The third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars premiered on January 25, 2018. The season was announced in August 2017, with 9/10 of the cast revealed during a VH1 "Exclusive Queen Ruveal" special, airing on October 20, 2017.[1][2][3] This season of All Stars featured ten "all-star" (or “champion”) contestants, selected from the show's first season through to its then-current ninth season, competing again to be inducted into the "Drag Race Hall of Fame".
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 Promotional poster for season three | |
| Hosted by | RuPaul |
| Judges |
|
| No. of contestants | 10 |
| Winner | Trixie Mattel |
| Runner-up | Kennedy Davenport |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Release | |
| Original network | VH1 |
| Original release | January 25 – March 15, 2018 |
| Season chronology | |
As was the case in the previous All Stars season, rather than the two lowest-scoring queens for each episode engaging in the usual “Lip-Sync for Your Life” battle for their right to remain in the competition, the two highest-scoring queens on each episode competed in a “Lip-Sync for Your Legacy” performance, the winner of which earned the right to choose which bottom queen gets eliminated (in addition to receiving a $10,000 “tip”). A new twist on how the top queens of the season were chosen was revealed in the previous season's last episode, in which the previously eliminated queens would return during the finale and vote for the top two contestants of the remaining top four; from there-on, the two queens with the most votes advanced while the other two were subsequently eliminated. The prizes for the winner of the competition were a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000, and a bejeweled scepter and crown.
The winner of the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars was ultimately Trixie Mattel, with Kennedy Davenport being the runner-up.
Contestants
edit_(cropped).jpg)
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Original season(s) | Original placement(s) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trixie Mattel | 28 | Los Angeles, California | Season 7 | 6th place | Winner |
| Kennedy Davenport | 35 | Dallas, Texas | Season 7 | 4th place | Runner-up |
| BeBe Zahara Benet | 36 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Season 1 | Winner | 3rd place |
| Shangela[a] | 35 | Los Angeles, California | Season 2 | 12th place | |
| Season 3 | 6th place | ||||
| Morgan McMichaels | 36 | Los Angeles, California | Season 2 | 8th place | 5th place[b] |
| BenDeLaCreme | 35 | Seattle, Washington | Season 6 | 5th place[c] | 6th place[d] |
| Aja[e] | 23 | New York City, New York | Season 9 | 9th place | 7th place |
| Chi Chi DeVayne[f] | 32 | Shreveport, Louisiana | Season 8 | 4th place | 8th place |
| Milk | 29 | New York City, New York | Season 6 | 9th place | 9th place |
| Thorgy Thor | 33 | New York City, New York | Season 8 | 6th place | 10th place |
Notes:
- ^ Shangela Laquifa Wadley is referred to as her full name on season 2 and as Shangela on season 3 and All Stars 3.
- ^ Morgan McMichaels originally placed tenth before re-entering the competition.
- ^ BenDeLaCreme was voted Miss Congeniality on her original season.
- ^ BenDeLaCreme quit the competition.
- ^ Aja Miyake-Mugler, formerly known as Aja LaBeija, is referred to as Aja on the show.
- ^ Chi Chi Kat Devayne is referred to as Chi Chi DeVayne on the show.
Contestant progress
editLegend:
| Contestant | Episode | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[5] | 2[6] | 3[7] | 4[8] | 5[9] | 6[10] | 7[11] | 8[12] | |
| Trixie Mattel | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | BTM | TOP2 | BTM | TOP2 | Winner |
| Kennedy Davenport | SAFE | BTM | WIN | BTM | SAFE | BTM | BTM | Runner-up |
| BeBe Zahara Benet | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | TOP2 | BTM | Eliminated |
| Shangela | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | BTM | BTM | WIN | Eliminated |
| Morgan McMichaels | ELIM | IN | ELIM | Juror | ||||
| BenDeLaCreme | WIN | TOP2 | TOP2 | WIN | SAFE | QUIT | Juror | |
| Aja | TOP2 | SAFE | BTM | SAFE | ELIM | OUT | Juror | |
| Chi Chi DeVayne | BTM | SAFE | BTM | ELIM | OUT | Juror | ||
| Milk | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | OUT | Juror | |||
| Thorgy Thor | SAFE | ELIM | OUT | Juror | ||||
Jury vote
editIn the finale, the eliminated queens were invited back as jurors. They were given two votes each to decide which of the remaining contestants would make the final two, with their first vote worth two points and the second one point. The finalists were given the chance to plead their case prior to the vote.[13]
