VH1 reality competition RuPaul's Drag Race slayed the ratings battle last weekend when its season 13 premiere became the most-watched in the show's history.

Advertisement

According to Deadline, over 1.3 million US viewers tuned in to watch Drag Race's season 13 debut on New Year's Day, which saw 13 new queens compete for the title of America's Next Drag Superstar.

The episode was broadcast across multiple networks in the US, including VH1, The CW, MTV, MTV2, PopTV and Logo, while viewers in the UK were able to watch the series premiere on Netflix.

The long-running series, dubbed the Olympics of drag, opened with a huge Drag Race plot twist this season, with the line-up of contestants immediately lip syncing for a place in the competition.

Show creator and star RuPaul celebrated the ratings news on Twitter, writing: "HIGHEST RATED #DragRace Premiere Ever," alongside a shot of the Pork Chop Loading Dock – the seating area for contestants who'd lost the first six lip syncs of the series.

While the lip sync losers were initially told they would be leaving the competition, the premiere ended on a cliffhanger, with the bottom seven contestants having to vote one person out.

At the end of last year, Drag Race announced the full RuPaul's Drag Race cast, featuring the show's first-ever transgender man – 23-year-old LA makeup artist Gottmik.

Other contestants include Kahmora Hall, the drag sister of season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall, and Kandy Muse, of the former House of Aja.

Advertisement

Seasons 1-12 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race are available to watch on Netflix now. To find out what else is on, check out our TV Guide.

Authors

Lauren Morris
Lauren MorrisEntertainment and Factual Writer
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement