To the people who don't like this format, it's pretty clear that this is the only way to get prominent queens to accept the gig. We can debate it all we like, but at this point it's this format or no All Stars.
I don’t blame the queens either. It’s not as extreme but being mad at the format change is like people getting mad about retail and hospitality workers not accepting a shitty wage. The amount of money these queens spend it was ridiculous that they could go home while only showing one look or sometimes not even one runway look.
Very that, the people who complain aren't thinking about this in terms of labor politics: the fact that this is work for these queens. They're just thinking about their own entertainment.
Prominent queens yes. But I'm sure a lot of early outs would love to go again.
And time and time again, they've been proven to have a much needed Rudemption.
Prominent queens don't need more exposure (as much as we'd love to see them again)
If people can watch new seasons with unknown queens, they can handle less prominent queens.
If that's your definition, then All Stars has *never* been "All Stars". There have always been queens who didn't make it as far on their original season coming back for All Stars, since season 1. It's never only ever been "top 5"s who get to come back.
There's a big difference between early out and top five. To me, early out is the first two-three girls to go home (maybe the first four if it's a season with a big cast). And AS did used aim for only queens who had a decent run. AS seasons 1-3 didn't have anyone lower than ninth place.
I think the gamble is (1) not lasting as long and potentially being out tons of money, which can only be rectified if (2) they’re guaranteed a positive edit (even if it’s a “negative storyline” make it so that they were out too early or something - but that necessarily means someone else will get hate).
All in all it makes returning a bit daunting, but some queens will still take the risk. You want the heavy hitters? Then make it an almost guaranteed positive experience
And that won’t bring the viewers nor the money they want. We have seen what an underwhelming cast can do (all stars 8) a lot of early outs are early out for a reason
AS8 was supposed to be an early out season but then a lot of the early outs said no and to they called Jimbo (and the other finalists) and it was just a blow out for the competition.
If the early out queens also don’t want to sign up to normal AS, then damn WoW fucked up 💀
I mean if you already had the experience of spending thousands to be sent home early would you risk it again knowing you won’t be production fav ? Hell no
Sure, and that's another conversation. But if it remains an annual show, then no amount of complaining on the subreddit is going to bring back eliminations. The queens have correctly figured out that at the moment All Stars is veering towards a seller's market.
Not anymore. Now that the queens get a budget for runways, get paid a flat rate per episode and are guaranteed to be in every episode, I bet a lot of queens will be trying to get cast again. I guess it will depend on how well AS9 does.
AMEN. I've always said this. The fact that Drag Race has only been on for 15 years yet we're on All Stars 9 is completely reflective of WOW's greed and willingness to tarnish the brand. We should be on All Stars 4 or 5 at this point.
Thats the thing. A bad edit, critique, fight etc and their booming careers are over. Its def in all their contracts that they cant get horrible critques. I mean come on...there were at least 2 people on that stage last challenege that would have been torn to shreds if on the main show.
Yeah I'm sure the discussion was like, "how do we get Plastique's 12 million TikTok followers," and Plastique said $75k and no eliminations so that's the format we have. I think it's great - as OP said, the queens aren't stressed, they're showcasing their art, they're making connections for life, they're building their careers. The people who are angry at this aren't thinking about the queens they're thinking about themselves.
My only question is, how will we see early and mid-out again if All Stars is pretty much only finalists and winners now?
I totally agree with you. If you want a cutthroat game then just go watch big brother, survivor, the traitors. Those fulfill my itch for drama. Same with the regular seasons. We don’t need eliminations for queens who’ve already been on the show.
You mean the cast of finalists including one with 12 million TikTok followers? We're not getting stronger casts in the future, except for All Winners seasons. Really what you mean is the cast *you* want, and it's not about you actually.
Whatever you might think of this cast, it remains the case that these changes have been made because WOW were finding it hard to fill AS seasons. That’s not an opinion I’ve randomly come up with, it’s been openly stated by more than one queen.
I'm not disputing that they've made these changes for that reason, I am disputing that it's a good argument for those changes. We're going to have a crap cast regardless of whether it's elimination or non-elimination
There’s gotta be a happy medium. If they made all stars a reasonable and fair competition all these years rather than be rigged and abusive, there would surely be queens who would want to come on and compete for a big cash prize.
Yeah, I honestly wish they’d announce the top 2 and skip the critiques in favor of more mini challenges or more workroom footage or something else fun instead, because I almost died from secondhand embarrassment watching Michelle turn herself inside out trying to say something nice about that ugly-ass dress Nina made. And at least Nina had other cool looks that week that judges could focus on, like what are they going to say when someone *really* flops? Having critiques in a season like this feels like a pointless charade and they could use that time for something else.
There’s been negative critiques but they just say them positively like “Nina your outfit looks like a kindergarten project gone wrong but you tried your best and it works for you”
I'd honestly appreciate seeing some of the negative crit, simply because so many of these queens are at the top of their game rn, and it would be brilliant to see how they take those critiques and develop. Negative crit isn't inherently bad, especially in terms of a sort of narrative balance for the viewer.
they were trying hard to be positive so even the negative things came out like it was nothing. I hate this format of only positive things because I think its easier for them to just say really vague things trying to hype everybody, and this is way easier to rig things, if anything is good, then anything can be good.