Legend:
| Jurors | BeBe | Kennedy | Shangela | Trixie | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aja | 2 | 1 | |||||
| BenDeLa | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Chi Chi | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Milk | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Morgan | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Thorgy | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Votes | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | |||
| Results | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | |||
Lip syncs
editLegend:
| Episode | Top All Stars (Elimination) |
Song | Winner(s) | Bottom | Eliminated | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1[5] | Aja (Chi Chi) |
vs. | BenDeLaCreme (Morgan) |
"Anaconda" (Nicki Minaj) |
BenDeLaCreme | Chi Chi, Morgan | Morgan McMichaels |
| 2[6] | BenDeLaCreme (Thorgy) |
vs. | Shangela (Thorgy) |
"Jump (For My Love)" (The Pointer Sisters) |
Shangela | Kennedy, Thorgy | Thorgy Thor |
| 3[7] | BenDeLaCreme (Chi Chi) |
vs. | Kennedy Davenport (Milk) |
"Green Light" (Lorde) |
Kennedy Davenport | Aja, Chi Chi, Milk | Milk |
| 4[8] | BenDeLaCreme (Chi Chi) |
vs. | Shangela (Chi Chi) |
"I Kissed a Girl" (Katy Perry) |
BenDeLaCreme | Chi Chi, Kennedy, Trixie | Chi Chi DeVayne |
| Shangela | |||||||
| 5[9] | BeBe Zahara Benet (Aja) |
vs. | Trixie Mattel (Aja) |
"The Boss" (Diana Ross) |
BeBe Zahara Benet | Aja, Shangela | Aja |
| 6[10][a] | BeBe Zahara Benet (Trixie / Morgan)[b] |
vs. | BenDeLaCreme (BenDeLa / Morgan) |
"Nobody's Supposed to Be Here (Hex Hector Dance Mix)" (Deborah Cox) |
BenDeLaCreme | Kennedy, Shangela, Trixie |
BenDeLaCreme |
| 7[11] | Shangela (Morgan) |
vs. | Trixie Mattel (Morgan) |
"Freaky Money" (RuPaul ft. Big Freedia) |
Shangela | BeBe, Kennedy, Morgan | Morgan McMichaels |
| Episode | Final All Stars | Song | Winner | ||||
| 8[12] | Kennedy Davenport | vs. | Trixie Mattel | "Wrecking Ball" (Miley Cyrus) |
Trixie Mattel | ||
- Notes
- ^ On episode 6, the two Top All Stars were asked to choose an eliminated queen to return to the competition in addition to the one to eliminate.
- ^ BeBe Zahara Benet chose not to show both whom she selected to return and to eliminate. On May 3, 2020, on Trinity the Tuck's podcast, Aja asserted that Bebe wanted to eliminate Trixie Mattel and to save Morgan McMichaels.
Guest judges
editListed in chronological order:[14]
- Vanessa Hudgens, actress and singer
- Todrick Hall, actor and singer
- Vanessa Williams, actress and singer
- Constance Zimmer, actress
- Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, actor and model
- Nicole Byer, comedian and actress
- Kristin Chenoweth, actress and singer
- Tituss Burgess, actor and singer
- Shay Mitchell, actress and model
- Adam Lambert, singer and actor
- Emma Bunton, singer and actress
- Chris Colfer, actor and singer
- Garcelle Beauvais, actress and model
Special guests
editGuests who appeared in episodes but did not judge on the main stage (in order of appearance):
- Chad Michaels, runner-up from season four and winner of season one of All Stars
- Alaska, runner-up from season five and winner of season two of All Stars
- Marc Jacobs, fashion designer
- Nancy Pelosi, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Representative for California's 12th congressional district
Episodes
edit| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | "All Star Variety Show" | January 25, 2018 | |
|
Ten all-stars enter the workroom. For the first mini-challenge, the queens will read each other to filth. BenDeLaCreme wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens will perform a talent show in front of the judges and a live audience.
On the runway, Aja, BenDeLaCreme, Shangela and Thorgy Thor receive positive critiques, with Aja and BenDeLaCreme being announced as the top two. Chi Chi DeVayne and Morgan McMichaels receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom two. Aja and BenDeLaCreme lip-sync to "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj. BenDeLaCreme wins the lip-sync and decides to eliminate Morgan McMichaels from the competition.
| ||||
| 17 | 2 | "Divas Lip Sync Live" | February 1, 2018 | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, Aja reveals that she would have sent home Chi Chi DeVayne from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For the main challenge, the queens will perform in a lip-syncing dance number inspired by VH1 Divas.
