Ariana Grande is making her Drag Race comeback.
On 14 December, MTV announced that the Grammy Award-winning singer will be the guest judge for the two-part season 15 premiere.
It will mark her first time on the panel since season seven, where she witnessed Jaidynn Diore Fierce and Kandy Ho lip-sync to her dance anthem Break Free.
The new season of Drag Race will feature the largest cast in the show’s herstory with 16 contestants, including TikTok twin superstars Sugar and Spice and Kerri Colby’s drag mother (and Miss Continental winner) Sasha Colby.
That’s not all: the queens will compete for a franchise-high cash prize (bar All Stars 7) of $200,000.
The new season of Drag Race airs 6 January on MTV, with new episodes of Untucked to follow immediately after.
The series originally premiered in 2009 on Logo, before switching in its ninth season to VH1. The last two seasons of All Stars, including the first-ever winners’ season, were exclusive to Paramount+.
In a statement, World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato said the company is “delighted to expand its partnership with MTV Entertainment Studios.”
“’Drag Race’ is about universal themes of love, self-expression and acceptance — and there has never been a more important time than now for these ideas to be expressed internationally,” they explained.
“Thanks to Chris McCarthy, Nina L. Diaz and their incredible team at MTV Entertainment Studios, we are honored to continue our mission to showcase the artistry of drag in different languages and cultures around the world.”
This week, it was also announced that editions of the franchise have been greenlit in Brazil, Germany and Mexico. All will air on MTV and Paramount+ in their respective territories.
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