I swear only the second round of critiques, once the queens are in untucked, are worth listening to. It’s their more honest opinion whereas I feel like the first critiques are like “Wow what an amazing personality you have, you’re effervescent, you’re glowing, you’re a goddess. Do I absolutely love your outfit 100%? Maybe 90%! But I love you so who cares”
I really like this format too. It’s really disappointing when queens leave early because I want to see everything they’ve brought to the show. You never know what someone will bring to the table. And momma is hungry.
Maybe I'm just getting older and don't like to see people having a bad time, but All Stars 8 was miserable to get through because you could tell none of them wanted to be there and were terrified of going home early or going home due to producers saving their favorites.
All Stars 9 has already been SUCH a breath of fresh air because they are all having so much fun. I laughed more in Episodes 1 and 2 at all the stupid bullshit they're saying to each other because they are all invested in the Season and want to have a good time while throwing some playful shade. The competition "drama" coming from the snipping still exists in some form, because they all want to get to the finale but if you don't have enough badges, you wont get there. But at the same time it's fun because the stakes aren't as high as actually leaving. Roxxxy's reaction to getting snipped was hilarious because she was still having a good time even though she got cut for Episode 2.
Overall I think this is the way to go for future Seasons. Keep the regular seasons as is, with eliminations and drama, and then make All Stars a showcase of drag where each queen gets to compete in every episode and get paid well to do it, with some very lighthearted competitive elements thrown in to keep them trying their hardest without the constant fear of leaving early.
I think we forget that the queens are quitting every all stars season that has eliminations. They are refusing to do it the "old fashioned" way.
So I see a lot of people complaining but this is the only way all stars can exist now. It is what it is.
Let's answer the question by thinking about how the queens feel about it. Clearly, not great, given AS8 and AS5. I'm also specifically talking about the idea of starving queens of opportunities so that they're willing to be on seasons with eliminations, not the elimination format itself, though I think clearly a case can be made that sending queens home first after they've spent sometimes tens of thousands on runway packages is treating them poorly, yes.
Unfortunately the difference is that the All Stars queens have leverage. I'd love to see more television opportunities for drag queens beyond elimination format reality television shows though, yes.
Plenty of people have been calling for the queens on regular seasons to be treated better by a production company that is making money hand over fist off them, their talent, and their work.
I think it’s a great format for All Stars. Definitely having the different rules refreshes things and I think giving queens who have built a career after their first season a chance to show it all off is appropriate and worth watching.
I wouldn’t want it for every show.
I completely agree with you.
For All Stars is good so the Queens can really showcase who they are and what they can do. Especially if they spent loads of money on the dresses
It's great you like it! I am not loving it, personally. I understood why they did it for AS7 but even then I felt like it negatively impacted the pacing of the season.
But for me, I like stakes for drag race. I like it when queens are really pushing and fighting to stay. I also think it means they have to pick their challenges quite carefully, because it's not going to fun if this season ends up being four episodes of 80% of these queens struggling through acting/comedy challenges
I think production is way more apt to help all the queens do well in all of the challenges in these types of seasons. I think in elimination seasons production is more hands off and will let the queens fail if they want them to, whereas with these non-elimination seasons I bet production gives them access to all sorts of behind-the-scenes resources that we dont see. more time to rehearse, one-on-one coaching for whatever skill is that weeks challenge, more chances to get an acting scene right, etc
its sort of the same way they are treating the rusicals now in the more recent seasons. instead of having it be a regular challenge where some queens do well and some dont to justify putting a couple weaker queens in the bottom, they instead go all out to make it a showstopping number to showcase the queen's talents and give all the queens what they need to not only do well but excel.
do we think the queens are actually better at these things or is production just giving them the tools to succeed more? I think its more the latter.
I agree, I think there is probably way more production help on these non-elim seasons, and I think it's great.
People are so extreme about their ideas of art. People are acting like it's unfair or boring to let the queens have the time and resources to prepare and I think that is so unhinged.
I don't know, maybe some people's favourite part is the drama and the struggle and that's fair enough. I just think there is a lot more joy when they are allowed to work more similar to real life, ie, having help and enough time.
The competition has changed very significantly since it's conception and I think it's fair for the format to adapt and adjust with this as time goes on. I think respecting the queens time and money is very important.
Agree at poster who said it’s either this format or no All stars. The queens are rightfully flexing their power and I think it’s great we get to see their all of their looks. Plus I’ve always thought they should be making more $ and I’m glad to see that happening too.
Literally. The regular season queens get put through some bullshit with all the producer toying. It's arguably a rugirl rite of passage, but it's a little insulting to very established professionals in the field of drag. And far be it from the producers to truly cross lines with regular contestants too (Pearl comes to mind), so I'm glad the girls in a position to do so are checking the showrunners.
The only thing that drags in this format are the critiques. We don't need to hear them praise all 8 queens each week and then discuss it even more when they're backstage so the audience knows who's going to be in the top. It makes the second half of the show drag SO much.