On the runway, category is RuDemption Runway. BeBe Zahara Benet, BenDeLaCreme and Shangela receive positive critiques, with BenDeLaCreme and Shangela being announced as the top two. Chi Chi DeVayne, Kennedy Davenport and Thorgy Thor receive negative critiques, with Kennedy Davenport and Thorgy Thor being announced as the bottom two. BenDeLaCreme and Shangela lip-sync to "Jump (For My Love)" by The Pointer Sisters. Shangela wins the lip-sync and decides to eliminate Thorgy Thor from the competition.
| ||||
| 18 | 3 | "The Bitchelor" | February 8, 2018 | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, BenDeLaCreme reveals that she would have sent home Thorgy Thor from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For this week's main challenge, the queens will pair up and improvise in an unscripted dating show inspired by The Bachelor called "The Bitchelor".
On the runway, category is Wigs on Wigs on Wigs. BenDeLaCreme, Kennedy Davenport and Trixie Mattel receive positive critiques, with BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport being announced as the top two. Aja, Chi Chi DeVayne and Milk receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom three. BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport lip-sync to "Green Light" by Lorde. Kennedy Davenport wins the lip-sync and decides to eliminate Milk from the competition.
| ||||
| 19 | 4 | "All Stars Snatch Program" | February 15, 2018 | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, BenDeLaCreme reveals that she would have sent home Chi Chi DeVayne from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For the main challenge, the queens will play the Snatch Game. Carson Kressley and Michelle Visage star as the celebrity contestants. The cast consisted of:
On the runway, category is Flower Power. Aja, BenDeLaCreme and Shangela receive positive critiques, with BenDeLaCreme and Shangela being announced as the top two. Chi Chi DeVayne, Kennedy Davenport and Trixie Mattel receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom three. BenDeLaCreme and Shangela lip-sync to "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry. BenDeLaCreme and Shangela win the lip-sync and both decide to eliminate Chi Chi DeVayne from the competition.
| ||||
| 20 | 5 | "The Pop Art Ball[15]" | February 22, 2018[16] | |
|
For this week's mini-challenge, the queens will do a pop art-style portrait photoshoot. Aja wins the mini-challenge. For the main challenge, the queens will create two looks for The Pop Art Ball: a wearable soup can inspired by Andy Warhol and a Studio 54 disco look. On the runway, BeBe Zahara Benet and Trixie Mattel receive positive critiques, and are announced as the top two. Aja and Shangela receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom two. BeBe Zahara Benet and Trixie Mattel lip-sync to "The Boss" by Diana Ross. BeBe Zahara Benet wins the lip-sync and decides to eliminate Aja from the competition.
| ||||
| 21 | 6 | "Handmaids to Kitty Girls[17]" | March 1, 2018[16] | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, the previously eliminated queens all return to the workroom. Trixie Mattel reveals that she would have sent home Aja from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For the main challenge, the eliminated queens and the remaining queens will write, record, and perform their own verses to two different songs.
On the runway, BeBe Zahara Benet and BenDeLaCreme receive positive critiques, and are announced as the top two. Kennedy Davenport, Shangela and Trixie Mattel receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom three. RuPaul reveals that whoever wins the lip-sync, will choose one eliminated queen to return to the competition, and one of the competing queens to eliminate from the competition. BeBe Zahara Benet and BenDeLaCreme lip-sync to "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here (Hex Hector Dance Mix)" by Deborah Cox. BenDeLaCreme wins the lip-sync. She chooses Morgan McMichaels to return to the competition and then chooses to eliminate herself from the competition.
| ||||
| 22 | 7 | "My Best Squirrelfriend's Dragsmaids Wedding Trip[18]" | March 8, 2018[18] | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, BeBe Zahara Benet does not reveal who she would have chosen to return or to eliminate from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For this week's main challenge, the queens will star in a raunchy girl comedy blockbuster.
On the runway, category is Red for Filth. Shangela and Trixie Mattel receive positive critiques, and are announced as the top two. BeBe Zahara Benet, Kennedy Davenport and Morgan McMichaels receive negative critiques, and are announced as the bottom three. Shangela and Trixie Mattel lip-sync to "Freaky Money" by RuPaul ft. Big Freedia. Shangela wins the lip-sync and decides to eliminate Morgan McMichaels from the competition.
| ||||
| 23 | 8 | "A Jury of Their Queers[18]" | March 15, 2018[18] | |
|
At the beginning of the episode, Trixie Mattel reveals that she would have sent home Morgan McMichaels from the competition, had she won the lip-sync. For the final challenge of the season, the queens will write, record, and perform their own verses to RuPaul's song "Kitty Girl". On the runway, category is Best Drag Eleganza Extravaganza. RuPaul then reveals that the eliminated queens will be voting for who they want to see in the top two. BeBe Zahara Benet and Shangela receive the fewest votes, and are subsequently eliminated, leaving Kennedy Davenport and Trixie Mattel as the top two queens of the season. They lip-sync to "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. It is revealed that Trixie Mattel is the winner, leaving Kennedy Davenport as the runner-up.
