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RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 premiered on January 5, 2024, on MTV at 8 pm ET. The show is expected to have a weekly release schedule, with new episodes dropping every Friday on MTV at the same time.
The last season of RuPaul's Drag Race ended in April 2023 with Sasha Colby crowned as 'America's Next Drag Superstar' and given the $200,000 prize money.
The show has officially announced only two of its upcoming episodes, i.e. episodes 2 and 3, which are titled Queen Choice Awards and Mother of All Balls, respectively. However, the season is expected to have 16 episodes, given that seasons 15 and 14 both had 16 episodes each.
RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 episode runtime, contestants, judges, and more
RuPaul's Drag Race season 15 was subject to much uproar from fans after the makers cut down the episodes to 60 minutes from the show's previous 90-minute format. After four 60-minute-long episodes, season 15 reverted back to its 90-minute format for the rest of its episodes. Season 16 is to have the original runtime of 90 minutes.
The contestants this season were introduced before the premiere of season 16, on the official YouTube channel of RuPaul's Drag Race. They were shown strutting in with their high heels into the Werk room of the show, putting an end to fans' curiosity for the most awaited moment.
They were introduced by Sasha Colby, the winner of the last season of the show.
The list of 14 contestants of season 16 of RuPaul's Drag Race and the cities they represent is as follows:
1) Amanda Tori Meating, 26, Los Angeles, California
2) TBADawn, 24, New York City, New York
3) Geneva Karr, 30, Brownsville, Texas
4) Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, 31, Los Angeles, California
5) Megami, 33, New York City, New York
6) Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige34Miami, Florida
7) Mirage, 29, Las Vegas, Nevada
8) Morphine Love Dion, 25, Miami, Florida
9) Nymphia Wind, 27, New York City, New York
10) Plane Jane, 24, Boston, Massachusetts
11) Plasma, 24, New York City, New York
12) Q, 26, Kansas City, Missouri
13) Sapphira Cristál, 34, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
14) Xunami Muse, 33, New York City, New York
This season is to see several guest judges alongside its regular judges Michelle Visage, Ross Mathews, Carson Kressley and Ts Madison. The first episode saw Oscar-winning actress Charlise Theron as guest judge.
The new season is also to have guest appearances from the previous season's winners and runner-ups like Sasha Colby and Malaysia Babydoll Foxx.
What happened in the season 16 premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race
In part 1 of the 2 part premiere of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16, half the contestants were introduced, with the other half saved to be introduced in the second part of the premiere. Fans saw the queens competing in a photoshoot competition, a talent show face-off, a best-to-dress competition, and the final lip-sync battle.
The episode was won by Sapphira Cristál from Philadelphia, as she outperformed Q from Kansas City in the final lip-sync battle, fought between the top 2 contestants of the episode, and also bagged the season's first immunity.
The next episode of RuPaul's Drag Race comes out next Friday, January 12, 2024, on MTV at 8 pm.