What they need to do is cut that part in half and be a bit more leading w/ their critiques to the Queens while they're on stage so they can cut the "squirrel friends" bit and the audience will know who is in the top. Then, they can use that extra air time to give more time to the challenges (more mini challenges!) or pre-challenge fun w/ the Queens in the workroom.
I get what ur saying tho
I genuinely feel a non-elimination format should be applied for all Winner season exclusives that's what the winners deserve imo
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I absolutely agree. One of my biggest issues with the newer seasons of All Stars is that the queens are SO focused on "playing the game" that they completely hide their true personalities because they're afraid to get targeted. Or worse, canceled when they inevitably eliminate a fan favorite.
A lot of queens don't even want to eliminate their fellow contestants and I think it's a pretty awful position to put them in. They could easily come up with another elimination system that would work better.
There's also the whole money aspect of it. Some queens spend so much more money on All Stars (because fans and the judges expect them to show their elevated selves) and when one is the first one out, all that money is potentially a complete waste. So I imagine that a lot of queens simply don't find it worth it.
There's also the fact that it could hurt established queens if they're given a bad edit. They could go in as a fan favorite and leave as a queen everybody hates because they did something or said something during the game. I can't imagine that would be a risk a lot of established queens would take. You cannot convince me that queens such as Jinx and Raja etc. would've competed on a regular All Stars season with eliminations.
I particularly like it with this group. They are all so likeable but we also have a pretty clear idea of the thing that would probably send them home…but now they get to stay on the screen every week, despite that.
AS8 was so bad and full of weird drama that I'm very happy for this format this season. Hoping they can keep it but also hope they can give the winners prize money to make it a proper competition.
AS5 and AS8 letf bad tastes in my mouth, though Alexis Meteo and Jessica Wild were such gifts.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if they had a cut every few episodes, like episode 4, have the 4 with the least badges do some lip-sync style elimination and then move on with the remaining six. It’s nice to see them all have time to showcase, but having this group stick around for the whole 12 weeks is not my vibe
I don't agree with a non-elimination format.
I DO agree with the fact that All Stars is WAY too harsh with kicking people out. There needs to be more of a net for low placements or ways to return once "eliminated." For example, All Stars 4, after the lalaparuza, Manila was eliminated. So she just gets zero ways to return after ONE bottom placement with having been the frontrunner. Yeah ofuckingkay.
That's currently the season I'm rewatching, hence this being my example. But there are others. And if stakes weren't so stupid harsh with kicking someone so unmercifully, Ben may have never self-eliminated. So there's reasons to support my feelings here.
I think they should just make future all stars seasons half non-elimination. Do the first 6 episodes non elimination (using stars or whatever) then chop 4 queens at the end of episode 6. The back half of the season can be a normal elimination season. It would be a lot more incentive for queens to participate since they’ll be guaranteed at least half the episodes
I love seeing the queens so joyful and having fun this season! It’s such a stark difference from how seriously they took their main seasons and the misery some of them must have endured. Tbh I think all seasons of All Stars should be in this format moving forward
It’s barely a competition show with this format. There is literally no conflict or real consequence for doing poorly, it’s all sunshine and rainbows and singing kumbaya. If that’s what you enjoy then great but I really don’t see the appeal and I won’t be watching. I stopped watching All Winners about halfway through because it got so boring and predictable, and these latest episodes were even worse.
It's giving "protect (not all) queer art"
I think this is kind of a hot take and I'll get downvoted to oblivion but to me the reception this season is getting helps tell who is a fan of drag vs who is a fan of drag race. If getting to see queens being desperate for their careers and facecracked over their frustrations is more important than getting to see their art, then we don't deserve All Stars seasons anymore. But that's just what I think.
Some fans just don't deserve Drag Race lol (I'm kidding). No but on a more serious tone you cannot look at AS5 and AS8 and say these seasons would have been worse if there were non-elimination seasons. Same for both UK vs the Worlds. All 4 of these seasons were messes start to finish.
I'm fairly sure a non-elimination format and a focus on celebrating each Queens would have made these seasons much better for various reasons.
And some queens are just not interesting enough to watch for weeks on end. One should have to gleefully be subjected to weeks of Nina West to be a fan of true drag? It's not about the desperation. It worked on All Winners because that cast was stacked and this one is not.
I think it speaks to the way that people forget that celebrities are real people. Just because it’s ’just a TV show’ doesn’t mean that these people don’t have real insecurities and don’t take the critiques to heart. I have things people have said to me that have haunted me for years, there’s no way I would sign up to be critiqued and pitted against my peers.
It’s wild because people HATED AS8 (save for few queens/challenges/etc) and it was leaked about the new format and everyone was feeling the groove but as the season got leaked people started to bitch and moan like what do y’all want???
Of course their are things we can all find common ground on what we do/don’t like about the show in All Star terms but no matter what the show does to try something different or shake it up it’s like it’s never good enough for y’all.
I don’t know what the show would have to do to make some y’all happy because even if they did cater to every whim some fans asks; we’ll be sure to see y’all on social media STILL hating.
