Condragulations – The Return of Ru Paul’s Drag Race

It’s groundbreaking and gag-worthy, but how has Ru Paul’s Drag Race, the low budget reality TV show to find the worlds best drag queen, turned into such a phenomenon?

With news this week that Ru Paul is the first drag queen to earn a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, it is no surprise that Ru Paul’s empire is only on the rise. The third season of the spin-off All stars rocketed with millions tuning in to watch their favourite queens return to earn a place in the Drag Queen Hall of Fame. However you feel about the final result and the winning queen, the show creates conversation and it appears will only continue to rise in popularity.

The queens this season are of course stunning and offer a wide variety of talents and looks to appeal to a range of fans.

Barely giving us time to adjust our wigs and re-powder our noses, Season 10 of Ru Paul’s Drag Race sets to air Thursday nights in America, with Netflix securing the rights to stream the episodes weekly on Friday for those who live in the UK. The queens this season are of course stunning and offer a wide variety of talents and looks to appeal to a range of fans. One of the queens some people may already be aware of is Eureka O’Hara who had to leave Season 9 early due to an injury. How will the year-long break have changed her drag, will a second chance mean she wins the crown? Additionally, some fans may be aware of the high fashion drag queen Aquaria who is the drag daughter of Season 4 winner Sharon Needles, does the blood of a winner run through her veins?

Who can forget last years favourite Valentina and the shock of her elimination due to a poorly executed lip sync? 

The other queens competing for the crown all have their own niche style and eccentricities. As with every season of the hit show, shocks are bound to happen and anyone can walk away with the crown if they have enough Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent. Who can forget last years favourite Valentina and the shock of her elimination due to a poorly executed lip sync? Will this season have an equally shocking, and entertaining, moment? The show’s entertainment factor comes from never being able to predict what will happen next, an especially brilliant aspect of the show is the chance for a queen to fail one week and thrive another, making it very difficult to predict who will ultimately win.

So, just what is the mass appeal of the show, and how has something, so niche managed to survive and thrive for ten seasons? Perhaps it’s because the show is quite simply fun! In the terrifying world, we live in, lighthearted shows offer us a break to watch beautiful people prance in fabulous outfits, and what better break is a competition to find the worlds best drag queen? The show itself has opened up the niche world of drag to a worldwide audience and while being fun; it also helps to educate and teach acceptance and peace to those who watch it about a world they might not know a lot about.

Overal, the return of Ru Paul brings more glitter, sassy reading and extravagance into our daily lives

Due to the show entering its tenth season, I’m sure there will be many shocks and spills to keep the running fresh and exciting. Already the opening episode features Ru Paul Alumni return for a mini-challenge, and I for one can’t wait to see what exciting challenges and twists the running of this season will have. Overal, the return of Ru Paul brings more glitter, sassy reading and extravagance into our daily lives, while also tackling issues that plague the gay community such as discrimination. The show doesn’t take itself too seriously which is why it has stayed on our TV screens and is set to continue to entertain us for years to come.