| ||||
Leak
editOn February 15, 2018, the series production company World of Wonder filed a lawsuit against an anonymous leaker using the alias RealityTVLeaks.[19] According to the lawsuit, RealityTVLeaks posted several visuals from the season on various social media websites such as Reddit, Twitter, and Instagram before each episode's airing—including runway themes, challenges, episode titles, and eliminated queens.[19] Additionally, a producer from the show stated that the leaker removed "information identifying [World of Wonder] as the copyright owner and author" before adding "misleading copyright management information falsely identifying [the defendants] as the copyright owners and authors."[19] World of Wonder launched the suit because of the defendant's "unlawful theft and public dissemination of episodes of the popular and critically-acclaimed reality television show," and the production company confirmed it is seeking damages of $300,000, including $150,000 for each infringed episode and $25,000 per violation of "actual damages" and defendants' profits.[19]
Ratings
edit| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "All-Star Variety Show" | January 25, 2018 | 0.46[20] | 0.895[20] |
| 2 | "Divas Lip Sync Live" | February 1, 2018 | 0.40[21] | 0.777[21] |
| 3 | "The Bitchelor" | February 8, 2018 | 0.39[22] | 0.738[22] |
| 4 | "All Stars Snatch Game" | February 15, 2018 | 0.34[23] | 0.713[23] |
| 5 | "Pop Art Ball" | February 22, 2018 | 0.38[24] | 0.732[24] |
| 6 | "Handmaids to Kitty Girls" | March 1, 2018 | 0.49[25] | 0.883[25] |
| 7 | "My Best Squirrelfriend's Dragsmaids Wedding Trip" | March 8, 2018 | 0.31[26] | 0.658[26] |
| 8 | "A Jury of Their Queers" | March 15, 2018 | 0.27[27] | 0.589[27] |
Critical reception
editAlthough a ratings success, the season was panned by the critics, following the high bar set by All Stars 2. Vulture, in writing a summation review, described the season as "truly one of the roughest seasons of the show ever. After a stellar, jaw-unhingingly good All Stars 2, this season felt more like an embarrassing cousin you brought to gay happy hour who wears double polos".[28] The A.V. Club similarly described the season as disappointing; in their final review of the season, they wrote, "I should be celebrating the crowning of a new queen in the Drag Race hall of fame, but Drag Race All Stars season three has left me feeling totally underwhelmed and wondering, What’s the point?"[29]
Vulture did however make the point that although the season did not live up to expectations, "even at its worst, it’s still one of the best, if not the best goddamn reality competition show on television".[28]
References
edit- ^ "RuPaul to Reveal 'All Stars' Season 3 Cast on Upcoming VH1 Special: 'Prepare to Be Gagged'". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' season 3 cast to be revealed during TV special". Entertainment Weekly. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ Fernandez, Matt (October 14, 2017). "TV News Roundup: 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' to Launch Season 3 with Hour Special". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' season 3 queens announced: See an exclusive cast photo". Entertainment Weekly. October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "All Star Variety Show". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 1. January 25, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "Divas Lip Sync Live". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 2. February 1, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "The Bitchelor". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 3. February 8, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "All Stars Snatch Program". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 4. February 15, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "The Pop Art Ball". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 5. February 22, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "Handmaids to Kitty Girls". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 6. March 1, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "My Best Squirrelfriend's Dragsmaids Wedding Trip". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 7. March 8, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ a b "A Jury of Their Queers". RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Season 3. Episode 8. March 15, 2018. VH1 / WOW Presents Plus.
- ^ The Eliminated Queens' Votes (Deleted Scene) | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3, retrieved April 14, 2022
- ^ O'Keefe, Kevin (January 18, 2018). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3' Reveals Guest Judges, Releases New Sneak Peek". IntoMore. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "TV Schedule for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars". www.vh1.com. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Futon Clinic". The Futon Critic. January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
- ^ "Ru Paul Copyright". www.scribd.com. February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "All Stars Season 3 Episode Guide". www.tvguide.com. March 6, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Moore, Matt (February 17, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race producers are suing an anonymous leaker for $300,000". Gay Times. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 1.25.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 2.1.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 2.8.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 2.15.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 2.22.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 3.1.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 3.8.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 3.15.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ a b "Where Did RuPaul's Drag Race Go Wrong This Season?". March 16, 2018.
- ^ "A mediocre season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars ends with a robbery". The A.V. Club. March 16, 2018.