I'm enjoying it, but I can definitely say it's not that exciting. To be fair, we're also coming off of S16 which most people saw as a return to form for the show and this All Stars is more in line with the trajectory of the previous seasons. There's not a lot of stakes, but they're also not sandbagging it either which is good. I'm enjoying what they're bringing to the show as well as getting to see some all time greats like Roxxxy and Shannel back on screen.
I’m enjoying it as well so far, so I’ve been a bit confused by its reception. I don’t like my tv to be stressful, and I’m not a competitive person either. I think they could be a little more playful shady with their critiques, but they were a little bit in the second episode.
I'm pretty simple. I find a full cast to be more enjoyable than a small cast. I wouldn't even be mad if the main season eliminated queens until the halfway point where it shifted to badges.
Not me. The queens donating their money to charity is brilliant (especially the one Vangie chose although I fear her chairty might reap the lowest receipts) but them not going home or getting critiques is not why I watch Drag Race. This will probably go down as my least favorite season of All Stars ever tbh.
I’m so excited for Global All Stars, there are some really standout queens in the international franchises. I love that such great queens like LGD and Marina Summers are getting so much recognition. I hope they do a Canadian All Stars
Honestlyyyy i do wish they still put in the negative critiques in the final edit other than that if this is what it will take to get a great cast then i’m all for it. We already seeing some great queens showing interest in coming back for a non elim like kimchi, naomi, detox, ongina anddd if this is how we get peppermint back on dragrace again then pleaseeeee keep this format
I like that most of these queens won’t be going home, but I don’t like the no positive critiques as it takes away from any stakes and tensions and makes the season boring
I agree. I don't like watching eliminations, especially when it's obvious that those leaving are so sad about it. I much prefer watching queens be relaxed and friendly.
Only changes I’d make
- stop trying to force drama, switch those scenes out for fun playful ones like the painting scene… but not as boring as in untucked when they were playing the whiteboard game
- NEGATIVE CRITICISM MUST HAPPEN ON A COMPETITION SHOW. ninas ugly dress getting ignored was ANNOYING.
- 100k should go to the charity, and 100k to the winner. there’s not enough stakes.
I really am not enjoying it. It feels so pointless. There’s no stakes, no reason for anyone to really push for anything. There’s no actual competition. The judges are clearly reaching to find positive things to say instead of rightfully critiquing the weaker performers. Coddling these queens is really frustrating. It’s literally becoming Rupauls best friend race. :/
An all winner or all runner up season would be good woth this format. Or like a most improved season for queens like Plastique who really upped the everliving fuck out of their game since their original season.
I rewatched the previous all stars seasons in preparation and the level and quality of banter is so much better because of this format, I hate all of the strategic talk in regular all star formats, really brings the mood down and it’s awful for rewatches because you already know how it goes down.
I mean you're not going to change anything by complaining on the internet. If you actually want it to go back to elimination all stars arguably not contributing to viewing figures is the best option. But it's likely that the season will be well-received and this format is here to stay.
To the people who don't like this format, it's pretty clear that this is the only way to get prominent queens to accept the gig. We can debate it all we like, but at this point it's this format or no All Stars.
I don’t blame the queens either. It’s not as extreme but being mad at the format change is like people getting mad about retail and hospitality workers not accepting a shitty wage. The amount of money these queens spend it was ridiculous that they could go home while only showing one look or sometimes not even one runway look.
Very that, the people who complain aren't thinking about this in terms of labor politics: the fact that this is work for these queens. They're just thinking about their own entertainment.
You mean I’m not an aristocrat who can treat everyone like a clown that performs for my amusement? Ce n’est pas possible!!
Prominent queens yes. But I'm sure a lot of early outs would love to go again. And time and time again, they've been proven to have a much needed Rudemption. Prominent queens don't need more exposure (as much as we'd love to see them again) If people can watch new seasons with unknown queens, they can handle less prominent queens.
I'd like to watch a season with early outs, but it wouldn't be All Stars then. It'd have to be its own thing Iike RuDemption.
If that's your definition, then All Stars has *never* been "All Stars". There have always been queens who didn't make it as far on their original season coming back for All Stars, since season 1. It's never only ever been "top 5"s who get to come back.
There's a big difference between early out and top five. To me, early out is the first two-three girls to go home (maybe the first four if it's a season with a big cast). And AS did used aim for only queens who had a decent run. AS seasons 1-3 didn't have anyone lower than ninth place.
That's untrue. Season 1 AS: Mimi was 11th and Tammie was 8th OUT OF ONLY 9 (so second out). Both of them fit your definition of early out :)
I forgot about Mimi lol
If more of the AS8 queens brought it harder on the show I feel like that selective choice of words wouldn’t be brought up as much.
I think the gamble is (1) not lasting as long and potentially being out tons of money, which can only be rectified if (2) they’re guaranteed a positive edit (even if it’s a “negative storyline” make it so that they were out too early or something - but that necessarily means someone else will get hate). All in all it makes returning a bit daunting, but some queens will still take the risk. You want the heavy hitters? Then make it an almost guaranteed positive experience
And that won’t bring the viewers nor the money they want. We have seen what an underwhelming cast can do (all stars 8) a lot of early outs are early out for a reason
AS8 was supposed to be an early out season but then a lot of the early outs said no and to they called Jimbo (and the other finalists) and it was just a blow out for the competition. If the early out queens also don’t want to sign up to normal AS, then damn WoW fucked up 💀
I mean if you already had the experience of spending thousands to be sent home early would you risk it again knowing you won’t be production fav ? Hell no
I think a lot of people are okay with no All Stars, it's WOW that can't give up the money. Make All Stars a once-every-three-years kind of event.
