the Judges’ Table

If you weren’t already aware, RuPaul’s Drag Race premiered this Monday on Logo. Drag Race combines what we love about Project Runway, inane challenges that result in bizarre outfits, and what we love about America’s Next Top Model, bitchy contestants all brought down a peg by a ferocious drag queen. Each week the contestants follow a very ANTM series of events: photo shoot, special challenge, and “main-stage” show. The difference being that they have to do their own make-up, make their own outfits, and the bottom two each week, instead of quivering in the face of Tyra’s icy glare, are ordered to ‘lip sync for their life,’ naturally.

Though these added touches of glam really bedazzle the stonewashed denim jacket that is Drag Race, the other ways in which is differs from its predecessors further illustrates just how sharp the divide is from Bravo and the CW to Logo.

While the winners of ANTM and PR can hope to win a spread in Seventeen or Elle, the winner of DR will be featured in Paper magazine and a shoot for LA Eye Works or something. While Blue Fly and Cover Girl back the formers, Absolut and MAC front the cash for DR. And though the ultimate prize of $20,000 is nothing for any queen to sneeze at, it is a fifth of what the other model contestants and designers receive.

Nevertheless, I can’t help but applaud Logo’s earnest effort to bring something entertaining to their network. RuPaul is a legendary entertainer I have loved since Mannequin. She brings with her one of Project Runway’s own, Santino, as one of the judge’s and this week even featured the iconic Bob Mackie. If you haven’t watched yet, I won’t give away the ending, but let’s just say it’s not over until the fat landy lip-syncs. If that doesn’t make you want to go to logoonline.com right now to see what you’ve already missed, then you can follow Ms. RuPaul’s final dismissal and ‘sashay away.’

But I think you’ll ‘shante’ to the television each week to see these queens duke it out, after they tuck it in, of course.

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