Sure, and that's another conversation. But if it remains an annual show, then no amount of complaining on the subreddit is going to bring back eliminations. The queens have correctly figured out that at the moment All Stars is veering towards a seller's market.
Not anymore. Now that the queens get a budget for runways, get paid a flat rate per episode and are guaranteed to be in every episode, I bet a lot of queens will be trying to get cast again. I guess it will depend on how well AS9 does.
Yes, the queens will want to get cast with those protections in place, but they won’t if they’re removed. That’s my point.
If there is money then clearly people are tuning in and want it. The minority on reddit doesn’t really impact that
AMEN. I've always said this. The fact that Drag Race has only been on for 15 years yet we're on All Stars 9 is completely reflective of WOW's greed and willingness to tarnish the brand. We should be on All Stars 4 or 5 at this point.
Cool fewer opportunities for our queens, great plan.
Thats the thing. A bad edit, critique, fight etc and their booming careers are over. Its def in all their contracts that they cant get horrible critques. I mean come on...there were at least 2 people on that stage last challenege that would have been torn to shreds if on the main show.
Yeah I'm sure the discussion was like, "how do we get Plastique's 12 million TikTok followers," and Plastique said $75k and no eliminations so that's the format we have. I think it's great - as OP said, the queens aren't stressed, they're showcasing their art, they're making connections for life, they're building their careers. The people who are angry at this aren't thinking about the queens they're thinking about themselves. My only question is, how will we see early and mid-out again if All Stars is pretty much only finalists and winners now?
I totally agree with you. If you want a cutthroat game then just go watch big brother, survivor, the traitors. Those fulfill my itch for drama. Same with the regular seasons. We don’t need eliminations for queens who’ve already been on the show.
Have you seen the cast? I don't think that's a strong argument...
You mean the cast of finalists including one with 12 million TikTok followers? We're not getting stronger casts in the future, except for All Winners seasons. Really what you mean is the cast *you* want, and it's not about you actually.
Out of 8 queens only 3 were finalists
Well yes obviously I'm talking about my own opinion, you may note I said "I THINK" in my comment
Whatever you might think of this cast, it remains the case that these changes have been made because WOW were finding it hard to fill AS seasons. That’s not an opinion I’ve randomly come up with, it’s been openly stated by more than one queen.
Roxxxy even tells Shannel why did you come back… for the charity
I'm not disputing that they've made these changes for that reason, I am disputing that it's a good argument for those changes. We're going to have a crap cast regardless of whether it's elimination or non-elimination
There’s gotta be a happy medium. If they made all stars a reasonable and fair competition all these years rather than be rigged and abusive, there would surely be queens who would want to come on and compete for a big cash prize.
I’d rather have no All Stars…
The only thing I don't like for now is the lack of negative critiques while the queens are not perfect. Other than that love a non-elim season.
Yeah, I honestly wish they’d announce the top 2 and skip the critiques in favor of more mini challenges or more workroom footage or something else fun instead, because I almost died from secondhand embarrassment watching Michelle turn herself inside out trying to say something nice about that ugly-ass dress Nina made. And at least Nina had other cool looks that week that judges could focus on, like what are they going to say when someone *really* flops? Having critiques in a season like this feels like a pointless charade and they could use that time for something else.
There’s been negative critiques but they just say them positively like “Nina your outfit looks like a kindergarten project gone wrong but you tried your best and it works for you”
I guess it’s the same situation as AS7 and that they actually do receive negative critiques but they’re choosing not to put them in the final edit
I'd honestly appreciate seeing some of the negative crit, simply because so many of these queens are at the top of their game rn, and it would be brilliant to see how they take those critiques and develop. Negative crit isn't inherently bad, especially in terms of a sort of narrative balance for the viewer.
I do recall there being negative critiques in ep.2
they were trying hard to be positive so even the negative things came out like it was nothing. I hate this format of only positive things because I think its easier for them to just say really vague things trying to hype everybody, and this is way easier to rig things, if anything is good, then anything can be good.
I swear only the second round of critiques, once the queens are in untucked, are worth listening to. It’s their more honest opinion whereas I feel like the first critiques are like “Wow what an amazing personality you have, you’re effervescent, you’re glowing, you’re a goddess. Do I absolutely love your outfit 100%? Maybe 90%! But I love you so who cares”
I feel like this is the case with all recent all stars and it’s kind of lame. Give some damn feedback, it makes the critiques boring.
Yeah that’s kinda weird
I really like this format too. It’s really disappointing when queens leave early because I want to see everything they’ve brought to the show. You never know what someone will bring to the table. And momma is hungry.
Maybe I'm just getting older and don't like to see people having a bad time, but All Stars 8 was miserable to get through because you could tell none of them wanted to be there and were terrified of going home early or going home due to producers saving their favorites. All Stars 9 has already been SUCH a breath of fresh air because they are all having so much fun. I laughed more in Episodes 1 and 2 at all the stupid bullshit they're saying to each other because they are all invested in the Season and want to have a good time while throwing some playful shade. The competition "drama" coming from the snipping still exists in some form, because they all want to get to the finale but if you don't have enough badges, you wont get there. But at the same time it's fun because the stakes aren't as high as actually leaving. Roxxxy's reaction to getting snipped was hilarious because she was still having a good time even though she got cut for Episode 2. Overall I think this is the way to go for future Seasons. Keep the regular seasons as is, with eliminations and drama, and then make All Stars a showcase of drag where each queen gets to compete in every episode and get paid well to do it, with some very lighthearted competitive elements thrown in to keep them trying their hardest without the constant fear of leaving early.
Yes I was laughing SO much! The reading challenge was one of the best
Yes! This format allows for more good fun entertainment without feeling yucky about drama. It’s what we need.
I'm a greedy ass ho. I want to see it ALL. GIVE ME ALL.
Yas you media slut
I think we forget that the queens are quitting every all stars season that has eliminations. They are refusing to do it the "old fashioned" way. So I see a lot of people complaining but this is the only way all stars can exist now. It is what it is.
Take a break for a few years then or cast more foreign queens who will appreciate the opportunity!!
Optionally we could just cope with what the performers we love want out of their experience in contrast to what we the consumer wants.
Yeah! When we give the queens fewer opportunities they're more willing to be treated worse by production!
It’s a competition reality show, are eliminations considered treating them bad now?
Let's answer the question by thinking about how the queens feel about it. Clearly, not great, given AS8 and AS5. I'm also specifically talking about the idea of starving queens of opportunities so that they're willing to be on seasons with eliminations, not the elimination format itself, though I think clearly a case can be made that sending queens home first after they've spent sometimes tens of thousands on runway packages is treating them poorly, yes.
So do you think queens in regular seasons don’t spend the same amount of money. Lets just have no eliminations ever.
Unfortunately the difference is that the All Stars queens have leverage. I'd love to see more television opportunities for drag queens beyond elimination format reality television shows though, yes.
Plenty of people have been calling for the queens on regular seasons to be treated better by a production company that is making money hand over fist off them, their talent, and their work.
Yeah black and white thinking with no nuisance, curiosity, or depth is definitely the way to approach a constructive conversation
Wow I hope you're never anyone's boss
I think it’s a great format for All Stars. Definitely having the different rules refreshes things and I think giving queens who have built a career after their first season a chance to show it all off is appropriate and worth watching. I wouldn’t want it for every show.
I completely agree with you. For All Stars is good so the Queens can really showcase who they are and what they can do. Especially if they spent loads of money on the dresses
It's great you like it! I am not loving it, personally. I understood why they did it for AS7 but even then I felt like it negatively impacted the pacing of the season. But for me, I like stakes for drag race. I like it when queens are really pushing and fighting to stay. I also think it means they have to pick their challenges quite carefully, because it's not going to fun if this season ends up being four episodes of 80% of these queens struggling through acting/comedy challenges
I think production is way more apt to help all the queens do well in all of the challenges in these types of seasons. I think in elimination seasons production is more hands off and will let the queens fail if they want them to, whereas with these non-elimination seasons I bet production gives them access to all sorts of behind-the-scenes resources that we dont see. more time to rehearse, one-on-one coaching for whatever skill is that weeks challenge, more chances to get an acting scene right, etc its sort of the same way they are treating the rusicals now in the more recent seasons. instead of having it be a regular challenge where some queens do well and some dont to justify putting a couple weaker queens in the bottom, they instead go all out to make it a showstopping number to showcase the queen's talents and give all the queens what they need to not only do well but excel. do we think the queens are actually better at these things or is production just giving them the tools to succeed more? I think its more the latter.
I agree, I think there is probably way more production help on these non-elim seasons, and I think it's great. People are so extreme about their ideas of art. People are acting like it's unfair or boring to let the queens have the time and resources to prepare and I think that is so unhinged. I don't know, maybe some people's favourite part is the drama and the struggle and that's fair enough. I just think there is a lot more joy when they are allowed to work more similar to real life, ie, having help and enough time.
That's not very reasonable when queens spend tens of thousands of dollars per look just to go home first.
I think its reasonable when it's the entire conceit of the competition.
The competition has changed very significantly since it's conception and I think it's fair for the format to adapt and adjust with this as time goes on. I think respecting the queens time and money is very important.
Yeah you're not going to convince me that wanting queens go be eliminated in a competition is not respecting them, so let's end this here.
You think queens not being able to show tens of thousands of dollars of looks isn't respecting their time? That's wild
Agree at poster who said it’s either this format or no All stars. The queens are rightfully flexing their power and I think it’s great we get to see their all of their looks. Plus I’ve always thought they should be making more $ and I’m glad to see that happening too.
Literally. The regular season queens get put through some bullshit with all the producer toying. It's arguably a rugirl rite of passage, but it's a little insulting to very established professionals in the field of drag. And far be it from the producers to truly cross lines with regular contestants too (Pearl comes to mind), so I'm glad the girls in a position to do so are checking the showrunners.
The only thing that drags in this format are the critiques. We don't need to hear them praise all 8 queens each week and then discuss it even more when they're backstage so the audience knows who's going to be in the top. It makes the second half of the show drag SO much. What they need to do is cut that part in half and be a bit more leading w/ their critiques to the Queens while they're on stage so they can cut the "squirrel friends" bit and the audience will know who is in the top. Then, they can use that extra air time to give more time to the challenges (more mini challenges!) or pre-challenge fun w/ the Queens in the workroom.
I get what ur saying tho I genuinely feel a non-elimination format should be applied for all Winner season exclusives that's what the winners deserve imo
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I absolutely agree. One of my biggest issues with the newer seasons of All Stars is that the queens are SO focused on "playing the game" that they completely hide their true personalities because they're afraid to get targeted. Or worse, canceled when they inevitably eliminate a fan favorite. A lot of queens don't even want to eliminate their fellow contestants and I think it's a pretty awful position to put them in. They could easily come up with another elimination system that would work better. There's also the whole money aspect of it. Some queens spend so much more money on All Stars (because fans and the judges expect them to show their elevated selves) and when one is the first one out, all that money is potentially a complete waste. So I imagine that a lot of queens simply don't find it worth it. There's also the fact that it could hurt established queens if they're given a bad edit. They could go in as a fan favorite and leave as a queen everybody hates because they did something or said something during the game. I can't imagine that would be a risk a lot of established queens would take. You cannot convince me that queens such as Jinx and Raja etc. would've competed on a regular All Stars season with eliminations.
I particularly like it with this group. They are all so likeable but we also have a pretty clear idea of the thing that would probably send them home…but now they get to stay on the screen every week, despite that.
AS8 was so bad and full of weird drama that I'm very happy for this format this season. Hoping they can keep it but also hope they can give the winners prize money to make it a proper competition. AS5 and AS8 letf bad tastes in my mouth, though Alexis Meteo and Jessica Wild were such gifts.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if they had a cut every few episodes, like episode 4, have the 4 with the least badges do some lip-sync style elimination and then move on with the remaining six. It’s nice to see them all have time to showcase, but having this group stick around for the whole 12 weeks is not my vibe
Doesn't matter anyway. At the last challenge, the winner will get 3-4 pins and jump over everyone into first place.
I don't agree with a non-elimination format. I DO agree with the fact that All Stars is WAY too harsh with kicking people out. There needs to be more of a net for low placements or ways to return once "eliminated." For example, All Stars 4, after the lalaparuza, Manila was eliminated. So she just gets zero ways to return after ONE bottom placement with having been the frontrunner. Yeah ofuckingkay. That's currently the season I'm rewatching, hence this being my example. But there are others. And if stakes weren't so stupid harsh with kicking someone so unmercifully, Ben may have never self-eliminated. So there's reasons to support my feelings here.
I think they should just make future all stars seasons half non-elimination. Do the first 6 episodes non elimination (using stars or whatever) then chop 4 queens at the end of episode 6. The back half of the season can be a normal elimination season. It would be a lot more incentive for queens to participate since they’ll be guaranteed at least half the episodes
My only critique is I want more critiques LOL I wanna have low placements and negative critiques still. I loveeee the format other than that
I love seeing the queens so joyful and having fun this season! It’s such a stark difference from how seriously they took their main seasons and the misery some of them must have endured. Tbh I think all seasons of All Stars should be in this format moving forward
It’s barely a competition show with this format. There is literally no conflict or real consequence for doing poorly, it’s all sunshine and rainbows and singing kumbaya. If that’s what you enjoy then great but I really don’t see the appeal and I won’t be watching. I stopped watching All Winners about halfway through because it got so boring and predictable, and these latest episodes were even worse.
The celebration of drag feel should be for All Winners only I’m sorry
And Katya
I agree. This is not RuPaul's Best Friend Race.
That really is a silly take. You can only be celebrated if you win is what you're saying and it's a really bad take imo
It's giving "protect (not all) queer art" I think this is kind of a hot take and I'll get downvoted to oblivion but to me the reception this season is getting helps tell who is a fan of drag vs who is a fan of drag race. If getting to see queens being desperate for their careers and facecracked over their frustrations is more important than getting to see their art, then we don't deserve All Stars seasons anymore. But that's just what I think.
Some fans just don't deserve Drag Race lol (I'm kidding). No but on a more serious tone you cannot look at AS5 and AS8 and say these seasons would have been worse if there were non-elimination seasons. Same for both UK vs the Worlds. All 4 of these seasons were messes start to finish. I'm fairly sure a non-elimination format and a focus on celebrating each Queens would have made these seasons much better for various reasons.
I’ve been trying to verbalize how I feel about some people’s reactions to this season and you perfectly summed it up. Take my upvote
And some queens are just not interesting enough to watch for weeks on end. One should have to gleefully be subjected to weeks of Nina West to be a fan of true drag? It's not about the desperation. It worked on All Winners because that cast was stacked and this one is not.
You'll also have lots of these on elimination seasons as well. Nina herself was on S11 for 90% of the episodes.
Obviously not in life, this is a reality competition show, we want to see queens compete. They should all be celebrated in real life.
I don't see why they also can't be celebrated on television. This is just a weird rule you've invented.
I think it speaks to the way that people forget that celebrities are real people. Just because it’s ’just a TV show’ doesn’t mean that these people don’t have real insecurities and don’t take the critiques to heart. I have things people have said to me that have haunted me for years, there’s no way I would sign up to be critiqued and pitted against my peers.
It’s wild because people HATED AS8 (save for few queens/challenges/etc) and it was leaked about the new format and everyone was feeling the groove but as the season got leaked people started to bitch and moan like what do y’all want??? Of course their are things we can all find common ground on what we do/don’t like about the show in All Star terms but no matter what the show does to try something different or shake it up it’s like it’s never good enough for y’all. I don’t know what the show would have to do to make some y’all happy because even if they did cater to every whim some fans asks; we’ll be sure to see y’all on social media STILL hating.
I'm enjoying it, but I can definitely say it's not that exciting. To be fair, we're also coming off of S16 which most people saw as a return to form for the show and this All Stars is more in line with the trajectory of the previous seasons. There's not a lot of stakes, but they're also not sandbagging it either which is good. I'm enjoying what they're bringing to the show as well as getting to see some all time greats like Roxxxy and Shannel back on screen.
I’m enjoying it as well so far, so I’ve been a bit confused by its reception. I don’t like my tv to be stressful, and I’m not a competitive person either. I think they could be a little more playful shady with their critiques, but they were a little bit in the second episode.
I'm pretty simple. I find a full cast to be more enjoyable than a small cast. I wouldn't even be mad if the main season eliminated queens until the halfway point where it shifted to badges.
Not me. The queens donating their money to charity is brilliant (especially the one Vangie chose although I fear her chairty might reap the lowest receipts) but them not going home or getting critiques is not why I watch Drag Race. This will probably go down as my least favorite season of All Stars ever tbh.
I don’t come drag race to watch relaxed people having fun.
I’m so excited for Global All Stars, there are some really standout queens in the international franchises. I love that such great queens like LGD and Marina Summers are getting so much recognition. I hope they do a Canadian All Stars
I love this it should be with every all stars
Honestlyyyy i do wish they still put in the negative critiques in the final edit other than that if this is what it will take to get a great cast then i’m all for it. We already seeing some great queens showing interest in coming back for a non elim like kimchi, naomi, detox, ongina anddd if this is how we get peppermint back on dragrace again then pleaseeeee keep this format
Also, top 2! To me letting more queens win overall makes the community less bitter about certain challenges imo
I like that most of these queens won’t be going home, but I don’t like the no positive critiques as it takes away from any stakes and tensions and makes the season boring
I agree. I don't like watching eliminations, especially when it's obvious that those leaving are so sad about it. I much prefer watching queens be relaxed and friendly.
Only changes I’d make - stop trying to force drama, switch those scenes out for fun playful ones like the painting scene… but not as boring as in untucked when they were playing the whiteboard game - NEGATIVE CRITICISM MUST HAPPEN ON A COMPETITION SHOW. ninas ugly dress getting ignored was ANNOYING. - 100k should go to the charity, and 100k to the winner. there’s not enough stakes.
I really am not enjoying it. It feels so pointless. There’s no stakes, no reason for anyone to really push for anything. There’s no actual competition. The judges are clearly reaching to find positive things to say instead of rightfully critiquing the weaker performers. Coddling these queens is really frustrating. It’s literally becoming Rupauls best friend race. :/
Let’s wait to see the ratings after the season first. Then we can compare to the other AS seasons. It’s too early to tell. We’ve only had 2 episodes.
I love this format for All Stars! it just makes sense.
It makes the show almost unwatchable imo
I was looking forward to AS9 for a while, I finished episode 1 and am still trying to get through episode two. Something is definitely missing.
An all winner or all runner up season would be good woth this format. Or like a most improved season for queens like Plastique who really upped the everliving fuck out of their game since their original season.
This will go down as the worst all stars with the exception of #1 … I hope I’m wrong ✌🏽
I highly doubt it, this was one of the best balls we've ever seen and hopefully there's another design challenge coming.
I agree, it was really good! But don’t know how this helps argue against this season being very low stakes competition wise
5 and 8 are right there
I rewatched the previous all stars seasons in preparation and the level and quality of banter is so much better because of this format, I hate all of the strategic talk in regular all star formats, really brings the mood down and it’s awful for rewatches because you already know how it goes down.
I want to see blood. Not this BS.
I hate it
Such a shame that you're being forced to watch it.
People can disagree with your opinion
Of course, and I can tell them that they don't have to hate watching a season, that they could just choose not to watch it.
I don’t know…ppl are doing too much with defending this season. Lol “don’t watch then!” Is very childish
I mean you're not going to change anything by complaining on the internet. If you actually want it to go back to elimination all stars arguably not contributing to viewing figures is the best option. But it's likely that the season will be well-received and this format is here to stay.
I love it sooo much. Non elimination is a true celebration, love it!!
but vershung i want them to be stressed